If you are interested in SEO for your blog then you are definitely interested in whether or not the blogs that you are commenting on are “NoFollow” or “DoFollow” blogs.
What’s the big deal about that?
There is a lot of buzz around the blogging world on this topic – and for good reason!
We have plenty of reasons for wanting to comment on other blogs (for more information on why this is see my post Commenting on Other Blogs Benefits YOU!) and one reason is definitely to get the back link.
What many people don’t realize (I know that I didn’t!) is that not all blogs are set to give you the back link that you want. Those blogs are called NoFollow. The blogs which do give the back links are called DoFollow.
If you are using a self-hosted WordPress blog (for more information on WordPress, see my post Why WordPress?) then you need to know that your blog is automatically set up as a NoFollow blog!
That was certainly news to me when I found that out! I thought the complete opposite, that WordPress was set up as a DoFollow blog. I thought that I was giving back links to all of my commentors! Oops.
On the bright side I have had comment luv up and running since the get-go so at least I’ve been giving them some advertising even though I wasn’t giving them the back links.
There’s a plug-in for that!
Go to your plug-in page and and find the plug-in conveniently called “DoFollow” and install and activate it and you will be hosting a DoFollow blog! That was easy!
BUT make sure that you have also activated an anti-spam plug-in. My personal favorite is WP-SpamFree, in about three months time it has blocked about 200 spam comments from my blog! A very tiny few still slip by, but that’s because they take the time to post some relevant looking comment. But on the rare occasion that does happen I mark them as spam and I don’t hear back from them again! Some people also like the Captcha plug-in but I am not a fan. Seriously, it’s not needed if you use WP-SpamFree.
Okay so now you know if YOUR blog is a DoFollow or a NoFollow…
How do you know what the blog that you are about to comment on is??
1.) The Clever Marketer has created a very nice badge that people can put on their blogs. That’s one easy way to tell really quickly if the blog is a DoFollow blog. You can grab her badge for your own blog and you can also read her great blog post on the topic: Is Blog Commenting an Ineffective Waste of Time for SEO?
2.) Josh Garcia put together a great video on his blog about how you can find this out on blogs that don’t have the handy badge. There is no point in going over what he has already said because he has said it perfectly: How to Tell if the Blog You Commenting on is a NoFollow or DoFollow Blog.
Is it worth my time to comment on a NoFollow blog?
Yes, it can still be worth your time. You are still building a community with other bloggers, you are still learning from other bloggers, you are still offering value when you comment, and people may still click the link to visit your blog if they like what you have to say. Especially if the blog has the comment luv plug-in!
But if all that you are interested in is the back link then no, obviously it would not be worth your time. Hopefully that is not the case and if it is then you really shouldn’t be leaving comments in the first place.
Thank you for reading! I'm Stacy, the owner of this blog. You can learn more about me here.
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Hi Stacy!
Awesome post! I’m so glad that my post on DoFollow vs NoFollow helped you. Thank you so much for the mention and the link!
I love your blog, it’s beautiful!
Thanks again!
Heather
Heather C Stephens invites you to read… Facing A Fear of Video Marketing for a Network Marketing Internet Business
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Stacy Reply:
August 10th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
Thank you, Heather!
I’m so glad that I found your blog through Ty Tribble’s blog comments today! I am definitely going to be following you regularly!
Your post on NoFollow and DoFollow was so helpful! I’ve read other posts on the topic but yours was so clear and concise it really stood out!
Thanks again,
Stacy
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I didn’t know about this. I’ll have to look for these plug ins. Thanks!
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Like you, I pretty much presumed WordPress would be a do-follow. Got it fixed, now, thanks to your tips!
Scraps invites you to read… Catching Up- Arts 1-7
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I never knew that. I like to comment anyway just to get the conversation going with others who are interested in the same subjects I am. Will look into that plugin.
Unplanned Cooking invites you to read… What can you do with all that zucchini
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Important topic to be aware of – thanks for the post, Stacy.
I’d love to add a small change to your definition of NoFollow blogs – it’s not that they don’t give you a link (the link still counts as a link), but they won’t pass any authority or trust to your blog.
So if you get a link for say a PR 5 page, a DoFollow link will carry some of that PR 5 back to your blog, so that Google will say – “wow, they got a link from a PR 5 page, this blog must be pretty good”. If the link is NoFollow however, it’s just a link.
Thanks for having me!
Ana
Ana | Traffic Generation Cafe invites you to read… How To Rank Well For Your Inner Pages
[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
August 11th, 2010 at 6:02 pm
Ana, thank you so much for your comment! I appreciate you sharing the differences between the follow links, I understand how it works a lot better now!
Stacy
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Hey Stacy,
Great job! Thank you for putting in the effort to explain this. Because of all the buzz on the internet about this, I have set my blog to be a “Do Follow” blog, so I don’t feel guilty about having a “No Follow” blog anymore.
Thanks,
Wayne
Wayne Wu invites you to read… How to get Quick Results in MLM before Frustration Sets In!
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Hi! Stopping by from MBC. Great blog.
Have a nice day!
veronica lee invites you to read… Miniland Zoo
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Hey Stacy
I believe that the ComLuv plugin provides a DoFollow link even though your WordPres blog may be defaulted to a NoFollow one.
Always a good idea to add the DoFollow plugin though.
Peter Fuller MBA invites you to read… Does Your Home Business Make You Feel Uncomfortable
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Hi Stacy,
Really nice post! I was clueless about this when I first started blogging and stumbled on it and have since made sure mine is a DoFollow as well as participating in the blogs that are also DoFollow. Thanks for sharing and helping those that aren’t aware of this
.
Janette
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Wow! I think you know what you are talking about! This is very good info. I really had no idea and I’m not sure how mine is set up since it’s not self-hosted. (?) Hmmm..
I have tried to get a comment luv plug in, but just can’t figure out how to add (again to non self-hosted – maybe someone is trying to tell me something). Same thing with adding a blogfrog widget.
That’s why I love running across plethora’s of bloggy info like yours.
Angelia Sims invites you to read… Grounded Again! A Story of Youth
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Thanks for the tip on the plugin. I’ve installed it and am good to go. In other news, I think I’m turning into a plugin junkie!
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Hey! I’ve always wondered how to make a blog “do follow”. Thanks for the plugin link! Any particular reason you don’t recommend akismet? It’s always seem to work fine on my blogs.
Cheers!
Ian
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Stacy Reply:
August 13th, 2010 at 8:12 pm
Ian, thanks for the comment! I am really happy with the WP-SpamFree and I haven’t tried Akismet but from what I’ve heard people generally need the captcha code to go along with it and I’ve never needed captcha with WP-SpamFree. I’m glad to hear that it’s been working for you!
Stacy
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I’m stopping by from the Lady Bloggers Social Tea Party and I’m so glad I did. There is so much helpful information on here, I hardly know where to start. I love your blog and will definitely be following you and checking back regularly. Thanks! Liz
Liz invites you to read… Morning Routines
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I want my blog to be a “Do Follow” but I am using blogger. Is there a function I am missing??
Denice
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Stacy Reply:
August 15th, 2010 at 6:33 pm
Denise, Thanks for stopping by! I don’t know if blogger is set up as a nofollow or dofollow, I’m sorry!
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Hi Stacy!
I’m new to your blog. Could you go a little more in depth about nofollow versus dofollow? I’m a little confused. (Surprise, surprise).
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Stacy Reply:
August 15th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
Hi Roo, It is regarding SEO and ranking. If you aren’t familiar with those please click the category on the left for “Blogging” and you will find more information from my other posts! Thanks for stopping by!
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[...] leaving you comments! It allows them to link back to their most recent post. It also provides a d0-follow link! One thing that I love about it when leaving comments is that I can click the arrow after my post [...]
Oh I just moved my blog to wordpress and I didn’t know this! Great info and you made it easy to understand. I am still figuring out wordpress which is interesting itself. I always have to click add new and then search for the plugins. Is that normal? I have no idea!
LOL
Please feel free to stop by: Trailing After God
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Thanks once again. I read the ebook and found my way back over here on this issue. LOL. I also have 2 new plug ins to try out…over the next few days, of course. (Glad you told me that, btw.)
michelle invites you to read… Survivor-You get the lion baby
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Stacy Reply:
March 9th, 2011 at 2:52 pm
Hi Michelle,
How are all of the new plugins working for you?
Stacy
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THANK YOU.
I must be doing something wrong with the comment plug in. I asked a friend if she was getting a message that I was replying to her comments and she said no. Should I be only replying to it in my dashboard comments section? and then when I do reply from there there are actually two “reply” links. So which one is the right one? I’m overthinking this, aren’t I? LOL…but i’m doing something wrong.
I havent gotten ONE spam since I installed the spam check box. MAGIC-ed, as my son would say. LOL
[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 9th, 2011 at 4:40 pm
Hi Michelle,
I typically reply from my dashboard because I find it to be much faster. I use the top [Reply] option where the box comes up and when I post the comment I click “Nested Reply”. I assume that when I reply to comments from my main blog that the message are sent, but now I am curious!
Stacy
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Stacy Reply:
March 9th, 2011 at 4:42 pm
Michelle,
I’m replying from my blog itself, please let me know if you get an email for this reply.
Stacy
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I did. Hmmm….wonder why mines not working? Is there a setting that I could change, that you know of?
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Stacy Reply:
March 9th, 2011 at 5:41 pm
Go into Settings and then WP Thread Comment and see what your settings are. One that I had wrong for a while was “Edit Comment Form ID” and I had to put “commentform” in the box and then I was able to reply to comments on the blog. Before that nobody could reply to a specific post, much less get an email about it.
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Okay, changed that. I’ll see if it will work now. I appreciate your help. sometimes i cant get people to even reply to my questions..and here you are helping me figure this out. It’s why i keep coming back to your blog.
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Stacy Reply:
March 9th, 2011 at 8:56 pm
I’m happy to help, I know how hard it is to figure things on on my own so that’s why I like to help others!
Let me know if I can help some more.
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Good plugin. THanks for the post.
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[...] leaving you comments! It allows them to link back to their most recent post. It also provides a d0-follow link! One thing that I love about it when leaving comments is that I can click the arrow after my post [...]
Wow, I had no clue my blog was a nofollow! Thanks for the great tip Stacy
As always absolutely love reading your posts.
Sonal Chopra invites you to read… Stop Procrastinating And Become An Action Hero
[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
May 18th, 2011 at 9:58 am
I’m glad to help! I never knew mine was either until someone told me!
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[...] Digg If you are blogging, especially with a dofollow blog, then you are probably aware of how prevalent faceless commenting has [...]
Thanks for this, Stacy. I use the DoFollow plugin on my blog. I use a Chrome tool bar that tells me whether or not comments are DoFollow links (the NoFollow links show up with red highlighting). I believe it is from SEOQuake. It is free, and tells you how your comment will be treated.
Astro Gremlin@humor about wealth invites you to read… How to Be an Eccentric Billionaire
[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
January 15th, 2012 at 3:32 pm
That sounds very useful! Thank you for sharing!
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[...] Give DoFollow links. [...]