Sep

5

A Simple Backlink Strategy

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As you know, one good way of building backlinks is by posting on dofollow blogs. This is one of my favorite backlink strategies, that’s why this blog exists and why I created my DoFollow Blog Directory.

Because I am always interested in building backlinks, a post by Alex Sysoef caught my eye. He has a great post, Build Oneway Backlinks Through Influence Guide, that contains a video he did that shows another way to build backlinks.

This video has a couple of great tips on how to use Google and Google Alerts to notify you when someone links to your blog. His strategy is to reciprocate by doing something in return for the link – like Stumbling or Digging the post that links to him.

This has two benefits:
1. Gives you a chance to use the law of reciprocity
2. Can bring you more traffic as you Stumble and Digg those posts linking to you.

This is one of those simple strategies that makes so much sense that you wonder why you didn’t think of it yourself.

You can implement this simple backlink strategy today – it will only take a few minutes of your time.

Mike

Want to save this post to your computer for later reference?  Download the Backlink Strategy Report

Sep

1

Criticizing DoFollow Blogs

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I follow the dofollow blog movement closely, and I’ve seen a number of blog owners criticize the dofollow blog movement.

There main criticisms are:

1. If you go dofollow on your blog, you are inviting comment spam – it’s just not worth it.

2. If you write good content on your blog, people will comment anyway, so you don’t need to go dofollow. So, you should pay no attention to nofollow vs. dofollow when commenting on blogs.

Now, I’m not going to totally discount those two opinions, there is some truth to both.

But, those blog owners need to understand a few things.

1. As an owner of 4 dofollow blogs, I spend about 5 minutes per day total, moderating comments on those blogs and deleting those comments that don’t add value.

So, the spam comment is really not a valid comment, unless you have a very high traffic blog.

I would guess that very high traffic blogs could have a difficult time moderating hundreds or thousands of comments.

Of course, if you have a very high traffic blog, you don’t need to be dofollow because you already have the visitors.

You will need a spam comment plugin regardless of whether your blog is dofollow, or nofollow – Askimet is a good one and is included with WordPress. SpamKarma is the one that I use.

2. Just because you have great content does not mean I am going to comment on your blog. I, like most people, am a very busy person. I visit a number of blogs during the day and read some good content. I may Stumble your blog, or social bookmark it, but if your blog is nofollow the chances of me taking the time to comment are very slim.

If I am looking at two blogs of equal quality content, and one is dofollow while the other is nofollow, which one do you think I am going to spend my time commenting on?

I have news for you nofollow blog owners with this attitude – your content is not so great, it’s not so much better than many other blogger’s, that I am going to comment strictly based on your content. Perhaps I am being too honest here, but that is reality.

Okay, I have to make a disclaimer here – I may comment on your nofollow blog to explain to you that you are wrong in your opinion of dofollow blogs, but that is the only time I comment on nofollow blogs.

As I stated earlier, I read a number of blogs daily, and many are very good – but I may have not commented on your blog because you are nofollow and I will save my commenting time for a blog that is dofollow.

It’s also interesting to note that most of these nofollow bloggers that criticize dofollow blogs, have very, very few comments on them. Even when their content is very good.

These blog owners are missing out on a very good opportunity to get more comments, and more readers just by going dofollow.

People are actively looking for dofollow blogs. Yes, they are doing that with the intent to post comments and build back links. But, most will read the post they are commenting on, and then leave quality comments.

Are people actively looking for your nofollow blog?

There will always be critics of the dofollow blog movement, and that’s okay – if every blog owner went dofollow, we would lose the advantage we have being dofollow blog owners.

Remember, those people actively looking for your dofollow blog? Help them find you by listing your blog on my DoFollow Blog Directory.

Mike

Want to save this post to your computer for later reference? Download the Criticizing DoFollow Blogs Report

Aug

10

DoFollow Blogs Q and A

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I’ve had a number of questions being asked by people commenting on my blog, so I compiled a list of the most common questions on DoFollow blog and have answered them here.

In some cases I have reworded the question slightly. In all cases I have tried to protect the privacy of the commentor.

DoFollow Blog Question:
I have submitted my site listed in “website” to 5 do-follow blog posts but I don’t see anything significant yet.

My Answer:
Submitting comments on 5 dofollow blogs is good, but it may not be enough for your chosen keywords.

I noticed on your comments to my blog you used the anchor text “keyword phrase withheld to protect the poster”. If you go to Google and do an exact match search by putting quotes around your keywords like “keyword phrase withheld to protect the poster”, you will see there are 13,600,000 competing pages. That means Google has over 13 million pages listed with the exact keyword phrase that you are trying to use.

You will probably never be able to compete with that phrase, it’s just to competitive.

Instead you need to find a less competitive keyword phrase. Of course, if you pick a keyword phrase that’s too unique, you may not get any traffic to it. So, you need to find a keyword phrase with enough traffic to make it worth your while, without it being too competitive.

I have also seen people who comment on blogs using their website address, or just their first name, or some other link text in the comments “website” box.

This is useless, since people are not going to be searching for those terms. You want to use terms that people may seach for on Google.

DoFollow Blog Question:
Can you tell me exactly what do-follow blog comments are, and why some people are mad about getting comments posted to do-follow blogs.

My Answer:
Most blogs are nofollow by default. There is an html nofollow tag that tells Google to not follow that link to the target website, and to not count it for ranking purposes.

This tag was created because people learned they could comment on blogs and get link love back to their sites. So, they spammed blogs with comments that were of no value to the blog owner, and created problems for blog owners.

I have a couple of blog posts that go into more detail on what dofollow blogs are, and their benefits. One is a serious explanation of dofollow blogs, and the other contains a video I did for fun (yes, this was fun for me – I am a nerd) that is spoof of the history of dofollow blogs .

Today, there are still blog comment spammers, but there are some good WordPress plugins that catch a lot of the spam. Plus, blog owners are wanting to do more social marketing with their visitors, and so they want to encourage them to comment, by giving them a dofollow link back to their site.

Some blog owners don’t want anything to do with allowing dofollow comments, because they are afraid they will get killed with spam comments. I can understand this if you have a very high traffic blog – you wouldn’t need to encourage comments and you could be opening yourself up for a ton of comment moderation.

For newer blogs, dofollow is great, for older very high traffic blogs – probably not so much.

BlogSpot DoFollow Blog Question:
I have some blogspot blogs. I would like to give my blogs dofollow. So, how do I insert dofollow in my blog?

My Answer:
My expertise lies in the area of WordPress blogs installed on your own domains. For information of making Blogpsot Blogs DoFollow, I will refer you to a Blogspot dofollow blog expert

Do-Follow Blog Question:
I want to learn as much as possible about posting do-follow blog comments, where do I find more information?

My Answer:
I have a number of posts about dofollow blogs, commenting rules, how to identify dofollow blogs, etc. on my dofollow information blog.

If your answer is not found on this blog, leave a comment with your question and I will answer it.

Mike

Want to save this post to your computer for later reference? Download the DoFollow Blogs Q & A Report

Jul

16

Finding DoFollow Blogs With Google

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Finding dofollow blogs is not always an easy task. There are a lot of do follow lists out there, mostly lists on blogs.

Most are great lists, but not every dofollow blog owner wants to be on those lists. They are afraid that being on those lists will bring out the comment spammers.

Since there are a lot of great dofollow blogs that are not on any lists, how do you find them?

Paul at SearchEnginePeople.com provides a Google search query to help you find dofollow blogs based on a keyword search.

Using Paul’s keyword search is great since it will help you find dofollow blogs for your niche. It’s always preferable to comment on blogs related to your website.

I’ve tried the search for several keywords and it works very well.

Use this Google query to find dofollow blogs for your niche, but remember to post good, relative comments.

Here are some common sense dofollow blog commenting tips that will help you get your comments approved.

Mike

Want to save this post to your computer for later reference? Download the Find DoFollow Blogs Report.

Jun

30

DoFollow Blog Comment Rules

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My blogs have been dofollow for a few months now, and for the most part it is going very well. However, I do get a few comments that I will NOT approve because they are obvious comment spam.

I want to give you some real life examples of what I consider comment spam that I will not approve, and provide you with some dofollow blog comment rules.

Before I do, I want to stress how important it is to post quality comments, related to the post you are commenting on.

Remember, DoFollow blog owners are giving you some link love, in exchange for your quality comments.

If you, and others, post junk comments, blog owners will get tired of seeing the junk, get tired of moderating junk comments, get tired of being taken advantage of, and will turn nofollow back on.

So, please be considerate, and appreciative of dofollow blog owners by doing the right thing and leaving quality comments related to the post you are commenting on.

DoFollow Blog Comment Rules

1. Read the post you are going to be commenting on! I also read several of the current comments if there are some. It only takes a few minutes to read the comments and get a general feel on what people are thinking.

Then, post comments directly related to the blog post, related to the general tone of the comments, or related to a comment left by a specific person.

2. Be kind, even if you disagree with the blog owner’s post, or some individual comments. As a blog owner if you blast me or some of my posters directly, I won’t allow your comments. If you disagree with me, that’s fine. Disagree, offer more information to support your disagreement, and do it respectfully.

3. I prefer at least a short paragraph of comments, that adds to the comment conversation. A simple “I agree” is not going to be approved by me.

4. Don’t use your comments to list every website you own. After leaving some good comments, don’t blatantly advertise your other websites. I’m already giving you an incoming link with your selected anchor text. If you add additional websites, I probably won’t approve your comments.

If you add a website in the comments that is directly related to the discussion, even if it’s yours, I will allow it. If I think you are just trying to get more links, I won’t allow it.

Okay, so here are some examples of posts that I did not allow.

Comment #1
From my post: Do-Follow Blog Directory – New Feature
———
I changed my blog to dofollow also:

http://www.website-withheld.blogspot.com/

http://www.website-withheld.com (Note: This is the same website user used in the comments form)
———

Sorry, but I want more comments than just telling me you changed to dofollow, and giving me two more websites in the comments field.

Plus, this was in a post that didn’t really fit, I don’t think the user really read the post. If you want to let me know about your dofollow blogs, add them to my dofollow blog directory that is mentioned in the post.

Comment #2
From my post: How Do I Know if A Blog is Do-Follow?
———
Well when you open a website you can right click and check if it is a dofollow or no follow by clicking on properties. Do follow allows you to make comments where any link in the website can be track. No follow stop there itself.
———

The above comment is a nice paragraph of related text, but it’s apparent they didn’t read my post at all. My post was all about how to tell if a blog is dofollow or not.

That comment added absolutely no value to the discussion, and was just stating information I had already stated in the post.

It looked to me like the user just read the headline “How Do I Know if A Blog is Do-Follow?” and thought – oh I know the answer to that. So, they posted the answer without having any idea what the post was about.

Sorry, doesn’t pass my approval test :-)

Comment #3
From my post: How Do I Know if A Blog is Do-Follow?
———
it is interesting! thanks!
———

That one is pretty obvious. That sort of comment just makes me mad, and gives us responsible dofollow blog commentors a bad name.

It only takes a few minutes to read before you comment, and only takes a few minutes to post a relevant comment that adds value.

The blog owner will approve your quality comments, and appreciate you adding value.

Others who read the comments are also more likely to click on your link if you are contributing good content to the discussion.

If you have additions to my list of dofollow blog etiquette, please leave a comment with the suggestions below.

Mike

Want to save this post to your computer for later reference? Download the DoFollow Blog Comment Rules Report.

Jun

17

Do-Follow Blog Directory – New Feature

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Now there are more reasons to add your do-follow blogs to the do-follow blog directory.

Social marketing, or sometimes called Web 2.0, is becoming the path to marketing online in 2008. Internet marketing is becoming more about relationship building and community building. That’s why your blog is do-follow right?

Okay, if your blog is not do-follow, it needs to be – here is more information on going dofollow with your blog .

One of the cornerstones of building communities is building your social network. There are a number of online social community services like Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed and a whole lot more.

The Do-Follow Blog Directory now displays your social profile with your blog listing. The social services include Twitter, Friendfeed, YouTube, Facebook, StumbleUpon and MyBlogLog.

Now when Do-Follow Blog Directory visitors look for blogs to post comments on, they will see the icons for some of the favorite social networking services. When they click on one of those icons, they will be taken to your profile on the particular service.

Your visitors can the follow you, join your community, become your friend, or view your videos.

This is just another tool to help you expand your reach. If you are not already a member of the Do-Follow Social Networks, I suggest you join those listed below, and start becoming involved with these communities.

If you have a do-follow blog, I suggest you add it to my do-follow blog directory so people looking for do-follow blogs, to comment on, can find you.

I have added my blogs, and have had a good number of hits to them already, and I have done very little advertising of the followlist site so far.

If your blog is not do-follow, I suggest you change your blog to dofollow. You can find information on this blog on how to change your blog to do-follow.

Mike

Jun

16

How Do I Know if A Blog is Do-Follow?

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You may be wondering if your blog is setup to do-follow, by disabling the nofollow attribute. Or, you may want to comment on a blog but you aren’t sure whether they are do-follow or not.

If you have your own hosted WordPress blog, and you have not installed a plugin to disable nofollow, then chances are very good that your blog is NOT do-follow.

If someone else installed your blog, or you just want to verify that your blog is nofollow, if you are wanting to determine if a blog is do-follow, there are a couple of ways to check.

Remember, do-follow blogs really refer to the comments left on the blog. So you need to check the comments on a post to determine if the blog is using the html nofollow attribute.

The easiest, and quickest way to check do-follow, is by using either the Firefox, or Flock browser and the SEO for Firefox extension.

If you’re not using the Firefox browser, or the Flock browser, I need to ask you why you’re not using one of those browsers? It’s probably just because Microsoft Internet Explorer was installed on your computer and you don’t know what your missing.

The Firefox and Flock browsers are much better than Internet Explorer (IE). If you are doing any sort of social marketing, you really need to check out the Flock browser.

If you are using IE, I’ll explain how to determine if a blog is do-follow or not later on. Right now, let’s talk about using Firefox and Flock.

If you don’t already have it, install the SEO for Firefox extension – get the extension here. It also works on the Flock browser.

SEO for Firefox

After you have installed SEO for Firefox extension, you will see it at the bottom of your browser. You can turn the extension on and off, but clicking the SEO at the bottom of the browser – it toggles on and off.

Now, when the extension is turned on all nofollow links are highlighted with a red background.

SEO for Firefox off

So, when you go to a blog, or go to your blog, you can see whether a blog is nofollow or do-follow. Look for a post with comments already posted. Go to those comments, or to the blog post page. If none of your blog posts have comments, you will need to create a comment.

Scroll down to the comments. If you see red background on the comment name, the blog comments are nofollow.
Red nofollow link

If you are using Internet Explorer, go to a post with comments. When you are on the page with comments. right click your mouse and choose “View Source”. This will open the html code in note pad. Then select search and type in a term in one of the comments, to easily find a comment.

You will see something like the text below. Notice the rel=’external nofollow’, this indicates the blog is no-follow.
================================
<li class=”alt” id=”comment-10″>
<a href=’http://followlist.com’ rel=’external nofollow’ onclick=”javascript:urchinTracker(‘/outbound/followlist.com?ref=/blog/’);”> Mike’s Do-Follow Blog List</a> on
June 16th, 2008 2:43 pm
<div class=”commenttext”>

<p>This is a test</p>
</div>

</li>

================================

If the blog were do-follow it would probably be rel=’external’. Notice the nofollow tag has been removed.

That’s how you determine if a blog is do-follow or not.

An easier way to find Do-Follow blogs related to your blog topic, would be to help me build the Do-Follow Blog Directory :-)

If you have questions about dofollow versus nofollow blogs, leave comments and I will attempt to answer every one of them.

Mike

Jun

7

Fun With Do-Follow Blogs

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I am an advocate of do-follow blogs. For more information on do-follow blogs, please see my Blog Post http://followlist.com/blog/dofollow-blog-info/what-are-do-follow-blogs .

As I started writing about do-follow blogs, versus no-follow blogs I tried to put some fun into it :-) Here is my fun history lesson on do-follow blogs. Hope you enjoy the silly video.


Mike

Jun

3

What are Do-Follow Blogs?

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What are “Do Follow” blogs?

“Do follow” is the opposite of “No-Follow”. WordPress blogs, by default, use the HTML nofollow attribute on links that point away from the blog. This no follow attribute comes into play with the posting of blog comments. The no-follow tag tells the search engines NOT to follow the link to any other web sites.

The logic behind using no follow is, it’s good for the blog since there will be fewer outgoing links and therefore less “link bleed”, leading to better Google page rank. Sounds good!

Using no follow also makes sense because there are blog spammers out there who will, and have, posted blog spam comments solely for the benefit of getting more incoming links to their site, which helps page rank. That makes sense!

Do Follow blogs are going against the norm and turning the No-Follow tag off, enabling do-follow of out going comment links.

Why Go Do-Follow?

If you’re like me, you want people to comment on your blog posts. You want more of an interactive community. That’s what Web 2.0 is about – community, relationships, and user created content.

But, how do you encourage people to comment on your blog posts? You give them something in return. You give them an outgoing link to their website, when they make a quality comment on your blog. You also allow the search engine to follow that link to their website by using the do follow attribute.

You also need to let people know that you are a Do Follow Blog. Some visitors will have no idea what that means, but those who do know what it means will appreciate it and will often leave a comment.

You will notice I now have a Do Follow notice in the upper right hand column of my blog. This graphic is courtesy of Randa Clay who is a Do Follow advocate. I’m letting others know that they are welcome to leave relevant comments, and letting them know what my expectations are.

Okay, but what about comment spammers?

No doubt there will be spammers who try to take advantage of your generosity. If you have a blog you probably are already getting comment spam, I sure do. But, I have found that the Spam Karma plugin does an outstanding job of filtering out spam comments.

You will still need to monitor comments, but it shouldn’t take more than a few minutes each day.

How Do I Set Do Follow?

Unfortunately, the option to turn No Follow on, or off, is not an option in WordPress. I have looked at a couple of plugins, and have decided the DoFollow plugin works best for me.

With the current WordPress blog comment spam plugins now available, I see no reason not to be a “Do Follower”.

Once you join the Do-Follow movement, let everyone know your blog is do follow by adding your blog to the do-follow blog list.

Let me know what your thoughts are by commenting below.

Mike

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