Blog Commenting - Useful?

[DeliaAssociates]

How useful are you finding blog commenting to be regarding link building?  I was having a discussion with someone about this today, and I thought some input from the Moz community may be helpful.

How helpful do you find blog commenting to be in link building?

Do you have any evidence of effectiveness/ineffectiveness?

Is it something you still currently do (for link building)?

Any input is appreciated.  Thanks guys!

[casper434]

My experience to date is that it is provided the topics are relevant.

[SEODinosaur]

Blog commenting is not a direct approach to a link. In other words majority of comments you make will allow you to place a link as your name (tip: use your name or company name), This is usually a no follow link which does not count for SEO. However, if you build relationships with other by commenting/contributing (adding value) on their posts (make them your friends) and interacting with them you can earn good quality links and mentions to your site/articles.

If you read an article and you disagree with it or want to add a bunch more value to it, you can write a post on your blog and in the comments of the article you want to contribute to you can leave that link. Although it's a no-follow link it adds value to the user and they are more likely to share it or link to it.

[KyleChamp]

If you’re doing blog commenting for the sole purpose for gaining thinks than you should stop. This is just spam and does not contribute to anything.

Now, commenting on blogs can be a really good way to connect with other people in your industry and get your name out there. This also works well if you want to become a guest blogger on a site. Start commenting on their blogs with useful insights and you can gain a personal relationship with them. Other people might also start following your blog because of your helpful / informational comments.