Years ago I woke up one morning, logged into my blog, and found seven new comments from people I had not heard from before. I was thrilled. New comments meant people were reading and engaging. Then I looked closer and discovered that four of the seven were pure spam, generated by some automated software that had been sold to people looking for easy backlinks. My absolute favorite was the commenter who called me a guru using two different names, pointing back to two different URLs. Not exactly subtle.<\/p>\n
Somewhere along the way, someone sold expensive software that would crawl blogs, find posts matching certain keywords, and automatically drop generic comments. Comments like “Great post, very informative!” or “I learned so much from this, thanks for sharing!” These comments waste everyone's time. They clutter up legitimate discussions. And here is the thing that really bothered me: the people using these tools were completely missing the actual opportunity that blog commenting provides.<\/p>\n
When people talk about the value of blog comments, they usually mention two things. First, if you leave an early comment on a high-traffic post with a thoughtful contribution, readers will click through to your site. That is true. It provides some temporary traffic. Second, some blogs offer do-follow links to commenters, which can help with search engine rankings. Also true, though the SEO value of comment links has diminished significantly over the years.<\/p>\n
Both of these outcomes are real, but they are not the main event.<\/p>\n
The real opportunity in leaving excellent blog comments lies in the relationships you build with the people who run those blogs. This is the part that spam commenters completely miss. When you develop genuine relationships with other content creators and entrepreneurs, you unlock opportunities for conversations, friendships, business ideas, joint ventures, and collaborations that can transform your business.<\/p>\n
I will give you two examples from my own experience. When I first started blogging, I found Garry Conn's site and left a comment asking for advice. Not only did Garry use my question as part of his content, he actually called me back. We have been trading ideas and collaborating ever since. He designed my original blog theme. What started as a blog comment turned into a genuine friendship and business relationship.<\/p>\n
Josh Spaulding is another example. I was so impressed with his ethical approach to internet marketing that I started commenting regularly on his blog. That led to me becoming a moderator in his coaching forum, and we collaborated on several joint venture projects. Again, it all started with a thoughtful comment.<\/p>\n
The platforms have changed. Blog comments are less central to online discourse than they were in 2009. Today, the equivalent interactions happen on social media, in podcast communities, on YouTube, in Discord servers, and in private Slack groups. But the principle is identical: meaningful engagement with people you respect leads to relationships that can change your business trajectory.<\/p>\n
Do not leave generic comments or replies hoping for a backlink or a quick traffic bump. Instead, engage thoughtfully with content creators whose work you genuinely admire. Add value to the conversation. Share your own relevant experience. Ask intelligent questions. Over time, those interactions compound into relationships that are worth far more than any SEO benefit.<\/p>\n
Whether you are building an online business or working in any industry, the formula is the same: focus on building relationships with people you respect and customers you value. It is the oldest advice in business, and it still works because it always will.<\/p>\n