There is a major debate brewing. No, I am not talking about the health care debate. I am talking about the “do follow” ” no follow” debate that seems to be coming to a head lately. It seems like many bloggers that I am familiar with have been switching from do follow to no follow lately.
Earlier today I was reading a post on Site Sketch 101, where Nicolas claimed that the verdict is in on the “do follow” vs. “no follow” debate. One of his central tenants is that advertising your blog as “do follow” is like buying friends. Essentially his claim is that if your blog is do follow then you are basically paying people to talk to you and that you can not build relationships or community like that. I totally disagree with this assertion. The way I see it, being part of the do follow movement is a community in itself and there is a tight group of bloggers that are do follow and support other do follow bloggers. This community is very strong! To me, advertising yourself is as a do follow blog is an effective way to get blog visitors. It is similar to being a part of Entrecard or Adgitive or advertising on Google. Yes, people are coming to your blog for the first time perhaps for a different reason but if your content is strong they will be back. Many of my regular community members first visited my blog from Entrecard and many more because I was a do follow blog. I truly believe that they continue to visit because they enjoy my content and they comment to add to the discussion or show appreciation for a job well done. In no way do I feel that I am paying anyone for their comments.
I don’t know if the verdict is in, it sure seems like the jury is still out. Bloggers will be debating this for many years to come. I think I have discovered a perfect solution. Last month, I installed a new do follow plugin that allows me to set a threshold for the number of comments that one must make before their links are changed to do follow. My settings are on 4 This allows me to still draw new people to my blog and I can still maintain my status as a do follow blog.
What are your thoughts on the subject?
Have you recently switched from do follow to no follow – why?
I don’t think using ‘do follow’ attributes is “buying” visitors anymore than using every blog community site like Technorati, MyBlogLog, etc.
However, I’m sure there are people out there that do only post comments on ‘do follow’ blogs, but I think in turn, that ends up starting dialog–dialog that others will likely respond to whether you’re ‘do-follow’ or not.
I’ll admit that when I was starting out, I was looking for ‘do follow’ blogs to post on just to help with my site. I wasn’t spamming, but I started realizing that I was skipping a lot of cool blogs where I had an opinion. I just decided to post whenever and wherever I had something to say.
Sometimes they click on your link, sometimes they don’t, but who cares. If your site has good content, it’ll grow naturally.
.-= Brandon´s last blog ..List Building – Bounce Handling =-.
That’s absurd, just getting a backlink is not enough to make me visit, it’s content and activity that are the big drawing card. I don’t think making it 4 posts required is any better than bribing one with dofollow. I just let everyone in and delete the jerks who spam.
.-= Warren Contreras@blog traffic´s last blog ..What Really Works? =-.
I don’t think there is ever going to be a clear answer, until Google comes out and says that no-follow doesn’t exist (which they never will because it would encourage spam)
There is a clear choice that bloggers need to make as being do-follow can certainly help Alexa ranking (ie traffic) but can lead to huge amounts of spam.
Interesting choice and it all depends on your perspective.
Don’t miss the broader context of what I was trying to discuss in my two articles about the dofollow issue. I played Devil’s advocate for two days in a row and pointed out some very legitimate reasons why it is perfectly acceptable to use the nofollow tag on comment links. The point was to stop the demonizing of those who use it.
I then concluded at the end of my second article that I use the same plugin that you use. My site is a dofollow blog just as yours is. However, I don’t use it with a blind one-sided notion that it is a cure all and that people should avoid or demonize those who don’t use it. I’m not naive. I understand and respect both sides of the issue and my decision to be nofollow is built on a thorough knowledge and understanding of both sides.
There are too many people who are defending one side or the other as if they are supporting “right” or “wrong.” This isn’t a moral issue.
My point about paying for relationships is a valid point that the nofollow crowd brings up and it shouldn’t be dismissed. We should understand that those sentiments can and will exist. We should understand them and make our decision to be nofollow with an understanding of that possibility and not with a rejection of it.
In my mind the verdict is in and the verdict is this: there is merit on both sides of the debate and whichever side you choose…you are right. That, in my opinion, is the verdict.
.-= Nicholas Z. Cardot´s last blog ..Thinking Outside The Box…Is it Just a Cliche? =-.
Gail,
you make many great points,especially the point about a real community and real relationships that exist in the dofollow blog community.
In regards to the comment count, it is based on the name field, so to your point, the commenter has to use the same name and keywords to hit the threshold. I know for me when I comment on a blog the info is already stored from last time so I usually use the same name field for the blog I am leaving a comment on.
I found this post thanks to Dennis Edell linking to it in his latest post on dofollow.
Those who read my blog already know that we are both major proponents for the Do Follow CommentLuv KeywordLuv community.
I wonder if Nicholas reads any of the blogs in our community? If he does it should be obvious that there are real relationships between the bloggers that extends far beyond links in comments.
I hope anyone reading this who chooses to be part of our community will check to see if I have listed them in the KeywordLuv list (see post in CommentLuv).
I know I’m missing many fine blogs so do please leave links in my comments to any I have missed.
DAN: One question for you and others who use plugins to remove nofollow after so many comments. We need to know what field that plugin is using to decide how many comments we have left.
The reason that is important is that those who do not use the same information in that field each time (name, email or URL?) will continually start over trying to get to 4 comments.
Two thumbs up to John Sullivan for his comment “Dude their is no debate you have dicks that like No follow and cool people that like Do follow it’ as simple as that.”
.-= Gail @ KeywordLuv´s last blog ..KeywordLuv: How Using It Benefits Us All =-.
To be candid, i came across this blog through a dofollow blog directory, i usually comment on blog with nofollow attribute too especially if its with great content, what is more important to me is the relevancy of the content.
@Web Hosting UK, I am glad you found me…You helped make my point. You found me through my do follow affiliation and you continue to stop by and contribute to my blog.
Google will call the do follow links and your blog ranking will increase
I agree with Dennis who cares how they got to your site if they add something to it.
I also don’t believe there is anything wrong with promoting something you feel is a positive thing. Until somebody can prove to me that dofollow is a bad thing I will not change my opinion.
.-= Danny @Do Follow Blogs´s last blog ..DoFollow Vs NoFollow Debate =-.
@Danny @Do Follow Blogs, I am right with you Danny.
There always seems to be someone who wants to declare the argument over, but I don’t think it’s that easy to make a declarative statement. I agree that the “do follow” community is a solid community, and much more so than stuff like Entrecard.
.-= Shane@ Master Dayton Freelance Writing Blog´s last blog ..Demand Studios Review =-.
@Shane@ Master Dayton Freelance Writing Blog, Agree, the debate is far from over…
The dofollow blogs are bloggers who have not succumbed to PageRank GREED. The nofollow hogs will do no better, receive less comments and useful conversation to their blogs and still not get any farther ahead. Thanks for keepin with the DOfollow movement.
@The Chaos Creator™, Thank you too! I think that no follow bloggers have a selfish streak. It seems that when a blogger that was do follow starts to get established they switch over to no follow and then put a video of Matt from Google to justify their greed. Sounds harsh but hey, i am in a direct and opinionated mood this morning.
I would like to ask, where can I get a do follow plug in if i am using blogspot?
.-= Liz´s last blog ..BHO Supports Earth Hour =-.
@Liz,
I am not sure there are plugins for blogspot, however I found this which seems to explain how to do it.
Hope this helps.
.-= Tom@Websites for Accountants´s last blog ..10 web design conventions that will make your website as good as Amazon.com =-.
It is not matter to me as well if a blog is Dofollow or Nofollow, I will keep comment on any blog if the content is good, interested and related.
@Domain name registration, I guess content is still king in your eyes. I also do comment on no follow blogs but my time is limited and if I am going to go check out some blogs for an hour or so, i would rather support do follow bloggers.
I disagree that you are buying friends with “dofollow”…you are creatively attracting visitors. I think you idea to set a threshold is a good one as it invites return visits. Keep up the great work!
.-= Richard@How To Videos´s last blog ..How To Make Money With AdSense =-.
@Richard@How To Videos, Bingo!
I understand the problem, bvut I don´t see any need for such a big discussion all over the internet. Everyone can decide for himself if he wants to have a dofollow or a nofollow blog, and visitors have to accept it. I I like a blog, I write comments, if I don´t like it, I don´t read it and won´t start writing just for gettink links.
@Dave, People are very passionate about this…besides it is always fun to have a heated debate…it keeps things interesting.
I think running a DoFollow has its place for certain types of blogs. But as I have said before, to me, it doesn’t matter if a site is DoFollow or not. I will continue to read and comment on a site if it has something I want to comment on.
As for my site, I have set for a certain amount of comments before they go DoFollow but at some point if need to turn off DoFollow I will.
.-= element321´s last blog ..110+ CSS Resources and Tutorials =-.
@element321, I think you have the right startegy. I am surprised that more bloggers are not setting a number and then changing over to do follow. It seems like the nest of both worlds to me.
I am with you on this one, I believe it is possible to build a community around dofollow blogs. It even encourages the community spirit as you – as a blogger – share the popularity of your blog with your commenters.
As a dofollow blog owner – hint, hint
– I think it’s only fair to say thank you to the commenters who took the time to craft a valuable response to a post. That doesn’t mean any comment gets through though!
.-= Tom@Websites for Accountants´s last blog ..10 web design conventions that will make your website as good as Amazon.com =-.
@Tom@Websites for Accountants, well said Tom!
@Tom@Websites for Accountants, Thanks for your comment Tom and I think you made a valuable point…not every comment gets through on a do follow blog. I take a lot of time to ensure that I am not linking to shady sites.
My position is: whatever. Some of my blogs are dofollow, some aren’t. Whatever works for you.
.-= Alison Moore Smith@Easy Blog Setup´s last blog ..Write Like a Pubescent Boy in a Locker Room: Fart Blogging =-.
@Alison Moore Smith@Easy Blog Setup, The whatever position is probably a good one.. I know there are some pretty passionate bloggers on extreme ends of the spectrum but I also suspect that a lot of bloggers are like wahtever…and then there are probably some bloggers that do not even now what the difference is between do follow and no follow.
I think do follow can influence people to comment but that is upto some level, the rest is the content, if it is worthy, then it will surely get comments to your blog.
.-= Gautam Hans @ Blog Godown´s last blog ..7 Smashing Techniques to Pull Guest Authors to your Blog =-.
@Gautam Hans @ Blog Godown, I agree, I do think a lot of people choose to read blogs that are do follow in the first place. If i am being honest, over 90% of of the blogs in my reader are do follow. I hardly follow any blogs that are not.
I think the way your blog handles it is a very intelligent and fair way of doing things. Those who take time out to enhance to your blog with user generated content (i.e. comments) of value get a reward, and those who show up with the sole intention of spamming get nowhere.
@Hot Tub Steve, It took me over a year to figure this out, but it seems to be working for me.
I don’t remember how I found you; I come back because your content is good. The do follow is a bonus.
.-= itauditsecurity´s last blog ..Teach Yourself Security =-.
@itauditsecurity, Thanks for your comment and thanks for continuing to come back
My blog is dofollow as well because it pushes my readers to drop a comment or two. Let’s be honest here, of course we read blogs and leave comments because of the great content, etc….
but it’s also nice to get a backlink from it as well. What can I say, I’m an Internet Marketer
.-= Jack | Online Marketing Blog´s last blog ..2010 Page Rank Schedule Predictions & How To Improve Your Blog’s Rank =-.
@Jack | Online Marketing Blog, Jack, I agree. Blogging is fun and all, but I also blog for a purpose, mainly to promote my other sites/businesses and make money. If I can get a backlink from my comment, I am certainly more inclined to visit that blog and drop my $.02
I agree with this post. I also recently published a blog post in response to that same post by Nicholas Cardot.
But because I appreciate all comments, all of my links are Dofollow. Even so, spam has not been unbearable, though I would say I am rather strict with comment moderation.
.-= Eric B.´s last blog ..The Case For Dofollow Links =-.
@Eric B., I will stop by and read your side of the debate…
I don’t visit your blog because it’s a DoFollow blog, I just do because I like it even if you don’t follow!
I wouldn’t share the number of comments before removing the nofollow
.-= Hesham @ FamousBloggers´s last blog ..3 Must Have Basic Elements for more User-Friendly Blog =-.
@Hesham @ FamousBloggers, Good advice on not disclosing the exact number…I really do it just to avoid the comment companies that stop by for their clients. I seem to get about 10 of those per day.
@Hesham @ FamousBloggers, I’m running dofollow myself at the moment, but I don’t really care that much.
I do like that Nick took a stand on it. He has some very strong opinions which he normally (more or less) keeps to himself.
Frankly, dofollow, nofollow is all irrelevant. What’s relevant is whether people are buying my crap. If dofollow results in more sales, booyah. If nofollow results in more sales, that’s fine too.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the community, but my landlord couldn’t give a rat’s patootie. (I’ve written on this before, search on “landlord+rats+patootie.”)
And that’s my stand on the issue, which probably won’t make me any friends, but will certainly clear the air.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..How to Practice Blogging Like a Master – You can do this =-.
@Dave Doolin, Like the strait talk Dave! It is reshreshing. The thing with Nicholas’ stance was that I did not like how he said do follow blogs are in essence paying people top comment. I recall several months ago on his blog he was running contests to increase his blog comments. I am fine with people taking a stand, but consistency is good too
@Dan Keller, Nick is evolving as the rest of us are.
Consistency is fine, stagnation not so much.
Key is managing change consistently.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..“Dumb it down” they say… No! I say, “Smarten it up!” (Saturday Morning Surfing) =-.
@Dan Keller, mmmmm that makes me think, why people forget what they have done before?!
I have done the same commenting contests for 3 or 4 months I don’t remember when I first started my blog, and it was giving the blog a great push, and I don’t regret it at all, but probably I will not do it again because my blog is standing on it’s feet and don’t need that anymore, probably I will go for bigger contests for like the one I am running now for example, I think of it as an advsertising my blog and insted of paying for ads to bring visitors I prefere to pay for a winner who did a good comptetion on my blog!
Dan, it’s all about techniques that we are trying and changing depends on our needs!
.-= Hesham @ FamousBloggers´s last blog ..40 Famous Guest Bloggers you should Follow On Twitter #1 =-.
@Dave Doolin, I agree with you and I would do the same exactly!
I have visited your post, and it’s really interesting, I like what you have came up when you talked about marketers and what they say “If there’s no market, you have no business”, too true!
And by the way, Thank you tons of times because you have guided me to that post from Johnny B. Truant “You Can’t Do It”, this one link made me read all the other posts you linked to in your post!
And.. Oh! I used to manage a team of designers and developers on my latest job, I don’t have a full time job now, and I didn’t leave my job to go blogging, I was forced to, I am not a guy who like to fail, actually I don’t have any other way but to success!
You know Dave? some times I feel so mad because I also spend lots but not to learn blogging, just to keep blogging…
And I will success because I have to!
.-= Hesham @ FamousBloggers´s last blog ..40 Famous Guest Bloggers you should Follow On Twitter #1 =-.
@Hesham @ FamousBloggers, I’m about to push the button on a long form sales letter for a month long workshop.
I’m going to start earning it back.
We’re running in increasingly overlapping circles. I don’t comment so much any more as I’ve got a lot on my plate. But I’ll be around.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..“Dumb it down” they say… No! I say, “Smarten it up!” (Saturday Morning Surfing) =-.
@Dave Doolin, I wish you good luck, and I don’t mind to help you if you need anything contact me through my contact page!
.-= Hesham @ FamousBloggers´s last blog ..40 Famous Guest Bloggers you should Follow On Twitter #1 =-.
@Keith, What’s the relations between lower comments number and getting more traffic? I can not see any relation here!
I think you have gained more traffic because something else, not because you have turned your blog into no-follow! .. right?
.-= Hesham @ FamousBloggers´s last blog ..40 Famous Guest Bloggers you should Follow On Twitter #1 =-.
@Keith, I definately think that I get new first time visitors to my blog because of being affiliated with the do follow movement. I do not equate that with paying for visitors though, that was the point I was trying to make. I think promoting ones blog as do follow is a valid and effective way to attract first time visitors. At that point is it up to me to keep them coming back and if they continue to come back and leave 4 solid comments then why the hell wouldn’t I switch their link over to do follow. By this point, I have gotten to know them and their site . I can then make the decision if their site is shady or not.
It has worked great for me because I am sure that many of my regular readers and commentors may have paid me a visit initially because I am do follow. I truly believe that the majority stick around and continue to contribute because they want to not because of the incentive to do so. It has taken me over a year to build up a solid community and now that I have I will not just say screw you and switch to no follow like I have seen a lot of established bloggers do. It seems that when a blogger gets established they make changes and say they are “evolving” I just think that they become selfish.
@Mike @sugarcane fertiliser, Mike thanks for your first comment, i look forward to seeiong you back and keep commenting…they will be do follow soon
@Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing, Amen brother. I agree, as bloggers a major part of our job is to promote our blog and attract visitors. Who cares why they came…If they leave a good comment great, if not, it is just as easy to click the spam link as it is to click the approve link.
@Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing, Agree, it is certainlly a long standing debate…
@John Sullivan@The Debate is a dead issue, I was hoping you would stop by and add your perspective. do follow = cool bloggers .
@Dick, I am all for a do follow world. I didn’t know you had a link directory, what is the url?