Increasing your reader’s traffic part 1: through comments
*What’s this? See below*
I was going to list out another slick way to raise your user’s traffic and technorati rank but then I was told it’s the great International Week to Delurk. This means two things: 1) I decided to provide methods of increasing your reader’s traffic through their comments 2) Why not comment and increase your own traffic here and 3) I really don’t comment enough and 4) I can’t count because that’s more than two.
So here we go!
Expression Engine:
One of the first things I got questions about when I first started blogging (four freaking years ago now) was “how do I list the most recent comments? I want to encourage people to comment and I want a list on my sidebar.” Back then, it wasn’t that common. Now, though, almost every major CMS (That Thing Which You Type On To Post Things) provides this option.
In Expression Engine, use the code from the docs. Since this is pretty self explanatory if you’re viced in EE, I won’t go further with detail.
But! If you want someone really different, you can use the newly acquired method here on Mrs. Flinger (dot US).
I recently found the joy of passing embedded variables. Holymother! This information has changed my design life. For example: Now I’m using a method similar to this to pass comment authors to the front page. There’s one exception, though. The code listed in the Wiki specified an entry_id variable. If you want to pass the comments for all entries, simply delete this variable like so:
Instead of:
{embed=“summer06/inc_comments” my_weblog_name=”{my_weblog_name}" my_template_group="{my_template_group}” entry_id=”{entry_id}”}
use: {embed=“site/inc_comments” my_weblog_name=”{my_weblog_name}"}
(that code goes in your index template in the {weblog:entries} tag.)
In your inc_comments template, you should simply have:
{exp:comment:entries entry_id=”{embed:entry_id}"}
{url_as_author}, 
{/exp:comment:entries}
You can, naturally, use all the paramaters available to the comment:entries tag from the documentation. I simply wanted to list authors and web links if applicable.
Are you glossing over yet? Great.
Wordpress:
I see a lot of people using the commentLurv plugin. The concept here is to go fetch the commenter’s last blog post through their RSS feed and display it along with their comment.
EE already has the ability to read and fetch RSS feeds so I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before someone who doesn’t have two small children and a job will create a plugin similar to this for EE. Ahem. Cough. Sneeze.
There is, naturally, a plugin for the top commenters found here. One nice plus is that people who end up in your list of top commenters get an additional link in technorati. Don’t forget to tell them so.
There’s also the DoFollow act. Izzy Mom explains it here and even provides lists for how to participate. There’s a movement to allow commentor’s links to register on Google and thus encourage (and reward) people in their google page-rank when they comment.
And, shortly before your brain explodes, I will leave you with this:
Wheeeeee!!!
KAPLOW
*This series started as I researched increasing blog traffic, for the first time ever, about three months ago. I spent almost four years keeping my web site out of google and when I launched a business/resource site I decided to learn why and how one would increase traffic to a new site. I was amazed at the number of “increase your blog traffic” sites there are out there and how selfish I started feeling reading them. MEMEME. So I decided it would be nice to spread whatever traffic I do have, which isn’t much. It’s a little like sex and road rage: If we all just Got Some, there wouldn’t be road rage. Let’s just all give blog luv and there will be no war or famine. This is only a theory, of course.
Grab a button to promote traffic sharing:
Jan, 09, 2008 Filed in: Technical Tips •Boost your reader's blog traffic • Read the Archives
Call me, baby
We have a new feature on Mamaspod. We’re trying out some software that allows people to call in with feedback/ideas/reviews/rants, whatever. If you’d like to promote your blog, give a holiday shout-out to someone, make hot-sexy breathing noises in to the phone or just call to let your kids sing jingle-bells, we’d like to hear it.
I’m working on the last podcast for the year on Mamaspod. It’s been fun working with these gals and a wonderful treat to share with The Internet. Please give us some fun clips to include as our last hurrah, wouldya?
(When you click the call me button, your phone rings and you can leave a message. It’s not long distance. It’s free. And look! You’ll be
some people!
You know you wanna.
Next up on Mrs. Flinger: How to annoy your readers by talking about the same thing overandoverandover. Then! The post you’ve all been waiting for: Traffic for your readers: Promoting Blog Communities Via The Link.
(Right after I get another cup of coffee and finish up a few designs thanks to her, who already proposed to me on the phone, which I accepted, and will be moving to Ontario soon to move in with her and get all that free medical care and a drinking partner who nerds out on designs like I do. But better. And with better wine. And with a cooler accent, eh.)
Dec, 18, 2007 Filed in: Technical Tips •Boost your reader's blog traffic •Web Design • Read the Archives
A new series on Mrs. Flinger: Boosting your Reader’s Traffic
You know how I’ve been all I dunno if I want to keep blogging and all The Internet seems like a horrifically selfish place now and I just don’t have TIME, people? You know how it’s kind of like your friend in Jr. High who always says she’s fat and you always say, “No, no you’re not” and you know how annoying that is? Like shutthefuckupalreadyaboutthenotblogging. Because? I’m blogging about not blogging?
I even annoy myself sometimes. Trust me.
So I thought it might help to let you in on part of why I came to a head with my blog crisis:
A) Apparently I am a blog failure. According to several articles, I break at least ten very important blog rules. Namely, I don’t always answer comments (I’m so so sorry, Internet. I love y’all. I love your feedback. But damn if I don’t have some sort of shit to clean up ... I mean this literally… every time I want to reply. It’s not you, it’s me. It’s always me.). I don’t participating in social networks. (Facebook? BUHAHAHA. Haven’t logged in for about two months. Cre8buzz? Mia’sMom? Cafemom? All of them? It’s just. TOO. Damn. Much.) I don’t have good content (Farts? Girdles? Cussing?) and I do not update frequently (Per the two tiny spawn of mine who, in the end, I feel deserve more of my attention than faceless people on The Internet, however much I enjoy said faceless people).
B) While launching our Mamaspod.com website, I started doing some research on SEO because frankly, I’ve never done much with it and the goal of our new site is to be a resource some day, as opposed to my personal blog which is, well, personal. I’ve never researches ways to increase traffic. I’ve never really looked in to how to become google’s top bitch. I’ve never considered writing certain things. And that’s when it hit me: Every other single blogger is looking for traffic. I mean, sure, we all want exposure and that I’ve always been thankful for. I’ve enjoyed being linked to. I’ve enjoyed when people say really kind things about me. I giggle like a school girl because writers I respect and admire link and say nice things. But the self seeking traffic is only now becoming a focus for me, for the new website and it’s stressing me the fuck out. If I can be honest.
That’s when it hit me: You people? YOU people? The people who come over, stop in, say hi, read, give me a virtual chuckle here and then or slap my virtual ass? You are the people who deserve the traffic. The love. The attention. Because honestly? Without you? I’d be writing in my locked journal like the sixth grade pimply faced drama queen pondering hormones and boys and makeup. Instead, I do it here, with you, and we can have a good chuckle about my eyebrows together.
Everything is better when it’s shared.
So I’m starting a series on how to get your reader’s traffic. How to help the people who read YOU to have a higher technorati rank. How to be selfless with linking, how to be the one who isn’t afraid to say look! Look over here! I like her/him/them! Because I have a feeling some of the methods you might be using now aren’t as effective as you want them to be. Let’s change that together, shall we?
Next up in the series: Why blogrolling is out and how to help your reader’s technorati rank.
Questions you want addressed? Input you want posted? Got something to say? Let me know.
Also, for fun I added a “call me” button on mamaspod. You can call in and give us some input if you’d like. It goes straight to voice mail that I can use on the air but I did this on Jumping Monkeys and got all giddy when Leo answered my question and Megan remembered me. It was so fun, as if they were talking with me, that we decided to do it, too. So call in, yo. And don’t worry if your baby starts to scream half way through your message. It’s not like that ever happened to ME or anything… cough ... .