Here is a guest post written by 
David Lamm from TailGatingIdeas.com that will provide you with some really good insight on how to score tons of traffic to your blog for free simply by being the first to comment on a blog post.
After reading this post, you should race to be one of the first to comment on this post. For those who don’t know, Dave Lamm has been a tailgater for most of his adult life. He always enjoyed tailgating anytime he was invited to a game or concert but never tailgated on a regular basis until a few years ago.
His website, TailgatingIdeas.com, is a website dedicated to bringing you the latest and most intriguing tailgating ideas out there. Whether it is the latest gear, a great new recipe or a funny list to make you smile, his goal is to inform and entertain the avid and the casual tailgater.
At this time, you should seriously crack open a cold beer, fire up the grill, and then sit back in your chair and read this post. David is going to show you how to get a ton of traffic to your blog by leaving just ONE simple comment on another blog.
Pretty cool, huh? Well, keep reading…
Last One To Comment Is A Rotten Egg!
Have you ever seen a blog post hit the front page of Digg or get featured on Slashdot and think to yourself, “Man, I would be happy if I could get just 10% of the traffic that blog is probably receiving right now.”. I have recently discovered a way to “ride the coattails” of those blogs receiving high traffic surges simply by being one of the first to comment on that post.
I recently discovered this technique by accident after I noticed on a particular day that a blog was sending me an inordinate amount of traffic from one particular post. Did they write about my website and offering a glowing endorsement? Nope. I discovered that the only link to my blog on there was via a comment I had left a day or two ago. Why was I getting a lot more visitors today than yesterday or two days ago when the post was fresh and new?
I later found out that I had commented on this blog that had received a ton of visitors that one day. This was a sports blog that was picked up by Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard and was linked to in the Hot Clicks daily link round up. Obviously a website the size of Sports Illustrated is capable of sending thousands upon thousands of visitors to a particular blog with a single link. (not to mention the SEO benefits.) Sure, he was getting about 20,000 to 30,000 visitors that day but I was seeing about 200 visitors by way of the comments section. Table scraps in comparison but his good fortune translated into extra visitors for my blog.
I also noticed that in this blog post, my comment was the first one. There were about 15 comments that had come after mine by the end of the day but mine was first. I can’t help but assume that being one of the first comments on his post helped send the traffic much like being at the top of a SERP helps drive traffic.
So you are probably saying, “That’s great Dave. You got lucky and commented on a post that received a large traffic rush and you got the overflow. How can you predict which blogs will get huge traffic numbers by way of getting a big link?” That is where using your RSS to your advantage is key.
First you need to target the other powerful websites within your niche. We have all heard of Slashdot and Digg and know of the huge numbers of visitors that can come from landing on the front page of those websites. I have heard tales that hitting the front page of Digg is a blessing and a curse all at the same time. Getting “slashdotted” is kind of like a badge of honor in that your blog was hit so hard and so fast that it crushed your servers. You need to target those types of websites that send massive amounts of traffic and is within your niche. You know which ones they are better than I do.
Now if you aren’t using RSS already, you need to start. I won’t bore you with how to set up your RSS but you definitely need to do RSS in a reader and not via email. (RSS emails are generally delivered slower and later than in a RSS reader.) Subscribe to the RSS in Digg or Slashdot or TechCrunch or any other high traffic site that you know links to other blogs. When you see a post that fits into your niche, run, do not walk, to that blog and leave a comment. Hopefully you will be one of the first ones to comment, thus maximizing those extra visitors. Also, make sure to leave a poignant comment and not just, “Great post. Good info here.”. A comment like that will not inspire someone to click on your name which will lead back to your blog.
Leave a comment that is interesting, a comment that shows you read the post. You can pique the interest of the reader to see what else you have to say on your blog. Whatever you do, don’t look like a spamming moron and comment saying, “Good stuff but you should really check out my blog.” and then leave four or five links. More than likely you will be picked up by Askimet. If you make it past that filter people will see right through your oh-so subtle technique. If the blog article comments section does not have a field to fill in your website URL, your comment may be better suited for another blog. Of course you can still comment to improve the overall health and wellness of the blogoshpere but if you are looking for traffic, target those blogs that hot link your name or have the “comment love” WordPress plug-in installed and active.
I make it a point to check Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard section every day at the same time because the author updates that section regularly within a 15 minute window. I then go to the blogs that are linked knowing full well that a large amount of traffic will be coming their way. If there are no comments yet, I quickly scan the article and leave a comment that will not only add to the post but possibly raise the interest of another visitor following me. Of course this technique only nets about 200 to 300 visitors a day depending on how many blogs I comment on. Then again, I am sure everyone wouldn’t mind 300 extra visitors a day no matter how big your blog is.
I recently had the good fortune of being directly linked to by Sports Illustrated and the traffic surge was incredible. I also noticed that by virtue of my good fortune those that had left comments on that particular post were receiving some residual traffic as well. I was happy for those bloggers to get that traffic coming their way because we all know comments are the lifeblood of blogging and this may be an incentive for them to come back and comment more.
The key here is to find your niche and target those blogs that you know will receive a large amount of visitors. By using your RSS you can successfully predict which blogs will see a large bump in traffic that day. Now it is up to you to come up with a clever comment that will entice those visitors to click over to your blog.
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Date/Time: 8-13-2008 02:01:36 Comment #18048
I have actually had that idea but have never really worked out how to approach it so this will come in handy. There is also another way to increase visits to your blog via stumble or digg avenues and I don’t mean buy ‘digging’ your own blog as this ceases to work once people have worked out that you are only promoting your own blog.
Every now and again when we come up with a good post, some kind soul out there likes it so much and will link to your post. If his/her post is up to scratch you simply digg, stumble etc. that post ans see what happens.
Check out Sire’s last blog post..Blogs, Blogging, Young Man Old Man, Never The Twain Shall Meet
Date/Time: 8-13-2008 08:38:59 Comment #18059
One thing that never seems to fail is the popular blog posts I write on my blog that have like very little invested tend to be the ones that go hot in social networks… I ask myself, “why in the world did THIS one go hot and not the one that took me 5 hours of time to research and write up?” LOL!!! Guess that is just how it works.
Date/Time: 8-13-2008 17:02:14 Comment #18078
You don’t think that it is something to do with that bloke who is known to roam around and goes by first name Murphys second name Law?
Check out Sire’s last blog post..Blogs, Blogging, Young Man Old Man, Never The Twain Shall Meet
Date/Time: 8-13-2008 06:32:25 Comment #18051
This is such a simple trick I have no idea why not more people are aware of it.
Date/Time: 8-13-2008 06:46:08 Comment #18053
Excellent article and advice gary. Commenting is a good way to get exposure…. just make sure your comments are of substance and contribute. Bloggers are starting to wise up on the short comments such as “nice post.”
On another note. The Tailgating website just my be a good link match for one of my BBQ sites….. thanks for the lead on this.
Eric
Check out Eric D’s last blog post..Number 5 and 14 on Google 48 Hours After Website Launch
Date/Time: 8-13-2008 07:21:53 Comment #18054
Joe in his comemnting strategies, suggests to use a piece of software called Comment Sniper, it alerts you as soon as a blog of your watchlist publishes a new post.
ciao
alexander
Date/Time: 8-13-2008 08:41:00 Comment #18060
Now that looks real neat. David said in the post that you have to RACE to be the first to comment, which also means you have to constantly visit these sites and constantly check your RSS reader for updates. Perhaps the Comment Sniper is the missing link in the strategy? I never tried it… how much?
Date/Time: 8-13-2008 08:58:17 Comment #18062
Never tried personally.
Guess it’s FREE.
Check out Big Blogger’s last blog post..7 cool tips on how to increase your RSSfeed subscribers this summer on the beach
Date/Time: 8-13-2008 09:12:29 Comment #18063
So simple! Isn’t that the way things are supposed to be? Thanks for the tip.
Date/Time: 8-13-2008 13:37:17 Comment #18068
It seems like that always the simple things get the best results… I really do like this article from Dave, he did a great job on it.
Date/Time: 8-13-2008 13:29:33 Comment #18067
Don’t know if it is always free but you can get it now for free. Go here and download it and they will mail you a key to unlock it for free. Says it regularly goes for $47. I don’t know.
Gonna try it out and see if it helps.
http://www.commentsniper.com/
Check out Dale’s last blog post..Pageflakes
Date/Time: 8-13-2008 14:11:51 Comment #18070
This is a seriously simple yet effective way to get unique visitors. I am gonna try and see how I can use this to gain new readers! Stumbled.
Date/Time: 8-13-2008 16:11:09 Comment #18074
greatpost, will check this out…
ha!
just kidding!
Awesome idea. I am often surfing early in the AM and I could capitalize on those blogs where the author updates at 2AM (like Garry does!)
Great info from a very interesting blog and blogger.
Bean bags anyone?
AL
Check out ALlyn’s last blog post..DIY Home Pest Control vs Pro Pest Control; My Advice
Date/Time: 8-13-2008 16:47:35 Comment #18077
Garry, I hadn’t rid the post yet, but I noticed there may be some formatting issues with the blog. I’m using IE6 on a 800X600. But, then again maybe it is me. LOL
Check out CD Rates – ChrisCD’s last blog post..Calculating FDIC Insurance
Date/Time: 8-13-2008 18:05:19 Comment #18080
Yes, this CAN work, it has for me!
Back in my link-building days I was posting on every blog that had anything to do with my website niche.. I got lucky and was the 2nd post on a blog-post that hit the front-page of Digg.. Gobs of traffic, AND SERP rankings soon followed..
Check out Randy Brown’s last blog post..How To Kill Drupal In 3-Easy Steps
Date/Time: 8-14-2008 01:27:58 Comment #18083
And a method for staying in the conversation is to use http://co.mments.com which I noticed you have linked in your menu. It tracks blog comment conversations and will send you an email if a new comment is added on a blog you are tracking.
The more you are able to contribute, the more you will be seen on that post.
Great stuff as usual.
Sorry for the spammy link, commentluv still doesn’t like me. I created an alternate feed that does validate, but it isn’t clear yet whether or not commentluv can find it.
Check out Zopa Loans’s last blog post..Zopa Loans – Person-to-Person lending
Date/Time: 8-14-2008 21:43:53 Comment #18131
Really imformative. It’s interesting how far leaving 1 insightful comment can lead to quality hits to your site. I have noticed that if you read posts with a critical eye and ask thoughtful questions or encourage more discussion you can get some loyal visitors who are interested to hear what else you have to say.
Date/Time: 8-16-2008 22:40:29 Comment #18406
If they do it the right way, it will help them to build a relationship not only with the publisher but with the other community members too who are active on that particular blog and it helps them a lot in the long run.
Thanks for sharing nice piece of information.
Date/Time: 8-17-2008 16:30:20 Comment #18527
Garry – thanks for picking David to post – this is good info and while I always suspected I could get comment traffic, I hadn’t really figured out a good way to do it (I don’t say logged in to my RSS reader because I don’t have the willpower to stay focused on real work). I’m going to try Comment Sniper this week — you’ll know it worked if I’m the first commenter on one of your posts!!
Annie
Check out Annie Binns’s last blog post..Alfa Romeo MiTo | Supermini, Supersmart, Supercool
Date/Time: 8-17-2008 22:04:46 Comment #18543
I really do agree with you, why?
Once i have leave a comment on the famous blog, I’m the 3rd one to leave the comment on that blog…
A day after that, there is about 200+ visit to my blog just from that blog post only… I’m amaze on what comment will do to my site stats…
Since that day, i know how to make my stats more………
Check out shawal’s last blog post..Win Banner Space on The AdSpace Contest
Date/Time: 8-25-2008 19:17:14 Comment #19554
This is sort of logical, thanks for the read. Just a thought comes to my mind; could be also that if the “first comment”, on a Blog that uses avatars next to the visitors’ comments, may perform even better in this respect. Especially when the avatar looks somewhat captivating it’ll attracts even more eyes and luckily also clicks if it’s up in the first spot.
Check out Hander’s last blog post..Vegetable relish spread rediscovery
Date/Time: 8-31-2008 20:40:13 Comment #20370
Thanks a lot for this great post. I use a RSS reader to get the news for my nice but I never thought on using my RSS reader this way. Thanks again for sharing.
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