4 Reasons to Leave Comments Enabled on Your Blog
If you want to get bloggers arguing about something in a hurry, ask them what they think of allowing comments on their blog. It can get heated---for good reasons---on both sides of the issue.
Leaving comments enabled has some downsides I'll admit, so in some cases it's not worth the clean-up hassle or its just not appropriate. I don't have them enabled on the online magazine Perceptive Travel because we run the kind of long-form narrative stories that you'd see in a book or great magazine. Places where you can't normally comment, in other words. We do have them enabled on the award-winning blog, however, and wish we got more of them.
I also used to run a travel gear blog that made loads of money from affiliate links, but got close to zero comments. It wouldn't have mattered much there if we had ditched them. People were in research mode, not commenting mode.
On my Cheapest Destinations blog though, some posts have 40, 50, 100 comments or more and that doesn't count the bogus (or just plain mean) ones I've deleted. Akismet catches at least 99% of the ones that shouldn't be there, so the time it takes to moderate comments is less than the time it will take you to read this post. I do reply to a lot of comments, which takes time, but that's just normal engagement with my readers and I welcome that task. I'm not so wise that I don't need feedback or corrections now and then.
Here are the key reasons you should probably leave comments enabled on your travel blog, especially if you're trying to build a tribe around you, a type of travel, or a specific destination.
Blog Comments Can Give You Terrific Post Ideas
Some of the most popular posts on my travel blog didn't come from keyword research or going anywhere besides my own blog to find ideas. That's because I always have a wealth of ideas to choose from just from the questions people are asking in the comments.
If people are taking the time to ask questions in the comments after a post, how many others had the same question but never bothered to get in touch? A hundred maybe? A thousand? More?
It often ended up that that thousands were in fact wanting to know the answers to these questions. People are searching with full sentence questions now, especially when using voice to search, so picking a two-word or three-word keyword phrase and trying to optimize for that may not cut it. After getting lots of questions like "Where can I live on a beach on social security checks alone?" I did a post on it. So far it's gotten 1,900 hits in just 18 days from social media and my RSS-based newsletter blast. People kept asking me how to find an apartment overseas for a few months or a year. Over and over again in the comments. So I wrote this post and it's gotten 36,000 page views since it went live.
When you can truly answer the questions your readers are asking, you'll get fans that stick around and read much more. Are you giving them a way to do that?
Blog Comments Can Make Your Articles More Targeted and Useful
I have often gone back and updated old articles based on the feedback I've gotten since it came out. While I have addressed one aspect of a destination or angle, it turns out what people really cared about was some tangent that nobody else was covering well. Again, simple keyword research wouldn't have told me this is what people wanted to know, but after four or five people leave questions or comments on that aspect, it becomes pretty clear. Then when you do an update later, you can make the post more thorough and probably get more traffic.
Readers Can Be Your Editors
None of us are right 100% of the time, no matter how much we may know about a subject. We make factual mistakes from bad info, for instance, we don't know about changes to visa rules, or it turns out that train route got canceled after a landslide and won't return for years. If you let your readers set you straight, then future readers will get the correct info once you make the fix. (Readers will also catch your typos and make you look smarter in the future.)
Also, when you go to update an old post later, you've got a better chance of getting it right because someone just alerted you two weeks ago that prices are out of date. Or that the hotel you mentioned has changed names and owners. Or you can now get a subway from the airport...
Engagement Shows... That You're Engaged
If I go to a blog and see that comments aren't allowed, but the blogger has made several false assertions and a bunch of typos, I'm going to take that blogger to be a fool. I certainly won't trust what they have put on the page. I'm also going to think they're kind of aloof. You're too good to hear my feedback? You're too cool to answer questions from your readers?
Yes I know, we have social media now, but lots of people have given up on Facebook and never even look at the comments they get on Instagram. On both platforms, the daily active users is a tiny percentage of the total users. Also, answering questions on Facebook or Twitter doesn't help any of the people not reading the comments and answers on those particular platforms at the right time.
That's the vast majority of your readers. Someone landing for the first time on your blog from search is probably only going to read that one post. What kind of signal are you sending them as to how welcome they are where they landed---on your blog?
Last, PR and marketing people still look at how many comments you're getting on your blog post. I know because I run travel influencer programs with big clients for the 360 Degree Travel Network. Most of these program are content marketing driven, not social, so the blogs get scrutinized closely. Not all of the decision makers look at this, for sure, and it's an unfair metric I know. But why put yourself at a disadvantage because you don't want to take five minutes a week to clear bogus comments?
Besides, if you're ever going to do videos on YouTube that get popular, you'd better develop a thick skin to deal with boneheads leaving dumb comments.
How about you? Have you mined any gold from your travel blog comments?
Unsplash Creative Commons photos from Jon Tyson, Wonderlane, and Ken Treloar.
I see bloggers moaning the don’t have time to monitor comments when it takes maybe a half hour a week. This info is GOLD – so stupid to torn off that fountain of research!
Completely agree that comments are a gold mine of information. They also increase content length and average time spent on page, and can help with SEO when they are keyword-rich. I usually can work extra keywords into my responses too!
I must thank you for the efforts you’ve put in writing this website.
I really hope to see the same high-grade blog posts from you in the future as well.
In truth, your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my own, personal website now ;
)
Totally agree!
Thanks for your sharing the information with us a good job and with good luck
I glad to see your writing abilities and help me writting to my travel website.Your blog site I hope inspire me.
Thanks so much for these advices. I m trying to improve my authority score so definitly I will apply them
I´m trying to share in different blogs my tours around Morocco. I m not sure if it s a good idea to allow comments on my tours so that people can give me ideas or their opinion. I ve comments allowed in blog but I ve doubts about pages with my tours…
To give you an idea I wonder if allow comments in pages like https://moroccosaharatourism.com/sahara-desert-tours-from-marrakech/
If it’s just promotional for your business, it’s not worthy of comment, no. That’s like commenting on an ad so it’s unlikely anyone would bother.
I love hearing from my readers. They have some great ideas and I’ve been able to make a few friends as well. Great article and great blog!
Yes I agree and that’s great !!
I viewed Copyblogger and a large group of others turn off remarks and I imagined that was indiscreet. Particularly when you’re a brand that has fabricated a network around the strung conversation.
Regardless of how unappealing remarks are for you, they add more than diminish the article.
Thanks for the great info.
Hello there, very interesting and informative article… Thanks for sharing!!
Helpful article shared! Thanks for sharing it.
I like getting the interaction and questions in comments.
Completely agree that comments are valuable source of information.
You have a real ability for writing unique content.I like how you think and the way you represent your views in this article.I agree with your way of thinking. Thank you for sharing.
I see in forums where people turned off comments because they couldn’t be bothered doing the monitoring, but in my experience that’s 5 or 10 minutes a week. Akismet catches almost all of the spammy ones, so it’s a minimal effort to get rid of what makes it through. A small tradeoff for the content ideas you get.
Thank you for sharing such amazing Information
Excellent blog, You have a real ability for writing unique content. I like how you think and the way you represent your views in this article. I agree with your way of thinking. Thank you for sharing.
Great post. Articles that have meaningful and insightful comments are more enjoyable.
Thanks
Thanks for sharing such knowledge.
Wonderful content! You have a great ability for writing excellent content. Your article is meaningful and interesting, I really like it thanks for sharing this article with us
As long as moderation is on then yes I agree that it would be great to leave commenting on. I enjoyed your article.
Superb post. Comments on articles that are smart and meaningful are more engaging.
Thanks
thankyou for providing this useful information
Last year I had a question showing up often in the comments that showed zero monthly searches for the keyword in ahrefs. I wrote a post on it anyway, figuring it was something a lot of readers must be wondering, and not it gets more than 400 page views every month, beating out most of the others I did extensive keyword research on. Listen to your real blog readers as most of them are NOT posting any comments on social media!
I’m trying to share my tours around Morocco in different blogs. I’m not sure if allowing comments on my tours is a good idea so that people can give me ideas or their opinion. I have comments allowed in the blog, but I have doubts about pages with my tours.
Post/page comments don’t make sense for a commercial experience usually—in or out. Blog comments are for sharing genuine ideas, critiques, or questions about the post. Put proper contact information on your site (not a form to fil out) so people can reach you to ask questions.
Accurate sharing and thankyou for giving us more knowledge…
I’m glad I stumbled across this post. I have been contemplating turning comments off, as aside from some fellow bloggers dropping by to say hi, and loads and loads of spam that I have deleted, I only have a handful of genuine comments that added value to my posts. I shall perservere! Thanks for the insight.
Akismet should be catching about 99.5% of the spam comments if you have that turned on and updated. So at most you should be left with a handful to delete each week. With five sites to run I probably spend five minutes a week doing this. The rest are legit and helpful. (Like yours!)
Genuinely a marvelous blog, Bookmarked these for ordinary visits. great work, continue onward!
Great insights! 🤔✨ Leaving comments enabled not only builds engagement but sparks valuable content ideas. How do you handle comments on your blog?
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. keep sharing,
This article is a gem for bloggers at any stage. It’s not just about leaving comments; it’s about fostering a sense of community and turning your blog into a dynamic hub. Thanks for the valuable insights!
Keep going and thanks alot for this blog.
“I wholeheartedly concur! Enabling comments encourages participation and provides access to insightful opinions, varied viewpoints, and significant relationships among travel writers. I’m eager to start the conversation!”