Blog Traffic Tips

Subscribe to Comments: Download Plugin

The subscribe to comments plugin allows your blog readers to subscribe via email to comments made to your blog posts. The plugin is very versatile and requires some technical skills to install and customize but as long as you are used to playing with your WordPress themes you should be fine.

I usually install this plugin to produce a tickbox in the comments entry area in each blog post, which if ticked will email the comment maker each time a new comment is added to the topic. Some people have it automatically set to “on” if a person makes a comment but I prefer to leave the choice up to my readers. The plugin also includes a subscriptions manager area so your readers can change their settings without contacting you.

While WordPress comes with a default RSS feed for comments it’s smart to have an email option available. I personally prefer to subscribe to things like comments via email however I will use RSS for the main topics of a blog. As per usual the more options you give to your readers the better.

Subscribe to comments is a fantastic tool for keeping the conversations active at your blog. It makes your blog “stickier” bringing users back to provide more commentary as the conversation continues. If you actively encourage comment conversations at your blog - a smart traffic strategy - then this plugin is a must.

Get Recent Comments Plugin: [ Download ]

The recent comments plugin for WordPress blogs is an essential traffic building tool. The basic functionality is to allow you to list a summary of the comments made to your blog listed in chronological order with the most recent at the top. It is a customizable plugin allowing you to play with different variables by using different lines of code. I usually use the basic settings and list the five most recent comments in my blog sidebar.

How This Plugin Builds Traffic

The key element here is a concept known as social proof. Social proofing is an everyday human behaviour that causes people to take action based on what they see others doing. A fantastic but simple example of this behaviour is when you see a crowd of people with their heads tilted skyward looking at something airborne or on a building - most people walking by will also look up to see what all the fuss is about - that is social proof.

The whole idea of having comments within a blog is part of social proofing. When a new person visits your blog for the first time and they see other people leaving comments and interacting with your content the new visitor experiences a social proofing feeling about the validity and credibility of what you are publishing.

The new visitor thinks - “Hmm, there are comments here, that means other people read this site so there must be something good, I’m going to read too”.

By using the comments plugin you further enhance your social proofing generating repeat readership and instant credibility. Just be sure of course that you have some comments before using the plugin!

The other good point is that this plugin can increase your pageviews and visitor length time as readers click recent comments taking them to individual blog entries where they can get involved with the conversation you started by writing your article. Increased pageviews and visitor length time are two very important metrics when it comes to building a popular blog.