<< Sigh >>.
Paid blog comments suck.
Why people insist on paying others to leave comments for them is beyond me. Well, not really. Apparently people do this because they’ve either read or been sold a service which touts that leaving comments will get them better search engine placement. You know, leave a comment, get a link to your site from blogs like this one that are set up as “do-follow” blogs[1], and good things will happen.
And that is true to some extent. This blog is a do-follow blog for a couple of reasons: 1) in theory, do-following encourages comments; and 2) I appreciate the fact that people take the time and effort to read and add a comment to the conversation. Do-following is a small reward and token of my appreciation.
The problem is, there are companies out there that will prey on people’s ignorance and desire for better search engine placement. I’m not going to link to any of them, but they aren’t hard to find.
So people sign up for these services, and pay some fee (I don’t know how much, but it’s too much). Many such services make claims that “your” comments will be undetectable as a paid service and also make wild claims of success.
I think people fall for these claims out of ignorance. They simply don’t know how they work, or how bloggers handle comments.
Here are a couple of comments that came into Phoenix Real Estate Guy early this morning:
I’ve blacked out the URL to protect the “innocent” and other info to protect me from potential hassles. I’m going on the assumption that the owner of this site just doesn’t understand what he’s paid for, nor how he’s getting ripped off.
OK, so how do I know these are paid comments?
For one, the IP address of the person leaving the comment is in Amsterdam. As in the Netherlands. Yet they are supposedly being left from someone with a real estate web site in Atlanta. As in Georgia.
Second, I can not comprehend what discounted homes for sale in Atlanta has to do with the Veterans Day post I wrote in 2007, nor how it’s connected to the sixth post ever written on this blog some three and a half years ago.
Third, while it’s possible, I really doubt an agent in Atlanta is reading 1 to 3 year old posts at 4:30 in the morning. On a Saturday.
As one can see at the bottom of these emails, I am provided with two options for handling this kind of comment. I can either “Delete it” or “Spam it”.
In this case, I chose to delete them. While they are obviously spam (not to mention a violation of this blogs comment policy against blatant advertising), I try to be a nice guy and give people benefit of the doubt. The option to spam these comments will send them off to spam databases, where the IP, URL and email address will be added to lists of known spammers. These are not the kind of lists people generally desire to be a part of.
I then email the real site owner and tell them they would be advised to save their money. Curiously, the real site owner in this case had no email contact on his site, though I was able to reach out to him through his Active Rain profile[2]. (Note to real estate agent readers — if you want to be contacted via your web site, provide a way to contact you…)
Now the nice guy routine, while genuine, only lasts a short while when it comes to comments like this. The beauty of Gmail is I can (and will) easily check the next time I get a comment like this. If it comes from someone that has been previously notified, then *poof* — off to spam databases they go.
So seriously folks, stop wasting your money (and my time) on paid comments. Here’s an idea — try actually spending a little time on some blogs. Try reading the articles and leaving comments that contribute to the conversation. You may find it beneficial in more ways than just getting a link. Maybe we can get to know each other, help each other, send some referrals back and forth, and learn from each other. Isn’t that a lot better than paying some spammer in Amsterdam (or wherever) your hard earned cash for a comment that just winds up in the garbage with you looking foolish?
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Footnotes:- Do-follow means that links left here are followed by search engine spiders. Most blogs default to “no-follow”. Blogs that are set to do-follow are providing some “link love” to those that leave comments. [↩]
- Active Rain is “social network” for real estate professionals [↩]
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{ 43 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve never considered spam comments were “paid” comments. But you’re not talking about spam, are you?
Ari Herzog´s last blog post..How Google Analytics Shows Me Who Visits My Blog (and Why It’s Important)
wow, pretty bizarre Jay. I’m inclined to agree with you that those paying do so out of sheer ignorance, although one would have to question how much link love they’d expect to gain thru their overseas investment …
Jay,
Just got your update on twitter about this post. I’m not sure I’d be as nice as you are being about just deleting the comments. It disappoints me that agents don’t research these companies and find out how they deliver their results. Last week I had 3 phone calls for companies that wanted to “guarantee” me first page placement on google. After two questions I thanked them for their time and told them I didn’t need help setting up a PPC campaign.
-Scott
PS - nice tweak on adding the twitter ID field. Is that custom, or a plugin?
I agree. Here is the preceeding post on my RSS feed: One Wrong Way to Get Links. There appears to be an epidemic of those who want to spam, emailing the blogs they want to spam by mistake. I guess the caliber of people that you can hire to spam comment for you might not be that high.
Lindsay´s last blog post..Brett Favre Overcomes Painkiller Addiction
@Ari - I think there is a fine line between “spam” comments and “paid” comments. I get hundreds of “traditional” spam comments a day — you know, the porn links, viagra, sploggers, and that ilk. My spam filters block the vast majority of those. The kind of comments I’m talking about here usually make it through the filters — so they aren’t bots or anything. But they are certainly unwanted — so if not spam, they are doubtless spams close cousin.
@Jim - indeed. The owner of this site emailed back and said he didn’t know what I was talking about, that he didn’t pay anyone to leave comments. Well, someone must have paid this guy in Amsterdam. I can’t see him just sitting around, leaving meaningless comments with a URL link to an agent in Atlanta out of the goodness of his/her heart… Maybe some “SEO” service or “webmaster” contracted it out. Who knows. But I get several comments like this a week.
@Scott - you’re probably right, I ought to just send them immediately to “spam control”. And yeah, those companies are beyond annoying aren’t they?
The Twitter ID in the comments field is a plugin (get it here). Done by the same guy that does the CommentLuv plugin.
Interesting post!
I agree with Ari, that I have not thought of spam comments as paid comments.
I manage link building campaigns professionally and I often have to explain to customers why my firm charges more than ones that outsource the link building to Russia, etc.
I suspect that the offshore outfits do post comments like these to get inbound links.
It’s horrible on so many fronts– it forces bloggers to be on a near-constant lookout for suspicious comments– and more importantly, it hurts unsuspecting companies that hire these unscrupulous link builders.
Thanks,
Josh
Josh Fialkoff´s last blog post..How I Use Google Analytics to Maintain, Improve My Site
Hi - I found this article via Ari’s tweet.
Many on the online freelancing job boards have numerous positions listed for people to leave comments on sites. Many of these positions are taken by people living in India and Eastern Europe. And the pay is deplorable - I can’t remember the exact amounts but the people taking these jobs aren’t earning much at all. While I disagree with the motivation of the person offering the freelance position, I do have sympathy for those who are taking the jobs - I’m sure they need every cent they are earning.
Kim Woodbridge | (Anti) Social Development´s last blog post..Thankful for My Friend Jim
@Josh - I’ve got no issue at all with legit link building — whether one pays for the service or does it on their own. Heck, if there was a great comment here — one that actually pertained and contributed to the post it was left on — I’d let it stand even if it was paid.
In other words, it’s not the paying for a comment that I find annoying. It’s the (typically) ridiculous paid comments that are left that bugs me.
And you’re spot on when you say it hurts the unsuspecting companies that hire these unscrupulous firms/people. The “spammers” will just move on to the next poor sap that falls for them, leaving behind the unsuspecting company in their wake.
There’s a tremendous gulf between legitimate link building and comment spamming.
And you’re absolutely right about judging comments based on their content. The shame is that the spam comments are nearly always not on topic and/or not adding anything to the discussion.
Hopefully anti-spam technology will keep up with the spammers and eventually deter people from doing this.
Josh Fialkoff´s last blog post..How I Use Google Analytics to Maintain, Improve My Site
I’ve been getting so many weird comments lately. They come in late at night and make no sense. I thought pure spam but maybe they are paid comments. I’ll have to look at them a little closer next time.
Jay, I didn’t even know people paid for comments to be left on their behalf! Yikes…learn something new all the time.
monika´s last blog post..Atkinson NH A very special tree lighting
I don’t know if these are paid comments or not but I have gotten wise to them and don’t publish them. They are the ‘Nice writing style. I will come back again to read more.’ Or, ‘You should be journalist…’ The grammar is how it was here as it emanated from Russia. At first glance, they sound like a nice compliment until you scratch your head and wonder. Then you Google the whole phrase and see how many times that exact phrase wording has been used. A lot!
David Lorti´s last blog post..A Fantastic Toy Store in Scottsdale - Kidstop!
I get the same thing unfortunately on my blog as well, and I choose to delete them, but it can get rather annoying. I believe their is soo much to get spoken about on blog, especially in this market that individuals should just go and read blogs themselves. They maybe surprised that they will learn so much that will be valuable for their business!
Thanks so much for your valuable blog!
Prabhjit Singh
Prabhjit Singh´s last blog post..HPAP Funding Problems!
It wasn’t me! From time to time I do check links from other agents in Atlanta and find many, not just one are using this type of “link building” campaign.
Jay
After reading this–I’m going to start giving juice (undo no-follows).
It would be one thing if these people were engaging in the conversation but 99% of the stuff they post makes no sense what so ever. It’s the same issue with hiring someone to write content for you, most of the time the people interested are located in another country, now what do they know about your local real estate market?
Stop wasting your money and get involved!
Tony Sena´s last blog post..Seller Tips: Creating the Curb Appeal that Attracts Buyers
Jay - My daughter and I were talking about this just today. She runs several blogs as well and hasn’t had too many of these type of comments yet. I asked her if she thought they should be spammed or deleted. Right now she is still getting the “Great blog. Helpful information” She has been marking those spam. My favorite one, on my site lately, was a child psychiatric site in the UK that said they enjoyed my post on Halloween Events and that they would enjoy using the list. So, not only did they plan to fly to Albuquerque from the UK they would have been late since the comment was 2 weeks after Halloween.
Ashley Drake Gephart´s last blog post..Albuquerque Real Estate Maps - MLS Areas 51, 60, 71
Jay, I totally agree and I consider myself lucky; I guess my spam filters work great. Once in a while I get a couple and I pretty much delete them. I can’t stand “artificial” stuff.
Jim Gatos´s last blog post..Just released: Cost versus Value Report from 2008 (NAR) and what it means for you…
It’s sad that since the spam blockers have done their job of blocking automated spam comments, that people in third world countries are now being hired (at deplorable pay rates) to clog our blogs. But how do they get the math answer right
howard´s last blog post..[Are you nuts] Still flipping a house in Charleston
You are a better man than me. I spam these comments as it is a distraction and it seems someone is trying to get one over on me.
What is even more annoying is this type of comment that I am getting more and more of now.
Good comment
(then) blatant advertising pitch including a couple of urls.
While I love the comment the advertising pitch has to go. So I am deleting the pitch and posting the comment. It is a little more work but it helps everyone as opposed to just spamming the comment.
Tom at the Real Estate Bloggers´s last blog post..Leonardo DiCaprio Selling His Malibu Home For $8,999,000
Hi Jay, You’re nicer than a lot of us it sounds like. I tend to delete comments like that. It’s a waste of my time to try to figure out whether or not the comment is spam (paid for or not). If it’s real grey, then I might edit the comment by removing their web address. I delete more comments than I edit.
Rhonda Porter´s last blog post..Who’s Who with the Local Title Companies
Well you know it wasn’t me, either.
I’m with Tom on this one. I usually put them in the “spam” category.
Doug Quance´s last blog post..Are You A Candidate For A Short Sale Or A Foreclosure In Atlanta?
The paid blog comments are part of many of the services of Indian SEO companies, and I am sure many others as well. Its very prevalent from Indian SEOs. I personally dont recommend it, as they make too many spelling and grammatical errors. Linking services are not needed. They have been abused. If you really have to have some links, I would recommend doing a press release, or have good content that attracts comments. Thanks for the article on this as it caught my eye this morning. I dont like seeing poeple waste their money. Carla
I didn’t realize people paid for this service. Like others above, I used to delete but now I hit the Spam button. Enuf’s enuf!
What I don’t understand is why the spammers (try) to leave so many comments. Are there really that many bloggers that don’t have some sort of filter to catch and prevent those comments from getting through?
Hey Jay-
I struggle with this policy everyday - I removed the no-follow tags on comments on Geek Estate quite awhile ago, but Zillow Blog and Carnival of Real Estate (and my own personal blog) still have the standard no-follow tags on all comments. I’m still torn on what the right approach is, though I am trending towards do-follow being the right approach so as to encourage conversation (but I’m not sure getting SEO juice is the reason I want people leaving comments on my blog) and giving commenters the benefit of the doubt.
Elaine-
I’m with you — I don’t get why spammers still try to do it. I guess the cost is so low (virtually nothing), that there’s no reason not to keep doing it.
Odds are the people doing the comment spamming are the same ones who pass their cards out to every single person they come into contact with. They have no shame and see the world only as a marketing opportunity never thinking about the damage they are doing to their reputation.
I’ve been bombarded with spam links lately. It’s getting pretty frustrating. There is no need to hire someone to post blog comments for you. In my opinion, its just plain stupid. If you’re an agent that’s in this business for the long haul, you’ll want a good internet reputation. These spammers won’t last in the internet real estate “game”.
I did not realize you could pay someone to comment on blogs. I say just delete them and that takes away their ability to sale this type of service.
Tina´s last blog post..Luxury Cobb County Subdivision Featured in Marietta Daily Journal
I also see a lot of automated/script driven spams of links on my forms. Usually dealing with drugs or sex related. I do what I can to block them by using some spam blocking techniques on the form and thenwhat gets through gets physicially blocked by IP. Carla
Jay - I hope this is one of the topics that you cover in your session in NY. I am hoping to attend this years conference.
I just spam them. You are much kinder than I am.
Maureen Francis´s last blog post..Selling Your Oakland County Home During the Holidays
Jay,
I am glad you brought this up. Sadly I do think it falls into a couple of categories of why people get others to comment for them. I agree that people are “sold” on the search engine benefits, but I think they also see it as a shortcut to success. One of the best reasons to comment is you get to meet new people who usually are out of your area. The agents paying to have people comment will miss out on that opportunity and that is a bigger loss than any slight gain in the SERPs.
James Bridges´s last blog post..12 fast acting ways to get 3 new deals in 45 days
It sounds as if all this is a sign of the times and is going to perhaps get worse as markets continue to sour. Agents that don’t do their homework and are all too willing to part way with their hard earned money in an attempt to gain market share is a sad reality. From what I understand many search engines would view that type of blitz link building campaign as unnatural link building( if they are even successful at getting the link). Any sudden increase in the number of links pointing to a site could backfire and cause the site to be penalized…
You are very generous to take the time to notify these folks rather than spamming them. I admit - I spam the stuff. I can’t relate to the major disconnect that one experiences when they allow their online identity to be in the hands of anyone else. So much of blogging is the connection with others. To miss out on the opportunity for interaction that is anything other than authentic mystifies me.
Linsey´s last blog post..Trickle Up for OC Neighborhoods
Jay -
You are way too nice to take the time to track down the source of the comment and then contact the Realtor (going through AR even!). Most of us would just delete it and move on. But your detective work paid off with some great information.
Many Realtors that are newbies in the website/blogging world fall prey to these “sharks” and find it easier to spend the money than spending the time to learn how SEO works. I know I did (a few years ago.) Dumbest thing I ever did.
Vicki Walker´s last blog post..October Home Sales for Davis and Woodland
I have to agree with Vicki. I think you went above and beyond tracking the guy down. I’m starting to get a taste of what you deal with. There are always people that will try taking the easy route, but when it comes to your site you should always be thinking long term.
Charles Richey´s last blog post..St. Regis condos out
Wow. I would certainly be annoyed with paid comments like that which add nothing to the whole blog-o-sphere community we have here. I would agree that most of the gain you make from commenting is from the relationships you build online, but for me, as long as everyone is adding to the conversation, I would not mind if the comments are paid. Either way, they are reading and giving their two cents, and in these slower times, I can’t begrudge anyone finding a way to feed their families.
Leon Belenky-One Bal Harbour Condo Expert´s last blog post..Sayan Sunny Isles - Proximity to Wonder
I am with Jay. I tend to be a little more forgiving on comments. Sometimes new readers of blogs don’t know the etiquette
I just saw a comment I wrote earlier this year when I first started commenting on blogs. It went something like “nice post. I’ll be sure to visit again” Sounds like most of you would have sent it to the spam file.
Ned Carey´s last blog post..Lessons from Warren Buffett on Real Estate
If I google the exact comment and it comes up many more times in other blogs, it’s a no go. Just say something original and I will let it through.
David Lorti´s last blog post..Call Your Local Mortgage Expert Now!
Jay,
Great post, I wish I had written this : )
Glad you gave me 14 minutes to edit this. Saw it and knew I had written a dreaded “Great Post” comment.
Merry Christmas
Hi - I no followed my Blogger blog, I can deal with the spam comments and prefer to reward people that leave comments. Just a thought on the spam links - they may have hired a”good” seo company that was leaving these comments as part of their link building program unknown to the purchaser of the seo product. Just a thought.
Andy´s last blog post..Falling gas prices drive large vehicle sales
I had basically mentioned that before. Many SEO companies hire Indians to do blog postings. I own one of the 1st SEO companies online and we do not do blog postings. For one thing, it’s spam, and the other is that the Indians misspell too much. As far as linking goes, I wouldn’t hire someone to do linking. Do a press release and you will get plenty of excellent links from that, and actual people reading your article.
I didnt know there was a paid service out there that did this. That is crazy what people will pay for.