Tricky But White Hat Link Building Technique

by Jack Humphrey on Jun 5

Disclaimer:  This can be massively abused.  Please note that I am not at all condoning the use of this tactic to spam blogs!

Finding CommentLuv blogs to comment on

This is pretty obvious once you soak it in, so there isn’t much detail to this tip.  CommentLuv is a WordPress plugin that allows your blog to search for your commentators’ last blog post.  (if they have a blog and they put their blog address in the URL field when making a comment on your blog)

CommentLuv will go to their site, check to see if its a blog, check to see their last post, grab the link and the title of that post, and come back to YOUR blog and put the title of their last post which is also linked.

You can go through some of my older posts and see it in action or check out my post on the CommentLuv plugin to see how it works.

CommentLUV links are pretty valuable, even if they are no-follow links.

I have noticed a significant increase in the number of clicks from blog comments I’ve made on sites using CommentLuv.  Obviously, people are given a convenient link to click on with the title of my last post which sells the click well if I’ve made a good headline (title) for the post.

Given that fact, I have done searches in my niche to find out which of my fellow internet marketing bloggers are using CommentLuv.

Here’s how to Google and find all the CommentLuvers in your niche:

keyword “Enable CommentLuv which will”

Put your umbrella keyword for your niche in the keyword area.  It can be a phrase like “blog marketing” or just one keyword like “marketing.”

You will turn up dozens if not hundreds of blogs using this plugin and talking about your topic.

Now you can go get into the discussion on these blogs (making REAL and VALUABLE comments!) and also pick up that extra link CommentLuv puts on the bottom of your comments.

Food for Thought:  What other popular WordPress plugins can you think of that work like CommentLuv to do similar searches?

Example:  If there were a popular plugin a lot of bloggers use to reward their most active commentators with a link in their sidebar, (Top 5 Most Active Members, e.g.) you can isolate text from that plugin that is pretty unique, put it in quotes with your keyword as above, and find every blog using that plugin so you can become active on those sites.

Tagged as: commentluv, finding commentluv users, Link Building

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  • http://www.thepassivedad.com Scott @ The Passive Dad

    Akismet has been good, but I notice that sometimes it will classify a friendly blogger as spam? I’ve had this happen 4 times and so I have to go through each and every spam comment to make sure legit comments are accepted. Kind of a pain, but I guess Akismet will learn who they are eventually.

    I’d like to try comment luv on my blog and see if it generates more comments. The other question of course, how to encourage people to subscribe to the RSS feed? Some good plugins for this, but I wonder how many “organic” google users will know what an RSS does.

  • http://www.jackhumphrey.com/ Jack Humphrey

    Yeah Akismet isn’t nearly perfect but imagine all those spams being dumped in your comments folder every day with the good comments – would be even worse! (And it does learn from you.)

    People don’t and will not know what RSS is for a long time, if ever. The regular surfer uses this technology without knowing it. The only people who talk about RSS are the people in the know – but we shouldn’t heap jargon like that on our visitors.

    That’s why I have people subscribe to RSS via email through FeedBlitz. They never need to know what the technical meaning of RSS is to take advantage of it.

    Microsoft Messenger is peer-to-peer networking. But they don’t CALL it that and hundreds of thousands of people who use it don’t care. They just use it and that’s it.

    RSS is the same. The reason it is so hard for people to get visitors to “subscribe to RSS” is they are asking people to do that instead of subscribing to their blog!

    Only the website owner need know that the information is delivered via their RSS feed. Regular visitors, for all they know and care, are simply subscribing to a blog.

  • http://cranialsoup.blogspot.com app

    I can’t remember where I read it, but it seems that only 5% of internet users actually use a feed reader (desktop or web based) and subscribe to RSS feeds. (was a believable source, which is the only reason why the number stuck with me)

    I have spent more time educating people about the concept of RSS feeds and feed readers, than promoting my own feed. (although I start all friends out with an opml that contains all my feeds :D )

    I am also amazed at how many people have misconceptions on the usefulness of feeds…people that should know better.

    About a year ago I contacted a tech savvy developer that writes some really great but infrequent articles & essays that I enjoy reading & sharing, to urge him to consider adding a feed to his site. He replied to tell me that feeds are only for blogs and sites that have new content on a daily basis. (what a job I had educating him!)

    He eventually added the feed (probably to get me to stfu & leave him alone), and not only is he keeping it up to date with his latest article when he publishes one, he is now also announcing new software and updates to existing applications, as I also suggested. (Success!)

    Common people that have no clue, click the link for your feed on your blog and are taken to a page they don’t understand, and if it is all in XML, they get confused or think there is something wrong. This was why bloggers started using FeedBurner initially.

    So Jack is right about offering the option to subscribe to the feed by email. This is especially important if your content isn’t targeted at other bloggers (they usually understand feeds better than most).

    Newsletters and email announcements, common people understand…feeds, they don’t.

    apps last blog post..Free MP3 Download: Eldad Lidor

  • http://www.fiddyp.co.uk Andy Bailey

    @jack: I got your response by the email subscription on this post and had to come back and say that you’ve got a really good point there about asking organic surfers to subscribe to your blog rather than saying subscribe to your feed, I asked someone once if they subscribed to a sites feed and they said they didn’t see the feed, they just subscribed to the blog instead. hahaha

    Andy Baileys last blog post..Beating the beta out

  • http://whitechalkroad.com Eran Malloch – No B.S. Search Engine Marketing blog

    This 1 tip – in conjunction with the (final!) launch of our blog – has changed my link building totally! :-)

    I had fun the other day searching for ontopic blogs with commentluv and posting comments on them, AND the joy of seeing a link to our newest blog post as a gift for adding value to the conversation was great! :-)

    Thanks for the great tip Jack, and I’ll be on the lookout for other plugins that I can use in a similar way, as you suggested.

    Eran

    Eran Malloch – No B.S. Search Engine Marketing blogs last blog post..5 Top AdWords Landing Page Tips

  • http://www.buildingfromnothing.com Anna

    That’s a good point! I didn’t really understand RSS for years, to be honest. And it put me off from using it. I think I will remember to switch my messages over “subscribe to this blog.” Much better!

  • http://www.bytetips.com Bytetips

    I tried to use CommentLuv wordpress Plugin in my Blog. But i heard from other bloggers that dofollow comment can Damage Blog rank. Some bloggers told me that if i use Dofollow plugins google will sap me for having too many links. I m new in blogging i can’t decide i should use it or not.

    Bytetipss last blog post..Completely Remove Old Data From Your PC

  • http://www.paunchiness.com Paunchiness

    hehe…I found your site by doing that same thing.

    I had to install the dofollow plugin on my blog because commentluv wouldn’t do it by itself. I’m wondering if there’s something in the newer releases of wordpress that break it. Or, maybe it was something in my theme.

    Either way, I do enjoy the commentluv… especially the new version that lets you choose which post to add in your comments. Check it out on my site and download it from you know where…

  • http://www.zurich-beauty.com Chicago Salon Equipment Blog

    Using askimet is a must when dealing with such a great tool like commentluv. I also heard that it can hurt your overall ranking if you have many dofollow links on your blog. Do you think that comments originating from commentluv parsed feeds are going to damage SE ranking?

  • http://www.empire-beauty.com/archive Gigi Barber Chairs

    How to monetize or make use of RSS other then using it for feed plugins like commentluv? I’m really new at these kind of stuff and trying to figure rss out seems to me like a “mission impossible” (no, really!)

    Could you send me some links of pages explaining rss? (“for dummies” would be just fine, thanks :) )

    Cheers!

  • http://top40mp3andlyrics.blogspot.com doug

    i guess i will make a move to wordpress.. blogspot won’t allow this..

    dougs last blog post..All American Rejects – Gives You Hell Mp3 N Lyrics

  • http://www.tsheets.com Time Tracker

    Great writeup Jack! There’s also the highly underrated KeywordLuv plugin:

    http://www.scratch99.com/wordpress-plugin-keywordluv/

    Time Trackers last blog post..T-Mobile halts Android orders while iPhone goes unlocked in Hong Kong

  • http://www.moreinternetincome.com Bob

    Being new to blogging in general and wordpress in particular, I always appreciate find posts like this. I have to admit that I am confused about DoFollow and CommentLuv and what works with what after reading the comments. I will read everything again and see if I can get myself straightened out.. Thanks for the information.

  • http://www.lifeofjustin.com Justin Wright

    Thanks for the great information. CommentLuv is a great tool to help make your blog standout and give your readers some link love. I used to have it on my blog but for some reason it stopped working. I am working on getting it back up as soon as possible.

    Justin Wrights last blog post..An Interview With Tim Ferriss

  • http://retailcontacts.com Daniel

    On the subject of getting links to help your site,

    I don’t think it’s quite fair to say that commentluv is a cheap trick to cheat the system.
    First of all it does take a lot of time to build links and actual effort. You can’t just leave a bunch of crap comments on a blog that don’t add to the conversation. With that in mind, commentluv and keywordluv help all parties involved as long as Akismit is activated on the blog. The post gets real comments that add to the interest of the article and the value of the page. Because the more comments your page has, the more google likes it. In return the commenter gets a couple links to his site with relavent key terms. It’s not parasitical but rather symbiotic, so no one is getting cheated.

    Second, links are not gonna help you dominate someone’s site that has many years invested and is already recognized by google as an authoritative site. They will only help you rank for terms that there is no authority which means that you’re not robbing someone of their hard work or time vested.

    Third, if you don’t have relevant content on your site it would take tens of thousands of links to get anywhere. Plus google doesn’t give a crap about how many links you have if your site isn’t relevant, so the first person that knows anything about SEO or internet marketing in general can get you de-indexed in minutes. And there are a lot of internet marketers out there, so even if a black hat does make $20 from spamming commentluv or keywordluv sites and ranking for a few hours, they are not in it for the long run and will shortly lose all value of whatever domain they are using.

    So overall commentluv and keywordluv are awesome tools that don’t really help scam artists.

    PS: Thanks a lot for the post. It’s good info for people that are just getting into blogging. It let’s them know right off the bat that you can’t prosper as a black hat. everyone I know that used to do it says they would go back and stop themselves if they could.

    Daniels last blog post..Cosmetic Contacts

  • http://theinternetmarketingmaven.com Joan

    I’m using CommentLuv on my blog now, but I hesitated because of the potential spam problem. I asked some bloggers who are using it if it was a big issue, and they all agreed that it wasn’t. They said they did get some spam, but they also got some great comments. So I’ll see how it goes. So far, so good.

    Joans last blog post..Make Your Landing Page Relevant to Your Keywords

  • http://cranialsoup.blogspot.com app

    There is something else you need to know about CommentLuv and commenting on blogs that use it, and that is that your link is not just appearing on the page in which you left the comment.

    In many cases your link is also being sent by email to everyone that is subscribed to that post’s comments.

    And yes, some of us do check those links and click the ones that catche our eyes.

    I have clicked a few from this post, in my email, so you are getting additional traffic, even if the links in my email have no SEO benefits to you.

    And that is what it’s about…getting traffic, any way you can. It’s not about SEO, at all.

    apps last blog post..[Blog Action Day] The American Spaghetti Crisis: Part 2 (Our Nation’s Starving Students)

  • http://www.ascendtraining.com/ Taylor

    As long as you have something relevant to add to the discussion I think CommentLuv is a great feature for both parties. The blogger is getting relevant discussion and the reader is rewarded with a good link back to their site for contributing. Hopefully CommentLuv will help rid the blogging community of spammers.

  • http://www.linkhunts.com Eric

    I agree with Taylor, CommentLuv is great feature for users
    if it goes both ways, thou Its not sure if Google likes it.

  • http://www.syedtaha.com/link-building/free-directory-submission/20/ link building

    i think building links using comment love is right as long as we leave relevant comments and write something that makes sense as this also helps the website gain some authority as well as content.

    link buildings last blog post..Advertise On Your Competitors Website

  • http://biznz.org Rhys

    Hi -
    You said; “CommentLUV links are pretty valuable, even if they are no-follow links.” I agree, but just wish more CommentLuv plugin users would also use DoFollow, so that we would ALL benefit.

    Rhyss last blog post..CommentLuv Guarantees Premium Keyword Backlinks

  • http://www.thegearedinvestor.com The Geared Investor

    Nice post. I found out how important commenting on other blogs was when I was contacted by a well known financial blog who now wants to feature my articles on their site. This will more than double my traffic, so it was the ultimate reward. Nice article.

    The Geared Investors last blog post..How to Use My Forex Signals: Grab Pips, Get Out

  • http://bingungin.blogspot.com/ deden

    I’ve just done my CommentLuv installation on my personal blog, its great as far as I can see.

    It push me and other reader backto basic on Link Building, U Comment – I Follow and so on. I’m a little bit curiuos to some web which promising a linkback, or social networking like Techn0rat1 or some other.

    I think the best link building is U Comment I Follow method plus CommentLuv, i looking forward to Blogspot to make an official/default tool based on CommentLuv

    dedens last blog post..CommentLuv untuk Blogger

  • http://moneyamulet.com Money Amulet

    Commentluv is a really great plugin/ i`m use it on my blog too

    Money Amulets last blog post..Investment tips in crysis times

  • http://intellectualcapitalreport.com Augie

    I tried installing commentluv, but for some reason it jacked up my theme, so I had to deactivate it. It’s a good concept, though.

    Augies last blog post..When the bank won’t be the bank, the real estate investor can be the bank

  • http://www.yourbeboskins.com bebo skins

    great blog you got here jack thanks for the tips also, love the way you respond to some of the idiots on here :D

  • http://lbug.co.uk Lbug

    The problem is CommentLuv doesn’t choose the most appropriate post to link to, just the most recent.

  • http://www.gominisitetemplates.com George

    CommentLuv…what’s next? CommentLust?

    I get tons of spam on one of my blogs…50% of the time it doesn’t even relate to the page in a way that’s recognizable. And the other 50% is crap.
    Once in a while I think I might see a real comment…but not very often.

    If you use CommentLuv…use it with diginity…that’s all.

  • http://zabava.in.rs horoskop

    That’s why people are insane if they don’t use Akismet plugin and moderate their comments.

  • http://www.zoomilife.com Electric Vehicle Blog

    Wow thanks so much for the tip above, it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for – I’m just getting into link building for my own blog through blog backlinks, and this tip along with all the others I’ve seen in the comments will really help. CommentLuv – what a great idea!

    Electric Vehicle Blogs last blog post..Military To Go Electric With 4000 New Electric Vehicles

  • http://www.bellydancematernity.com/bella-band-c-167.html John@Bella Band

    Keywordluv and Commentluv are two great tools for rewarding readers for adding relevant discussion to your blog. The reader is rewarded with a valuable backlink for contributing to the conversation.

  • http://www.MelvinG.com Melvin

    CommentLuv do bring me to your site.. interesting plugin… will get one for my blog hehe..But will it attract more spammer to your blog?

    Melvins last blog post..From Drab to Fabulous

  • http://linklanka.com Mike

    I love commentluv and it’s also introduced to me to new sites like yours. Which is totally cool.

    Mikes last blog post..Do you know how many website owners don’t make money on line

  • http://basicsofseo.com raj

    I think if the no follow tag is on the page then it renders commentluv pretty much useless since normal users rarely go through comments clicking on links. I installed it on my blog and removed the no follow tag and will be curious down the line on what effect it has on those commenting.

    rajs last blog post..CommentLuv and NoFollow Free

  • http://20mb.ru Alex

    i guess i will make a move to wordpress.. blogspot won’t allow this..

  • http://affiliatefunnelsystems.net/ Hanna @ Afiliate Funnel Systems

    Keyword Luv is a fantastic plugin. I just don’t understand why all blogger don’t use it. I know I would not blog without it.

    Hannas last blog post..Just Who Are You Buying From?

  • http://skitipsfitness.com Kim@Conditioning Exercises For Downhill Skiing

    These kinds of plugins must be the best that have happened for all bloggers around the globe. Effective White Hat! An increased number of backlinks brings more visitors and more quality comments, that’s what we all want. I’m thinking about installing the Keyword LUV plugin on my own WordPress blog as soon as possible.

    Kims last blog post..Ski Strength Training

  • http://www.gencprens.com izle

    Keyword Luv is a fantastic plugin. I just don’t understand why all blogger don’t use it. I know I would not blog without it.

  • http://watchlivetourdefrance.info/ Hanna @ Watch Live Tour de France

    Yes, of course, Comment Luv attracts spammers as well. But it’s got some many benefits that it’s worth it. I love it, especially when I use it along with Keyword Luv.

  • http://chandrawijaya.com Chandra Wijaya

    Nice.. i never thought about it. Thanks for sharing. ;)

  • http://www.wigsonlinestore.com vicky@Synthetic wigs

    Hi,
    Keywordluv and commentluv are really amazing keywords for our blogs.
    Commentluv also attacks the spammers as well.
    Thanks for sharing.

  • http://www.wigsonlinestore.com hari@Hair extensions

    Hi,
    Nice information.
    The guidelines mentioned are really helpful for link building.As these are whit hat processes so no fear for loosing trust of Google.
    I will try this for my website.
    Thanks for sharing.

  • http://netheights.com Seo Manchester

    Hi,
    Very useful post for the beginner of SEO.
    Keywordluv and commentluv are very useful tool for blogging.keywordluv allow us to leave our name in the name field.Thanks for sharing the post.

  • http://www.palacevip.com/ admin@london_escorts

    I agree with you SEO manchester, I’m a newbie in seo world and I really appreciate these two great tools for blogging. Really helps a lot!! =)

  • http://rakebacktakeback.com Rob – Rakeback Poker

    Another tip I thought I’d share that I use (along the same lines) is:

    Google this – keyword “Enter YourName@YourKeywords” to find keywordluv blogs.

  • http://www.infohypothecaire.com/assurance/assurance-hypothecaire.html Adam@assurance hypothecaire

    Nice article. I just noticed there aren’t any list of the Do-Follow blogs anymore…but I’ve got a question [I'm still kinda new in d seo thingy] if you could assist me with. Are “No-Follow” links completely irrelevant to google? cos there was a site i pasted a link on, i clearly saw it was a “no-follow” link [with the seo firefox thing] but google soon acknowledged it, and credited me for it.

    • http://www.jackhumphrey.com/ Jack Humphrey

      @Adam – I never believed the no follow thing would effectively render the linked site “invisible” to Google. It is just a way to say “I don’t vouch for this site personally” but doesn’t, of course, mean that Google won’t follow the links and decide how it wants to deal with the link and resulting site on its own. Clearly, Google does use and react to no follow links.

  • http://www.watchlivetvoncomputer.com/ Heidi @ Watch Live TV

    I am with Jack on this one. I can’t believe that Google won’t follow just because we tell it not to. Google does what Google wants to do, whenever and whichever way they want to. They seem to be lording over the Internet and all the rest of us need to do is please them as best as we can.

  • http://www.wigsonlinestore.com vicky@Wigs birmingham

    Hi,
    These kinds of plugins must be the best that have happened for all bloggers around the globe.I think if the no follow tag is on the page then it renders commentluv pretty much useless since normal users rarely go through comments clicking on links.
    Thanks.

  • http://www.playwithroger.com vijendra@Top 10 games

    Hi,
    I think if the no follow tag is on the page then it renders commentluv pretty much useless since normal users rarely go through comments clicking on links.I do believe that there are tricks like comment love and keywordluv that can aid in those endeavors.
    While if you misuse it then it will cost you.
    Thanks for sharing.

  • http://www.onebagatatime.com/ reusable bag

    I think that CommentLuv is just invented for those who want to see people and to communicate with them. Bloggers get what they want. But, why cannot bloggers thank for commenting and visiting their sites by dofollow links? I think, initially, all comment plugins were created dofollow.

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