I just got word from Andy Bailey that the new premium version of the highly anticipated CommentLuv plugin for WordPress will be available to a limited number of beta-testers soon. I’m a huge fan of CommentLuv and I hope to be one of the select few who get to try it out first. Those of us who use CommentLuv, might need to spend more time moderating comments than those that don’t. Either way, here are some tips that I’d like to share with you about how I moderate comments on Basic Blog Tips. You might not agree with them all, but keep in mind that we probably have different goals for our blogs – that’s one of the beautiful things about blogging right? So here goes!
Fight Spam with GASP
First and foremost, if you have a self-hosted WordPress blog you need a plugin to guard against spam! It’s just a fact of life. If you set up a blog, the spammers are going to show up. We all want traffic, but this is NOT the kind of traffic we want to attract. I highly recommend the GrowMap Anti-Spambot Plugin or GASP (also created by Andy Bailey). While it’s not perfect, it’s the best spam fighting plugin I’ve ever used. Many people like to use Akismet, and I won’t debate with about it here (but there IS a good Akismet debate going on over at my blog) I just want to make sure you’re doing something to fight against those dreadful spammers.
Moderate Comments Quickly
Try to visit your WordPress dashboard frequently to moderate comments. I normally do so within the first few hours after a comment is posted. This is a great way to keep your readers interested in your posts and making frequent visits to your blog. For me there’s nothing worse than leaving a comment on a blog and the blog owners let’s it sit in moderation for days on end. That tells me that they don’t value my comment and they don’t really want to interact or grow their blog’s community. I’m sure you have run across those kinds of blogs in the past and as a result, you don’t waste your time commenting again. You’re also are reluctant to share those blog posts with your social networks so your friends can avoid the disappointment as well.
How to Handle Link Builders
Ah!! Link builders…hmmm this is a toughy. What I mean by that is – we’re all link builders right? So what’s wrong with that? Did you know there are people who pay someone else to leave comments for them so they can build links for their blogs and websites? Yep, I know it’s hard to believe but it happens. LOL
Well just like anything else, there’s a right way and a wrong way to do almost everything. And it really doesn’t matter if someone is outsourcing their linkbuilding and commenting but one thing they need to do is actually read the post so they can comment intelligently. This is one area where you need to use your own judgement in determining what you will allow and what you send to the trash bin.
If you’re strict about the use of Gravatars and keywords consider posting a comment policy to save time in the long run. Just keep in mind that your blog will NOT be doomed if you give away a link or two every now and then.
Now let’s hear from you. What comment moderation tips do you have to share with us?
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