Well, in today's post I'm going to share some common reasons why comments are rejected AND share some ideas on how you can get your comments published more often.

Words count

Very short comments are often caught in spam filters or get manually deleted by bloggers.  The reason?  Commenting with just a handful of words is a common tactic used by comment spammers.  They will leave thousands of cut-n-paste comments on sites, like; "great post!" or "Just bookmarked this!" - Comments which could apply to any post on any subject at any time.  As a result, genuine short comments can get deleted by accident.

Why do spammers do this?  They do this, usually just to get backlinks for their site or client's sites.  Each backlink is seen by Google similarly to a vote.  The more backlinks a site has, the more votes it gets and theoretically, the higher that site will rank in Google's search results.  Comment spammers place these links into comments and then use software to attack thousands of sites; trying as many sites as they can, that have no spam protection.  Sites with no protection are flagged as weak and their URL distributed, meaning they get more and more spam!

Today, with tools on most blogs, such as the Facebook ‘like' button or the Google+ 1 button, it's easy to genuinely let the blogger know you like their post, without a 3 word comment.

Are you blacklisted?

If your comments are regularly not published, it's worth finding out if you have been blacklisted (DNSBL'd).  Check your ip address.  Sometimes, a person using the same ip address range as you has been sending spam and been blacklisted.  This can result in you and everyone within that ip address range, being blacklisted too.

You can check your ip address for blacklisting on sites like this.  Alternatively, just search for "ip address blacklist" on your search engine of choice and try a few more.  If you notice your ip address on one or more blacklists, contact your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and let them know.  Then, contact the people blacklisting you and ask for reconsideration.  Some are better than others at managing their blacklists, so YMMV, (your mileage may vary)

Using SEO keywords rather than your name

When filling out the form before you leave a comment, enter your name into the name box and not a series of SEO keywords.  Some sites are fine publishing comments from someone calling themselves ‘cheap web design in Lincoln!" but others are not.  If you just have to insert keywords, I recommend you avoid keywords in that name section, which are commonly used by spammers.  These include; free, offer, save, webinar etc.

An ‘effin fast way to get your comment deleted

Avoid cussing or swearing.  Many blogs are set-up to send comments with bad language direct to the spam filter.  Others, like techcrunch, almost seem to encourage it.  If you want your comments published more often, match your commenting style to the particular blog.

Sell by dates

You may be commenting on a post that has had commenting disabled.  Many blogs disable commenting on posts, which are over a year old.  There are 2 reasons for this:

1. Firstly, because people often fail to read the date on a post, you get comments on old posts saying things like; "HEY idiot, Facebook has 800 million users, not 100 million users like you wrongly state in your post!"


2. Secondly, older posts tend to have high page rank and are targeted heavily by spammers.  Last year, I turned comments off the posts here, which are 12 months old or more, and saw an immediate 40% drop in spam.

Too many links?

Don't put links into your comment unless you really need to and then, try and limit the number.  Putting links into the text of comments is a common ploy used by comment spammers, so many people configure their blog to either moderate or spam, comments containing links.

Additionally, some bloggers do not like people leaving any links in their comments, because they believe these links will cause their readers to click away from their blog.  This may seem as odd to you as it does to me, but it's true.

Their home.  Their rules

If the blog has a commenting policy, check that you are not violating it.  I have a policy here, which is designed to stop people abusing my commenters and reduce the amount of spam I receive.  It works extremely well and you are very welcome to copy it and use it on your site.  You can read it here.

Many people who comment on blogs believe they have the right to say anything, no matter what the legal ramifications are or how racist, sexist or simply offensive their comments are, on any blog they wish.  The reality is that just as every person is different, every blogger has a different threshold regarding what he or she thinks is OK to publish.  In short: When we visit someone's blog, we stand a better chance of seeing our comment published, if we play by their house rules.

Some people hate being wrong

Some bloggers hate to be proven wrong and will delete your comment, if it shows they were incorrect.  A commenter here recently shared a comment with me, which an a-list blog refused to publish, simply because she spotted a genuine flaw in the point made in the post.  Other bloggers delete comments, that disagree with them.  In my opinion that's a bad idea, but it's their site and their rules.

Summing up

Unless there's a technical glitch, there are only 2 things that will stop your comment getting published on a blog:

1. It gets filtered automatically, because software has identified the content or sender as a threat.


2. It gets deleted manually, by the blog's administrator.

The first hurdle is relatively easy to resolve.  However, every blogger has their own ideas on what they will publish, making the second hurdle trickier.  In my experience, most bloggers are happy to allow any comment through, which adds to the value of their blog.  If you believe you have something worth sharing but the blogger refuses to publish your feedback, it's their loss - Not yours.  Go and find a blog, where the blogger values their community and encourages people to share ideas and insights.