This topic might invite ire from some website owners or those IM ‘gurus’.

What I’m going to share defies what I had learned from seasoned marketers/bloggers who often claim that comments are crucial in a website’s SEO … and therefore traffic and sales.

In my previous post, I talked about how I found it easier (and faster) to see sales from a website that promotes Amazon products as compared to Internet marketing-related products.

What I did not mention in that post was that I had received traffic and sales from the website (promoting Amazon products) without receiving any comments from my website visitors. Not even a single comment – zilch!

Comments or No Comments? What Makes Your Post Tick?

I had understood from one online business training platform that visitors’ comments would contribute to your search engine rankings (SEO).

I can’t refute that and of course as website owners, you want to have an engaged audience – visitors who can relate to what you wrote and subsequently share their views.

However, having created several websites now, I realize that receiving comments from your audience does not necessarily translate to generating sales. It certainly is not the backbone to gain traction for your site.

Come to think of it, I’m no different than my website visitors…I think.

When I’m looking for some information, I’ll type some keywords in the search engines. Then I’ll pick from the search results – choosing from those webpages which I feel might lead me to the information that I’m looking for. Visiting the webpage, I’ll then assess if the content is relevant to what I was looking for.

If the information is comprehensive and valuable to my needs, often times I would drop a few lines in the comments section to let the website owner know what I think about his post topic and content.

And what happens after?

Well, I might bookmark the page for future reference.

Would I buy the products or services that is promoted in the website? Perhaps. But maybe not, as I had (in the first place) visited the website for information and had no intention to buy anything at all.

My Websites – Valuable Lessons

To illustrate my point that visitors’ comments may not be as crucial (in SEO, traffic or sales) as they are made out to be, I’m going to relate my own experience with two of my websites.

Website 1 was created about six months earlier than website 2. Unlike Website 1, the latter was created with a specific audience in mind – both men and women who are experiencing hair loss.

The target audience is very niche and has real, specific need – how to manage their hair loss and perhaps grow their hair.

So these people have a real problem to which they are seeking practical solution – if not from some product then perhaps from some program or services.

On the other hand, Website 1 was created in a broad niche – fitness, without any focus on any specific type of fitness.

The content incorporated in Website 1 included those with general issues on health. I received hundreds of comments from visitors as they relate their own experiences but….not many sales!

In contrast, Website 2 targets specific group of audience and covers product reviews that can potentially help with their hair issues.

Since creating Website 2, I had not received even a single comment for the content. It’s a website on product reviews but none of my readers had ever left their thoughts on the posts.

However, I had received sales for the affiliate products (from different networks) that I featured.

I have never spoken about any of the featured products as a ‘must buy’. Mostly, I presented the pros and cons and stayed away from providing a lop-sided review. I believe these were points that triggered the readers to click on the links to check out on further details, such as actual price.

My Take

Thus, I came to the conclusion that while comments are welcomed as it reflects good audience engagement and also SEO, it is not an absolute must to see your website making some money.

And that’s the truth as far as my Website 2 is concerned. Currently, it’s even generating more income than Website 1 which, since its start had garnered hundreds of comments.

What’s Next?

Instead of focusing only on getting comments, I came across a recent article that talks about other factors that would definitely contribute to better SEO – higher rankings in the search engines. You can find the link to that article below.

Other Factors that Contribute to Better SEO

Click HERE!