What Is a Spam Comment? |

Ryan Biddulph October 21, 2023 blogging tips 🕑 7 minutes read

Racine, Wisconsin, USA

Spam annoys most bloggers at one time or another but have you stopped to ask yourself: What is a spam comment?

How do you feel about spam?

Do you enjoy the feeling of someone attempting to piggy-back on your blogging success?

How about when someone spams you during leaner blogging days?

I used to become enraged when anyone spam commented my blog or social media during blogging droughts. I framed these dingbats as adding insult to injury.

However, when I clearly defined “what is a spam comment” in my mind I felt much different about this oft-derided practice.

No; I did not begin spam commenting on blogs. But I stopped feeling pissed about receiving spam comments and even realized that being spammed indicated my burgeoning blogging success.

Let’s drop the 411 on what is a spam comment to help you feel differently about this blogging tactic.

What Is a Spam Comment?

Any comment on blogs or social media that is not 100% related to the post or update is spam. If the comment does not genuinely add to the discussion then it is by definition spam.

Spam ranges from short generic comments, promoting your business, discussing an off topic blog post or even attempting to drive traffic to your blog or social media profile when the topic appears to be similar.

Let’s review some of spam’s “greatest hits”.

Examples of Spam Comments

“Hey great post!”
“My name is John Doe. Even though I am dead (inside and outside), I am a blogger outreach specialist with access to 70 billion websites for guest blogging.”
“This post about blogging tips is interesting and all but I prefer to discuss my puppies’ clogged anal glands.”
“This is SUCH a good post. Now I want to add a link to a similar blog post I published (to hijack your traffic and income and to send it to my blog).”

This last form of spam seems tricky to spot for scared, desperate or greedy bloggers because no one wishes to own their fear, desperation and greed and selfish, self-centered ways. In truth, this is a mainstream marketing scheme often taught based on the manipulation masturbation collective mindset of bloggers who largely lack dyed in the wool authenticity and just want to shoehorn a blog post link into a comment spawned from a high traffic, highly engaged thread on a blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Reddit or Quora.

Guys; owning that you have been spamming feels a bit icky.

But face these truths you must if you want to stop spamming bloggers and damaging your credibility.

Why Spamming Never Works

Spamming never works for building lasting business success because spam comments offer:

zero value
no help
nil genuine service

Pro bloggers truly help a targeted audience with detailed, targeted, in-depth content. Genuine blog comments sit under this umbrella if you go the commenting route.

If you are still tempted to keep spamming consider watching this video.

I explain in detail why spamming never works.

Why Spamming Never Works

Why Is Spam Frowned Upon?

Most bloggers complain about being spammed because this tactic involves trying to get something for nothing.

People do not appreciate human beings who attempt to steal anything from them because this practice is considered wrong, unethical and flat out rude in the world.

Bloggers who attempt to drive quality traffic and income based on spam commenting in response to the detailed, mindful, patient work of other bloggers are generally disliked because who appreciates a freeloader, or, someone who wants to profit off of all the patient work you’ve put in over the years?

As a practical example, this Blogging From Paradise post has ranked at position 1 on Google for “successful bloggers to follow” for years:

14 Successful Bloggers to Follow

Spammers try to comment in reply to the post because each knows that it generates high quality, passive traffic around the clock. Rather than patiently develop their skills, credibility and exposure by putting in the work, these dolts think:

“Why not copy and paste a generic comment on this high traffic post to easily increase my blog traffic and blogging income?”

Of course, sane bloggers who approach this gig as a genuine skill to be developed over years do not appreciate anyone who tries to use them for quick, easy success.

Do you surround yourself with cheats, robbers and thieves?

Probably not.

This is why bloggers tend to dislike or flat out hate spammers.

Spammers seem to be the scourge of the blogging world but believe it or not, being spammed is a positive signal indicating blogging growth.

Why Do Bloggers Spam Comment on Your Blog and Social Media?

Bloggers spam comment your blog and social media to try to capitalize on what they perceive to be a high traffic, income generating blog.

Being spammed proves that bloggers think of your blog as a great space to be seen by a ton highly targeted human beings. That ain’t a bad thing, folks.

Spammers deem your blog to be a high traffic source with great income potential. Spamming a comment – or 100 – gives them a chance to get a piece of the blogging pie, meaning potential traffic and profits for them.

This is why being spammed is a good thing guys. Being spammed proves that your blog gets enough exposure to pop up on the radar screen. Reflecting or being independent of your current analytics, spammers perceive your blog to be a high traffic income generator, which proves that you are on the right blogging track.

Think Right Side Up Not Upside Down

Of course this perspective seems oft-ignored because most bloggers think upside down instead of right side up. But when you really think about it, spammers simply want to get traffic and money and frame your blog as a high profile spot to make both dreams come true.

See why being spammed is a positive and why you need not get all worked up anytime someone spams your blog or social media?

More people spam my updates on Facebook Groups and LinkedIn Groups daily which means more eyes on Blogging From Paradise Dot Com, my blogging courses and blogging eBooks. I help more bloggers and succeed as more spam comments flow to my social media and blog. This is why spam does not annoy me; I see it for what it is versus some blogging dead beats attempting to leach traffic and income from my online business and blog.

Perceive spam comments as indicators that what you’re doing is working.

In truth, when you receive no forms of engagement through your social media and blog for years – including no spam comments – then your blogging strategy needs to change.

Remember too that your first few comments as a new blogger tend to be spam simply because your blog pops up first on the radar screen of mindless, volume commentors who plow through 100’s or even 1000’s of blogs each day.

What Can You Do to Eliminate Spam?

Close comments on your blog and social media to eliminate spam.

As you can see, this is highly impractical on the social media side of things because success is in engagement, part of which is receiving, reading and replying to comments. Being social precedes social media traffic and blogging income. Closing comments eliminates being social which eliminates traffic and income.

So basically guys, you cannot completely eliminate spam on social media but can befriend and invite only people you know and trust, for your profiles and groups on social media. Spammers are almost always strangers who objectify you as a money source, not a human friend. Friend request trusted bloggers. Approve trusted bloggers who friend request you. Look past everyone else. As for groups, look past everyone who wants in that you do not know and trust.

As for blogging, I allow comments for 3 days on new posts because most BFP spam arrives after that window. Closing comments on new posts lessens spam dramatically because most spammers try to sneak in the back door, commenting on old posts.

Conclusion

As a blogger looking for success, spamming never works because you are trying to get something for nothing. Blogging short cuts do not exist. Developing skills patiently to be truly helpful precedes a pro blogging career.

As a blogger being spammed, this indicates that your blog generates greater exposure and that spammers perceive your blog to be a high traffic income source. If spammers drop comments you better believe that your blog seems to be popping up on the radar screen of these individuals.

Never spam.

Celebrate being spammed but put controls in place to effectively take out the cyber trash.

Change your relationship with spam to succeed by sticking to the fundamentals of creating and connecting genuinely.