Visiting And Reading Other Blogs

Visiting And Reading Other Blogs – Meet the Competition

Once you have staked out your little corner of the blogosphere, it’s time to really size up the competition.  You may have met a few of them through blog rings and traffic exchanges, but now it’s time to really read their sites and – gasp – get to know them.  Just because a blog is a competitor does not mean the blogger is an adversary, and an excellent way to build your reputation and increase your traffic is to introduce yourself to your fellow bloggers and their readers through the comments section of their blogs.

Bloggers love comments because readers who are engaged in a discussion in the comments section will return to a page again and again. Some popular blogs have hundreds of comments on some entries, and for every commenter you can be sure there are dozens who are following along but who do not care for whatever reason to get involved in the discussion.  Comment areas will usually allow you to enter your email address and blog address in addition to your name, so for every comment you make, you’re insuring that another link to your blog is placed in front of people who might be interested in what you have to say.

However, avoid “comment spam,” the practice of dropping comments just for the link or blatantly advertising your site without adding anything useful to the discussion.  It’s not only a good way to alienate potential readers; it’s a good way to get you banned from a site. A good commenter will often earn a link from the host, and if the host has more traffic than you (and it’s a good idea to comment only on those blogs that are more established than yours) you’ll often pick up readers who see your site linked from that blog.  Be sure to reciprocate quickly and thank the other blogger for linking.  You’ve made a friend who will consistently send targeted traffic your way. If a site has an established link policy, be sure to follow it to the letter.  You want to give other blogs every reason to link you and no reason to cut you off.