It comes as no surprise that as in most things in life, blogging has its own set of rules, blogging etiquette if you will. Since most blogging is about building a community with other bloggers, it is important to consider how we affect others in our responses on their sites. New bloggers may be unaware, and unfortunately a lot of experienced bloggers could care less about comment etiquette. They run rogue about the blogosphere making irrelevant noise, complaining if they are not recognized.

Commenting is a privilege, not a right. A blogger does not have to allow comments on their blog. If a blogger does allow blog comments it is no guarantee that all comments they receive will be published. Ensure your blog comments are published by considering blog commenting etiquette, which could be rules either implied as the standard in the blogosphere or rules that the blogger specifically published on their blog.

Suggestions for commenting on a blog appropriately:

Follow the rules
Look for rules on commenting at the blog you will comment on.

Read past comments
Familiarize yourself with the previous comments left at the blog. What comments are published? Does the blogger respond to each blog comment? Is he engaged in his blog’s content?

Know the blog’s topic
Is your content similar to the blog if you are looking for a future link exchange or backlink? Commenting on non-related blogs and leaving a link to an unrelated site usually guarantees your comment will be sent to the trash or spam folder.

Identify yourself
Posting as a person is much more personable than posting as a website or keyword. At the very least leave a signature with your first name if different from your username. If possible, never go out of your way to post as “anonymous”.

Post a relevant comment
Become engaged and find a post of interest to you and other readers. Posting on a page that is never seen or choosing any blog post or the most recent post and leaving a short comment of a few words (i.e. “good post”, “I agree”, etc.) is close to spam. The comment recipient easily recognizes and dismisses this as someone trying to get a backlink.

Be brief
Some bloggers feel the need to write an article in response to a post. Brevity is key in getting your comment published. A lengthy comment or ranting response to a blog post or another commenter’s comment might be a turnoff. If it is respectful, but lengthy, consider turning it into a blog post and linking back to the bloggers post. If they are sent a trackback or you notify them that you recognized their post and you were inspired to discuss similar via your blog, it is more likely to be appreciated. In turn your blog may be recognized by them in the future.

Respect the blogger's space
Remember it is their blog. Don’t spam a comment with links, respond to every post on their site, be rude and hurtful, or ignore/complain about their comment policy. Respect them and other commenters. This translates into rules that shouldn’t have to been posted. We should all act like adults. There is a difference between discussion and ranting or name calling.


If the sole purpose for commenting is for selfish reasons that will be apparent to other bloggers. There are other social media tools that accomplish this without spamming other blogs and wasting a blogger’s or your time. However if building a community and conversing and learning from others who blog about the same topics as you is what you are looking for, commenting is beneficial to you and your blog.

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