SEO UPDATES

There is a movement going around the blogosphere encouraging bloggers to remove the nofollow tag that is automatically added to comment links. The nofollow tag was implemented by Google to deter spammers from comment posting since their link wouldn’t count towards a vote for PageRank.

Looking to reward those who leave legitimate comments, bloggers have begun to install plugins or make other adjustments to their blogs that remove the nofollow attribute from comment links. It’s sort of a “thank you” gift to the person leaving the comment. There are even do follow badges that these bloggers can display on their blog showing that they do follow. It is a nice sentiment but it is being exploited by some leaving comments. These unwanted comments have caused some bloggers to go back to using nofollow on comments. Others are wondering if they should do the same.

The do follow movement is a good idea. It can help smaller blogs to build one way links and also encourages people to leave comments. The badge is a bad idea because it doesn’t take long for spammers to target those do follow blogs. This already seems to be happening and causing some to leave the fold.

Better spam plugins are being written everyday to combat those who try to exploit do follow blogs. It’s discouraging to see those trying to do something nice for their readership being exploited. Hopefully the do follow movement will survive since in theory it can be a great way to build one way links to your blog.

There is a new company - BuyBlogComments.com - that will actually make spam comments on your behalf to blogs. This is just a bad idea no matter how you look at it. Buyer beware of buying such comments for these reasons.

Comments that look either generic or generated might be past the spam filter of a website but not the blogger. Most bloggers keep a check on their comments as they should. If something looks spammy, then most likely they will mark it as spam or just delete it altogether.

While most blogging platforms use the nofollow tag in comments, some plugins or workarounds have been developed for bloggers to turn off the nofollow. What this means is that those comment links now pass a “vote” to Google for that website  when Google updates the PageRank. A lot of bloggers have been proudly displaying their choice to turn off the nofollow tag. Sadly, it hasn’t taken long for someone to decide to exploit this.

BuyBlogComments.com promises to place comments on these blogs that have disabled the nofollow tag. The problem is that these bloggers really care about their comments and the people who comment. So they are extremely diligent when it comes to moderating comments. Let a batch of spam-like comments start hitting all of these blogs, and bloggers will get the word out. They can possibly delete the comments or even blacklist the IP of the commentor.

If you want links from comments, take the time and comment yourself. You will gain the “vote” from the link. You might also gain readership if your comments are well thought out. People will click your website to want to read more of your work.

It has been almost 3 months since the last Google dance, the name given to when Google reconfigures PageRanks. The Google dance happens every three months and there is already speculation from the exact date of the dance to reports of fluttering PageRanks.

For about a week, webmasters will notice a possible change in their PageRank. It may fall to no PR(PageRank) or jump suddenly only to fall back down again. When this happens, this is usually the most obvious sign that Google is updating the PageRanks. Some people are already reporting an influx in their PageRank while others are saying the July 21st will be the PR update.

While Google hasn’t released an exact date, what we do know is that last update was in April, so it is time for another PR update. Google will visit each site and evaluate it. Each link is a “vote” for a website. How much weight that vote counts varies on the PR of the website. A link from a high PR website is weighted more than a link from a PR 0.

Since the update hasn’t happened yet, there is still time to work on securing backlinks to your website before the Google dance.  Take part in link exchanges, write compelling content, or leave comments on blogs are all ways to get links. Get busy, because we may not know the day of the dance begins but we do know that one is coming very soon.