Thank you Kay for some more great information. I was wondering if the comments we left would help us out at all. If you get a chance, could you tell a little more about backlinks? This is all new to me. Thanks. Johnny

Kay - I do read quite a few Real Estate blogs such as Future of Real Estate Marketing, Transparent RE, Selsius blog, and others. Are there any good high PR Real Estate blogs you would recommend?

Kay,

Your right, leaving comments on blogs that touch you is important and doing it right is a must.

Take care!

RJH

Kay - thank you for the great (and short - which is very appreciated this rushed morning) tips on linking.

I'm not an expert in these things, however, I don't believe that comments do much for backlinks.  There is supposted to be a "no follow" on comments. 

Further, putting a hyperlink to someone else's blog or web site is contra to Guideline #1.

Comments, for me, are to exchange ideas, develop conversation and, we do get points for a limited number. 

Johnny - the links on AR comments go only to your profile. Any links within the body of your comment on AR are 'no followed.' There is a lot of info about linking on AR. Backlinks are links that come from other sites to your web site. Google uses them to assess the popularity and value of your site and can help your rankings.

Bill - not off the top of my head, but if I come across any, I'll let you know.

RJH - thanks for your comment!

Chris - when my postings start getting long, I figure I'm writing more than one and break it up!

Lenn - SEO is my profession, and I know they count. Do a backlink search and if you have been making blog comments (other than on AR) you'll find them. I'm not referring to AR comments in this post - they're not for building links (see my remarks to Johnny above). Guideline #1 is regarding relevant blogs(?). If a blog allows linking within the comment, then it's not a problem. Blog owners make that decision - my Diva blog allows them.  I also review comments before they make it live, and many bloggers do the same to avoid spam.

Lenn - I realize now your references are solely to Active Rain blogs, and you are correct. However, this post is about outside blogs and linkbuilding. It's getting harder to find ways and places to build backlinks, and done properly, blog comments are a legitimate, white hat way to build them.

Kay, I was just going to ask if it was Kosher to put the link to your site but see you answered that in the answer to Lenn.  By the way I connected my outside blog to my website today.  That was along with my husband having to reformat my computer.  Its always something.

I have wondered Kay, if it is beneficial to use keywords in commenting that are of significant benefit to the particular post? For instance yours here from your title - linkbuilding and blog comments

Marchel - good job on the blog! Sorry about the computer - mine is lagging so bad, I have to figure out what's going on with it.

Deborah - I think it's a good idea. Google looks at the words surrounding a link, not just the link itself. 

Thanks Kay, I did not know that this would improve google ranking and link-backs. I guess it would be good to watch how others handle it on various outside blogs for protocol on other blogs.

I was never sure that comments help with linking beyond making a relevant comment interesting enough for someone to manually follow your link back by *clicking* on your name.  Thank you Kay, that is good to know!

Kay, I am so grateful that you share this information with us.  I comment to let the poster know that I truly appreciate their idea and words of wisdom.  The internet has become so vast and people think inpersonal, yet, I find that I have gained much information while making good contacts.  You almost feel like you have pen pals across the US:)

I know that you reccomend onl leaving relevant comments, but sometimes, I feel like leaving a brief comment when nobody else has...

Relevancy is so important.... it's no fun having to go back and delete spam and blatant spam comments...

Kay,

This topic seems to be hot on AR.  I guess many people post the "great post" comment to get a few points and then disappear.  I noticed Bill's question and wanted to point out Donald Trump's blog (full disclosure - I work for Trump U) which covers real estate investing and is a do follow blog.   

http://www.trumpuniversity.com/blog/index.cfm 

Mary - if you leave a thoughtful comment believe me, the blogger will be grateful.

Deborah - when I check my backlinks, I always find the comments I've made on other blogs. 

Frances - you're right, it does make for a friendlier, less impersonal Internet.  

Krista - there's nothing wrong with that, especially on AR. Some people just go from blog to blog leaving comments like "great post" just so they can get a link.

Trace - that's for sure! 

Josef - what people don't realize is that on AR their comment has to be a certain length or they don't even get the points. Thanks for mentioning Donald Trump's blog - I'll go check it out. Nice that it's a do follow, too. 

Kay,

I followed your suggestions and made my WordPress blog "do follow."  The blog can be found by going to WeKnowUrban.com.  I hope you don't mind the reference to the site but I thought it might be helpful to readers looking for blogs that follow.  W

@Will - no problem!