Photo by Edumigue.
Every blogger wants people to visit, read, and comment.
Visiting is the easy part. Type in a URL or click a link and voila.
Reading is also easy, especially if the content flows smoothly and is not long.
Commenting has a stigma of being hard. While it’s easy for you to comment, studies show you would rather tweet a link to the article or share it on your Facebook profile than taking time out of your day to type in a name, email address, website, and whatever words inspired you to leave that comment.
But commenting can be very rewarding — especially if the blogger provides ways for other readers to interact with you.
I want my readers to interact with you.
Most commenting systems provide a reply button for anyone to reply to your comment. You’ve historically been able to do that here. You can do it today by clicking the black button that screams, REPLY!
But I want you to do more than reply.
Metrics indicate many of my blog readers are also bloggers and tweeters. I want to help you attract more eyeballs to your blogs and enable other readers to follow your tweets. Additionally, I want to tell search engines that crawl my blog every day to see your links, and, further, contextually link up to three keywords that describe what your blog or website is about. That latter part is what search engine optimization means.
I used to do this for you. I wrote articles explaining the benefits of Commentluv and Keywordluv, two exceptional wordpress plugins that build community. I also set up rules to moderate new commentators to help eliminate spam, and I used a wonderful anti-spam plugin with the G.A.S.P. acronym to clean everything up.
Commentluv Premium is what?
Commentluv Premium is many plugins and features for the price of one.
You get the Commentluv plugin, a KeywordName plugin (similar to Keywordluv), the G.A.S.P. plugin, a trackback validation plugin (to confirm the other site allegedly linking to you is truly doing it), a DoFollow feature to tell search engines to follow readers’ links, the ability to add a Twitter field to the comment form, a feature to eliminate self pings (when you link to another link of yours and you get notified of a new trackback), and a widget sharing the top plugin users.
But I don’t want to sound like a salesman.
Commentluv Premium costs $67 for a license that works on a single website, and for cheap money beyond that you can get a developer’s license for unlimited installations.
I installed it here yesterday.
Try it out below.
Any questions before you buy the plugin yourself?
Related articles you may enjoy:
{ 84 comments… read them below or add one }
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January 24, 2012 at 3:30 AM
welcome to the CommentLuv Premium club!
you have a nice clean blog and the plugin looks great here!
Thanks Andy! You did a great job building it!
January 26, 2012 at 2:50 PM
I found this site from a best of comment luv website listing or something so that’s another way comment luv helped you.
Require sign on to comment is like kicking your guests out
I agree with you. CommentLuv is a very useful tool for us bloggers. I have been using it for a while and some of my regular readers got new traffic through the link that CommentLuv conveniently provides.
Thanks for chiming in here, Christopher. You may want to consider enhancing your comments with a gravatar. Take a look at this article about gravatars to see what I mean.
January 24, 2012 at 6:28 AM
I’m about to start using the ordinary CommentLuv plugin on my own blog. I think anything than can motivate people to write meaningful comments on my blog is going to help.
$67 is not that much money, but have you seen significant results from the Premium CommentLuv plugin?
It hasn’t been installed that long for me to tell you anything about ROI, but generally in life paying for something that offers more features than something free usually means something positive.
Also, you may want to consider enhancing your comments with a gravatar. Take a look at this article about gravatars to see what I mean.
January 24, 2012 at 10:54 AM
Superb post Ari! I am a strong believer in comment luv. It encourages users to leave a comment, all at the same time providing a quality link to their site! Thanks for the love!
Jordan
Thanks, Jordan. If you register your blog at comluv.com, you can choose from a list of recent articles of yours, and not the last one. This is helpful from a SEO perspective as you can select which of your article links is most relevant to what my blog article is about. For instance, if I’m writing about Facebook and one of your recent articles is also about it, why not link to that one?
Also, you may want to consider enhancing your comments with a gravatar. Take a look at this article about gravatars to see what I mean.
January 24, 2012 at 1:43 PM
Commentluv is one of the biggest growing platform. Commentluv family is growing day by day. Good to see more people are joining Commentluv Community.
How long have you been part of the community, John?
January 26, 2012 at 8:38 AM
Hi Ari,
Pleasure to have your reply. Well I it has almost been two years since I am using COMMENTLUV plugin for my blogs. It is on of the best plugin with great advantages. It has not only increased visitor on my blog but also has given me few good friends.
I really admire your efforts and thanks for giving time reading my comment.
Regards.
I read all comments, John; and I usually reply — unless there’s some reason not to.
January 24, 2012 at 1:56 PM
I installed on a couple of sites a few weeks ago (including my own one). Doing AB split testing between CLP and Livefyre, fun project.
I like the reward feature to encourage social sharing, as it’s a cool way to get more readers as well as let the commenter share more of their own stuff too.
So, yeah, cool plugin.
Just a quick question – affiliate links? If so, maybe just a wee disclosure? If not, carry on and ignore me.
I haven’t played with the enticement feature that much. I’ll likely change the settings that are there now. We’ll see.
And, yes, those are affiliate links. If you mouseover them, you’ll see the “title tag” indicating such.
January 25, 2012 at 6:36 AM
Ah, yep, see that now. Doesn’t work for mobile, though. Wondering if FTC would cover that?
Why wouldn’t they?
January 30, 2012 at 10:43 AM
The FTC would likely point out that without the hover feature in mobile devices, this post fails to disclose the affiliate relationship.
http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus71-ftcs-revised-endorsement-guideswhat-people-are-asking
I think it’s funny because even when I put (aff. link) in a post, many non-bloggers have no idea what that means. “Looks like you meant to fill in a piece of information.” “Is that a bit of random code?”
Truth is, if you know what (aff. link) means, you probably already suspected it was one.
Maybe a dollar sign would be a clearer disclosure? ($)
I suspect at some point the FTC will have to settle on a way of educating the public about a simple character or character string that indicates a financial relationship.
January 24, 2012 at 1:58 PM
CommentLuv is really not only a great tool to build backlinks but it allows visitors to see other cool blogs and layouts which spur the brain to be creative. Thanks for the “luv”.
Anytime, Jeff. Hope you come back!
This comment plugin looks great. Thanks for leading the way for other bloggers — and myself
January 24, 2012 at 9:54 PM
I had removed commentluv long ago and obviously that resulted in very few comments
Probably I should give it a second run provided I get time to moderate. Btw, how’s GASP working for you? I am fed up with Akismet – it lets a few spam comments while at times stopping genuine comments. If I were to install commentluv, I would think that I need a solid anti-spam plugin as well.
January 24, 2012 at 11:32 PM
I would like to hear more about GASP as well. Akismet makes me crazy.
Scroll up and click the G.A.S.P. link. That should answer your questions.
Scroll up and click the G.A.S.P. link. That should answer your questions. Once I started with it, I removed Akismet and haven’t looked back!
January 24, 2012 at 10:59 PM
I agree, comment luv is a great way to encourage your audience to engage and comment on your posts and it’s also a great tool for the comment’er’ to promote their latest or featured blog posts.
True, Chris, though the primary reason to add a comment should be because you are inspired. The fact you get a link back should always be secondary.
I have seen comment luv around and it’s really a nice and helpful plug in. You have a great blog by the way! I love what I see and read here.
Great post Ari!
I was undecided whether to upgrade to comment luv premium earlier, i still am to be fair but your push has certainly gave me a strong shove in that direction. I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as i do!
p.s. is my avatar working? I took your advice to get one!
Nope, I don’t see your picture!
January 25, 2012 at 10:14 AM
CommentLuv premium looks nice in your blog!
I totally agree with Sagar..infact this comment luv going to bring a boom in blogging world .
January 25, 2012 at 12:47 PM
i love comment love as it encourage people to comment on other blog and able to get integrate with other blogger. best part is it show latest website link which helpful to save time as you don’t have to search regarding that topic and all. rite now i am using free version of comment luv but soon going to get premium
Commentluv really helps inviting visitors and spreading our websites, I have tried the free version and I was satisfied with it. But I don’t think I will need to upgrade to premium version, besides the price is too high I think the free version gives enough good effects. I do respect the hardwork and I would like to make a blog post about it.
January 26, 2012 at 9:15 AM
Art, welcome to the commentluv club! I also joined commentluv recently. Interacting with readers, getting more traffic and controlling spam. What could be better?
I look forward to seeing your name and face here again, David!
January 26, 2012 at 11:19 AM
I agree it’s a lot easier just to tweet an article, and don’t get me wrong I love a good tweet haha, but a comment is more personal and a link back to your site is great for traffic/SEO
I agree!, comment luv is a great way to encourage your audience to engage. I’ve learned a lot from your blog here! Keep on going, I hope more people discover your blog because you really know what you’re talking about. Can’t wait to read more from you! I will keep an eye on it.
January 27, 2012 at 12:18 AM
Every wordpress blog should have commentluv plugin installed. I install them in all my Wordpress blog. Still looking for a budget to join commentluv premium.
January 27, 2012 at 2:39 AM
I’m beginning to love it here! You’re right, commentluv can promote interaction especially if the last post can be easily seen. I might install one on my sites! Thanks!
You can link to prior posts (and not just the last one), depending or not if you’re registered on the comluv site.
January 27, 2012 at 10:18 AM
Good to see you upgraded to CommentLuv Premium. Definitely on my to do list.
I can confirm GASP is a big help for reducing spam comments. You can get it free without the premium version of CommentLuv – but that means more plugins
Indeed, that’s another benefit of the paid plugin here — it includes GASP. It also includes trackback validation.
January 27, 2012 at 10:24 PM
I have never actually used CommentLuv so this is my first time to try it out. It looks like a good investment for my blog so we’ll see!
Thanks Ari, first time here… I’ve been seeing a lot more of commentluv and after reading your blog along with the comments from your readers/bloggers I’m feeling like it’s a no-brainer.. Guessing the with 67 bucks really being nothing that you’d do the premium?
Before spending anything in life, think about the future and amortize the cost over the next 12 months (or beyond). Then you can determine if the purchase is a no-brainer.
I’ve only recently installed the basic commentluv plugin for wordpress, looks like I’ll be adding the premium one now.
January 29, 2012 at 11:30 PM
I do love CL Premium, Ari – great for encouraging sharing!
I think I need to write my own post on why my commentators should have a gravatar… lol
Because of the lack of many gravatars here, Ana?
You don’t have to write a blog post on the subject, for you can merely link to one of many times I’ve written about the benefits of gravatars.
CommentLuv is a decent reward for participating in discussion. Because as you rightly mentioed in the article, visitors very often are too lazy to write a comment and prefer twitting or sharing. But for the blogger it’s important to know that people not only share your articles but also discuss it, ask questions – think about it.
January 31, 2012 at 7:21 AM
it is very useful for any blog to use CommentLuv plugin and I must admit today is the first day when I found the explanation
January 31, 2012 at 8:57 AM
Wonderful post for equally wonderful counsel. After seeing my stats on Clicky and having peeps tell me they saw my post url in someone else’s comment section, I’m more inclined to hit blogs with the CommentLuv plugin so I can also earn immediate benefit in the way of link love and potentially new community members.
This never used to be a goal or concern; now after two years of blogging the fine tuning and testing continues to fall into place. Thanks for this.
Thanks.
You know how to search for CL blogs, right?
February 1, 2012 at 9:27 AM
Please, I’m all ears to find more blogs with CommentLuv, Ari! Thanks in advance for that tip, too.
If you have a CL account, you will have access to a subscriber-only search engine to search other CL blogs.
Head to this link.
January 31, 2012 at 11:05 AM
Commentluv is a pretty amazing plugin. My site is brand spanking new so I only have the ordinary free CommentLuv version installed so far. Maybe further down the line I’ll graduate to the Premium version, seems that everyone has good things to say about it.
January 31, 2012 at 5:29 PM
I have been visiting lots of commentluv enabled blogs and I love the sense of community that can come about if I keep on visiting. I have recently interacted with people leaving comments and I especially like when blogs use a ReplyMe like plug in that has the owner emailing me thanking me for the comment. I will probably add one of those plugins and eventually use comment luv too, at least on one of my blogs.
I need a reason to write a reply to someone. Merely writing “Thanks for commenting” is too mundane for me.
February 19, 2012 at 7:33 PM
I agree. I like it best when bloggers have something to say back to me if I have posted a comment that actually encourages conversation, but a “thanks for commenting” reply is still nice and friendly. Either way, I love bloggers like you who actually care enough to reply. Have a great day Ari.
February 1, 2012 at 3:39 AM
It’s really a great plugin and it does so many things. I am only using GASP for spam protection on this blog and it does it wonderfully. Premium version has many option on the free version, I would say it should be first one which you should buy…:)
February 1, 2012 at 8:36 AM
Hi, Ari! Great post!
I agree with you. I think CommentLuv is important tool for increase traffic. I used it for my blog, and it’s very convenient!
I don’t see much reason to go with the premium. the regular plugin works well and is just as good.
February 3, 2012 at 12:59 AM
yeah, every comment is very valuable for the blogger, but those who comment often do it just for sake, so, i disable the dofollow feature in my blog.
Totally agree with you about commentluv. I also using the same plugin for my site and it is very useful in decreasing the bounce rate of my website. It is essential in google’s eye.
Cool plugin, I also installed it. Will buy the premium version.
February 3, 2012 at 10:38 PM
CommentLuv Premium really helps my blog a lot to gain more traffic and exposure, especially when it comes to aud. I haven’t installed CommentLuv on my blog years ago until I realized the real potential of it. Right now, I’m enjoying it and happy with this plugin.
Dan Lew
I am currently using commentluv free version plugin. I really accepted your truth that it is better to use it. But what you can do extra in the premium version?
February 6, 2012 at 8:42 AM
A few months back, I wasn’t aware of ComLuv Premium. I visited my favorite blog one day and saw a 5-6x increase in the tweet count. I was somehow shocked
How could a blog get 6x boost in a day. And then I came to know about this excellent plugin which made it possible!
Commentluv premium is the best plug in ever! It has helped blogs gain more traffic and establish authority. It also helped my website to improved in rankings. Good review on commentluv too!
Hey, Ari! How did you select the number of approved comments until the do-follow link for the commenter’s link? (I know in settings, but where exactly?)
Go into your Commentluv settings. Not the main settings page, but specific to CL. There, you’ll see several settings in a row that you can optionally enable dofollow.
I agree with you. It is very good tool for every bloggers.
February 12, 2012 at 2:08 AM
If it is comments you want, commentluv is getting them for you. 66 comments is indeed impressive. I cannot believe you just installed the commentluv. You are listed as one of the top commentluv blogs by the Traffic Generation Cafe. Keep up the good work. I will continue to monitor your blog, and learn from your posts and example.
CommentLuv is awesome plugin because it can make a blog gain more traffic.
After reading this article, it looks like I have to install CommentLuv on my blog
February 21, 2012 at 3:05 PM
I haven’t seen anyone talk about the value of CommentLuv from a niche perspective – obviously this utility provides a lot of value in this particular market because your audience is highly likely to have their own website they want to promote.
But what about sites in other markets? If your audience is likely to not own a website, I would think this plugin wouldn’t be as useful – one certainly might attract bloggers, but the value of bloggers comments commenting for the sake of the link is questionable.
Maybe this is an obvious consideration for people – but I certainly would be interested in seeing some metrics demonstrating the usefulness of Comment Luv in various types of markets (who knows, maybe it’s just as useful on a website selling cosmetic products as it is on a site teaching SEO).
I do like the elements of Comment Luv which provide extra incentive for sharing – are there other plugins which do this sort of thing?
February 23, 2012 at 12:59 PM
Hi Ari ,
CommentLuv is a new light that shines on wordpress. It’s absolutely amazing how it adds value to the simple act of commenting on blogs
February 25, 2012 at 11:07 AM
Ari, great article! I love commentLuv. In fact, that is how I found your blog. I didn’t realize that people prefer to tweet and LIKE versus blog commenting, but that is probably because I am a blogger and love using words … maybe babbling too much(!) … But, doing a Google search for a topic and “commentLuv” has allowed me to find wonderful blogs AND return the favor on my own blog. CommentLuv really adds a whole new level to blog commenting in a social environment. Thanks, Deborah
Thanks for chiming in here, Deborah. You didn’t have to write anything. You could have read and left.
March 2, 2012 at 5:22 PM
Hi Ari, good explanation of commentluv. I just started a website to showcase pieces of batik art that I create and installed commentluv just a few days ago. I love the format and I am definitely considering upgrading to the premium version. Since the time that you installed it, can you describe the increased traffic that you feel has come specifically from having the commentluv plugin?
Good question, Gene. I’ll write a followup post showing metrics.
March 13, 2012 at 3:57 PM
Thank you, I would like to see them.
March 2, 2012 at 10:45 PM
Thanks for the review, Ari! Now that you have had CL Premium up and running for a while, are you seeing more content traffic? More traffic from other referring domains? Do you still think its worth the investment? Has your spam comment volume increased due to the dofollow links?Thanks! –Sean
April 5, 2012 at 4:14 PM
I’m a CommentLuv virgin having just this second installed the free version for the first time.
I’ve always found interaction quite easy to come by on social networking sites and hope now that I may actually stimulate some conversation on my blog too!
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