Responding to comments

1. 63

   Glenis Rixposted 6 years ago

   I am still unsure of the etiquette/protocol regarding whether or not to respond to comments made on articles that I have written. On the one hand it seems rude not to acknowledge comments but, on the other hand, if there is nothing to write other than a thank you note it seems pointless. I think it is perhaps a better idea to respond to the compliment by reading and commenting on an article by the person who has submitted the comment to my article. What is your view?

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I have always felt it important to respond to comments because it is good PR and acknowledges the statements that people make. We should never be too busy to show respect to the people who earn money for us!

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   2. 72

      Eurofileposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Being relatively new to Hub Pages, I would also welcome some clarity on this area.  At the moment I
      I find myself responding politely to comments made on my hubs.  I tend to follow a lot of people who comment so that I get notified about their new hubs and I try to comment on as many as possible.  However I do get a little irritated by those who are happy to accept comments and respond to them, but rarely if at all comment on other people's hubs.

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      1. 74

         theraggededgeposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Well, I am one of those irritating people, I'm afraid. I am here to earn money, not to spend time responding to comments unless they contain a question. Neither do I follow other hubbers just because they leave a comment on my hub. I simply don't have the time to read a ton of hubs and leave comments everyday. I'd rather be writing or answering direct questions on the forum (and my own Q&A) during my writing breaks. HubPages is not a social media platform after all.
         
         It's all a matter of choice. If you want to answer all your comments, then that's fine, but please allow others their choice too. My readers come via search engines, I'm not bothered one jot about internal traffic.

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            Eurofileposted 6 years agoin reply to this

            Fair enough.  Perhaps you could share some tips on how to earn money via Hub Pages and increase internet traffic with some of the newer hubbers.

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            1. 74

               theraggededgeposted 6 years agoin reply to this

               Now there's an idea.

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         2. 66

            psycheskinnerposted 6 years agoin reply to this

            Indeed.  The money comes from general search traffic.  And if they just comment that the article helped them, they ain't coming back to see if they got a thank you for their thank you.

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      Pamela99posted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I always try to respond to every comment. They often contain some personal life information, but just as a common curtesy I think a thank you is appropriate.

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      1. 65

         Glenn Stokposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         More than a thank you is required for SEO purposes as discussed above.

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         1. 66

            psycheskinnerposted 6 years agoin reply to this

            I would question the value of comments for SEO as it could easily have a negative effect.  Comments might be better used refining the article than adding to it endlessly with each now comment and comment on that comment IMHO.

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   4. 92

      Jean Bakulaposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      If the person says something like "Great article" it's not worth it, and you may want to delete it. If they ask for further info, then it helps you if there is something worth adding that you didn't think was. Of course, if your article answered the question and the person just skipped down to ask questions you covered, again, delete.
      
      The only good comments you need are from people off of HP. Also, for those of us who have articles written years ago, new comments and info we add give our articles a new incarnation. Then it's worth it.

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   5. 63

      Glenis Rixposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      From the comments on this question I have deduced that people probably fall into one of two camps - (1)  those who want to maintain a community focus and a band of followers (2) those who are income focussed and recognise that most visits to their articles are via Google and other search engines, therefore feeling it is not productive to post a thank you.
      
      I am persuaded to the point of view that a ‘thank you for reading and commenting’ is superfluous. I would rather look at the person’s profile to discover if s/he has written any articles that I want to read.

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2. 66

   psycheskinnerposted 6 years ago

   I don't respond unless they ask a question.  It's an article not a forum or blog.

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3. 85

   Jodahposted 6 years ago

   I respond to every comment as a common courtesy and also try to read an article by the commenter in return if possible. Not everyone has the time to do both of these though so I feel one or the other is fine.

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   1. 66

      psycheskinnerposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      If all of your commenters are Hub members I would suggest there might be an issue with targeting general search engine traffic.

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4. 83

   Kenna McHughposted 6 years ago

   I respond in kind. I want to make sure they know they were heard. It is mannerly.

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5. 72

   Gregory DeVictorposted 6 years ago

   I too respond to all comments as a common courtesy. If someone has taken the time, effort, and energy to read one of my articles and make a comment, I do the next best thing and thank them for the comment.

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6. 79

   Rupert Taylorposted 6 years ago

   Questions are more of a problem I find. The title of my article is "A Short History of the Media."
   
   The question posted yesterday is "What is the history of media.?" How to answer that without being rude?

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   1. 67

      Sherry Hewinsposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      That is a non question. I would just hide/ignore it.

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7. 65

   Glenn Stokposted 6 years ago

   I do reply to comments, but I take Google into account. I don't just thank the reader for their comment because that gets repetitive, and Google lowers the ranking of the page for that activity. So what I do instead is reply with additional thoughts, sometimes expanding on their comment. Google loves that and it helps increase organic traffic.
   
   I discussed handling and maintaining comments further in one of my HubPages tips and advice tutorials.

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8. 76

   revmjmposted 6 years ago

   Like some of the others, I respond to EVERY comment by addressing the person by name. That establishes a rapport and people are more likely to read and respond to some of my other articles.
   
   I agree with Glenn Stok that Googles loves it when we expand to others' comments by mentioning keywords or something from the article. I get some organic traffic that way. Also, that's something that HubPages encourages. It also helps to raise our profile score.
   
   When I comment on the articles of others, I mention a keyword or theme or something to let them know I have actually read the article instead of saying something generic that come apply to any article.
   
   Personally, I am let down when I comment on someone's article and that person doesn't respond.  It is like giving someone something and the person doesn't say "thank you."

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