how to use manage and utilize the comments feature

1. 92

   Sue B.posted 5 years ago

   I am seeking some feedback from my fellow hubbers about how the use the comments feature to enhance their articles. I have heard that comments that do not lend to discussion and are rather short may actually hurt your article.  Does anyone know if this is true?  At times, I do find comments on articles I read take away from it-especially if they are negative. 
   
   My main writing niche is dream interpretation.  Because of this- I receive hundreds of requests for dream interpretations.  I cannot keep up with the request and often do not approve these comments.  I will; however, approve an provide feedback on dreams if the commenter is an established hubber. I do not get that many from you guys though I seem to get comments from people who tripped over the article and are requesting a dream interpretation- never to interact on hubpages despite creating an account.
   
   When you review your most successful hubs- are comments on them?  what are they like?  Thank you for your feedback!

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   1. 92

      Lovelli Fuadposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      I did some online search to find out how to best leave a comment on the web, and my finding :
      
      - Saying "thank you" especially if it's for nothing in particular, is in the borderline of spammy behavior.
      - Unrelated comments are spammy
      - You want relevant comments that stand out and that add to the discussion
      
      I can't really say if my best performing hubs are the ones that have comments on them. Due to the disappointing algorithm-related downward trend, all of my hubs are equally low on views.
      
      But aside from all that, I am not a keen commenter myself. Commenting is hard! I tend to always want to say thank you and nothing else. So, just getting started with commenting and adding to the conversation.
      
      What I can't yet figure out is how do we encourage people to comment on our hubs?
      
      I get this weekly coaching newsletter, and a few months back the writer started asking readers to add a comment. With a small note underneath the email entry: "example responses would be:" followed by a list of acceptable comments of "x, y, z"  (none of them were thank-yous). That really was the point where I started thinking more about commenting. I'm so happy you discussed this topic, Sue B.

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2. 97

   Glenn Stokposted 5 years ago

   I do not approve comments that are poorly written or do not add value to the subject.
   
   When I did a major cleanup of those types of comments in the past I noticed an increase in Google traffic over time. It’s hard to say it was due to a better Google ranking. It might have been a coincidence. But it makes sense in my opinion to eliminate content that does not display a meaningful message.
   
   In addition, when I reply to comments I include useful content for SEO rather than just saying thank you.

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   1. 91

      ziyenaposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Wow thanks Glenn ... never stopped to think that my friendly & innocent LOL on someone's post could actually hurt traffic in someone's ranking,  Good thinking

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