Readers Add Value, But Do Comments?
I’ve been researching some different ways to reward commentators on this site so I decided to take a look at the Top 10 blogs on Technorati and check out how many comments they received in relation to their estimated (or published) traffic levels.
I added into this equation a few of my own favorite, smaller sites and then crunched the numbers.
It doesn’t matter whether you look at only RSS readership, unique visitors, or a weighted/unweighted combination of both, the results are the same for every site:
Less than 3% of readers leave comments
In fact, most posts average less than 1% and only get close to 3% when the blogger “opens it up” and asks for the reader’s opinion in the comments.
For a basic example, consider Techcrunch which is ranked number 4 on Technorati’s top blogs list. For posts on June 18th, the site has received 333 comments which equates to 0.07% of it’s 430,000 RSS subscribers. Furthermore, according to it’s advertising page, Techcrunch receives 1.5million unique visitors per month which equates to 50,000 visitors per day. Looking at unique visitors only, that’s only 0.6% of readers leaving a comment.
Of course, visitors may leave comments on older posts but from experience, close to 100% of comments are left on the day the post is published. Whichever way you combine and merge Techcrunch’s readership numbers, less than 1% of readers are leaving comments.
What does this mean?
The conclusions that I draw from this are that comments do very little to add value to a site and that the main focus for a blogger should be on rewarding and encouraging readers - not just those who leave comments.
When I removed the ‘Do Follow’ plugin, some argued that I didn’t value my readership, but that argument confuses readers with commentators. A readership is the most important thing that a blog has and I value everyone who reads this site. But commentators specifically only make up a small portion of that readership.
However, commentators do fulfill a vital role for any blog in providing (sometimes) valuable feedback and giving a site a “lively” appearance - even if this role is only played by a small number of readers. The value of comments should not be understated and there is still the “I like getting comments” factor but I don’t believe there’s a value difference between receiving 10 comments and 100 comments.
The next step
Obviously, these results and conclusions lead me to believe that any promotions or ’sidebar space’ regarding the ‘Top Commentator‘ and ‘Do Follow‘ plugins are perhaps not as valuable as many believe and could possibly be replaced with something more worthwhile. I’m not saying they are completely useless, but bloggers should be aware that these features are only benefiting 1%-2% of their readers.
Furthermore, it makes any posts regarding “How to increase comments” quite redundant and unrelated to adding value to a blog.
The best solution to all of this is to find a way to reward ‘Top Readers‘. Perhaps this can simply be done by giving your readers what they want.
Rich people subscribe to Cash Quests
I think it’s all about eliciting conversation. I’ve noticed blogs like techcrunch are really great at doing that. Most tech-related blogs generate impressive comment numbers, as many niche’s have awesome readership but don’t generate as much comments. Although my blog generates good traffic, comments are not as common as on “make money” blogs or tech blogs.
by Terra Andersen
nice found kumiko,
it’s so inspirational. we should admit that many people still thinking that people are successful on blogging if they got lots of comment under their post. and techcrunch proves that it’s wrong.
nice
by Jack Book
I rarely comment on blogs, but I do tend to read a lot. Therefore, I would agree with you that comments aren’t that important. They often don’t add any value to the site.
I have yet to find a site where the comments are the reason I keep coming back.
Regards,
by Sofcore
I agree that comments are by no means essential, but a comment ads fresh content to that page causing the Googlebot to crawl it again which helps it rank higher in the search engines (Google’s the one we care about). That can be done with a single comment, but large numbers of comments can also make a post have a very good position in the SERPS - a longer post = more rankable content = better rankings.
by Matt Jones
A large number of comments would also affect your keyword density.
by Kumiko
True, so you’re saying that can be for good or bad, but providing your post is tighly focused then the chances are commentators will repeat some of the phrases.
by Matt Jones
Thanks Kumiko.
Here is the rub: people who comment are more loyal. It follows the rule of committment and consistency that Cialdini talks about in his excellent book - Influence.
People who take their time to write a comment will end up spending more time on your blog, emailing you when they find an error, will buy your products - or the products you recommend, will pitch in when you ask for help.
They may make just 1% of your total readership. But they form the top 1% of your readers too.
by Ankesh Kothari
So if you’re going to reward your readers, what do you do? Comments are nice and can build a loyal fan base in the long run, but what rewards readers? Awesome content. It’s hard to keep the balance though.
by A Tentative Personal Finance Blog
Comments are for reading. Aren’t they? Will you read if there are 333 comments?
Probably not. So what’s the point in commenting?
But you’re right, commentators don’t equal readers. But again do all your readers promote your blog? Are all of them active participants in linktrains or whatever(I haven’t used one myself, I think). I think there is an active percentage of readers who read all your posts, participate in your contests and linktrains and such, comment on some posts and link to you.
Readers come and go, commentators who feel love might stay;)
by Business Card Guru
Kumiko, I find comments to be extremely valuable for my blog. I know very few readers actively comment, but I develop a personal connection with my commenters, which helps me to relate better to my general audience. In addition, I often am inspired by their comments, which gives me ideas for future blog posts.
by Jeffrey Kishner
I am a rare commodity, so why not no follow?? If only 3% use it…what is the big deal?? Seems silly all the controversy. (Yeah, I read the post of….lowers sponsors blah blah blah)…
I think others like seeing a site is active even if they don’t comment themselves.
by Jennifer
Don’t comments add to the content value of a site? Basically, they are comprised of writing that you don’t have to create yourself, on a topic that can generate more keywords such as “Get Rich”. For example.
by michelle
hi kumiko, just would like to let u know i’m still here reading your posts:-)
by johnny card
But i also believe that comments should not be the only way to juge your blog success.
by AmeyJah
Maybe as for maths you’re right but I don’t agree this time.
all this online thing is more like for my heart not pocket 
As reader I like interactive blogs - with commentators, community etc. I always thought that blog is something interactive, like small community for people interested in same things. And if I need choose between active readers and just readers, between reward my commentators or better keep place to put in something more valuable and earn some few dollars more, then I choose people not money. Maybe its because I am not big online earner anyway
by Inga Oz
Along the lines of what Ankesh said above: the seemingly small amount of people commenting are likely the same people who would help grow your blog in different ways than, say, just having a larger readership (though this equates more directly to making more money).
When a major company gets a complaint mailed to them (or called, or emailed), they treat it as though 1000 other people think the same way. I don’t know the actual statistic, but that is the idea anyway.
Also, I think a lot of times (as a reader) you will see your opinion (or one very similar) in the comments already, so you do not feel the need to comment.
And finally, is it the same 3% commenting every time?
(please forgive the abstract writing, a little ‘party’ slow today:D)
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Out of many of you who have commented here my blogs get only about 15 to20 visitors a day I do not know what it is maybe becaude its still new or maybe they are not interested in werid and crzy stuff whatever Im glad the little bit of traffic I get do comment cuz it shows me hey liked my blog and took time to leave a comment. Speaking of comments how about all of you here reading thee comments I invite all of you to visit http://lilyruthsthisandtht.blogspot.com and leave comments about whether you like my blog andall tht I have posted . I really would appreciate tem. thanks oh and if Kumiko is giving out rewards for readers then I should win because I spend nearly one hour to two hours here readng her articles and comments.
by Ruth Segovia- lilyruth