There is a fair amount of debate as to whether leaving the comment system open on a site is at all worthwhile. Many web masters argue that the time it takes to edit comments and protect the system from spam makes a comment system more trouble than it is worth. Comments, however, do have a number of plus-sides that make it a difficult choice.

A comments system is possible with just about any type of content, and can be used wherever it makes sense to welcome comments from your readers. Some areas, like your page’s news or about us page, don’t really need comments.

Comments can be very useful. They add content to your site, and keep your pages updated. Sometimes, readers unintentionally enhance the keyword richness of a page, although this doesn’t always happen. On a less SEO-focussed note, comments also reinforce the popularity of your site as your viewers can see who else is participating, and they enhance the feeling of community on your site.

Replying to comments can help boost your keywords. This also adds to the interaction your viewers experience on your site. Best of all, replies to viewers’ comments help you to retain control over the content of the comments section of a page – even if there are negative comments, a reply indicates that you are willing to address any concerns and ultimately gives you the upper hand.

There is always a risk of negative or inappropriate comments when you leave the comments function open on your site. Some simple precautions will take care of this, the most important being a comment review function which will block comments from being posted immediately. It’s a good idea to embed a ‘human’ test to block spam. A simple code input or a form spam-blocking script is useful for this – a Human Intelligence Identification Script is a good, elegant script when it comes to forms and you can find different versions for free.

If you’re going to leave the option for comments open, it’s a good idea to have some strategies in place to deal with the traffic this will cause. Set aside time to edit and reply to comments. Have an idea of what your response will be if any touchy subjects are brought up, and the sort of language you will accept. A site policy may provide some guidelines for viewers when they are writing comments. People like our consultants at SEO Consult can help you to develop some strategies to take the best advantage of a comments section on your pages.

If you do decide to open up your site to comments, consider leaving comments of your own on related sites. This will get the community of your site up and running faster, as many people follow the etiquette of leaving a replying comment on your site when you post to theirs. It will also help with search engine optimisation as you link with other websites and increase your own site’s rank.

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