Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Always Delete Negative Comments!

"Gordon Bryan" "The Great Gordino"Having comments on your blog can be a great tool to use, with lots of benefits. The negative comments will come though, and while it may seem obvious to delete them, hang on just a moment before you hit that delete button…

If you use the model of ‘set and forget’ blogs, where you never add any content once they are created, then you probably won’t be using comments on those, but if you have any other kind of blog, my view is that you *should* have them.

It’s something that is argued back and forth in internet marketing circles – some people insist that having any number of comments makes no difference to the performance of the blog, while others champion the benefits.

The main benefit in my view is engagement. You get much better engagement with visitors, which keeps those visitors on your blog longer, and coming back to read replies to comments.

That not only helps traffic numbers in that way, it also helps traffic because the search engines see that the blog is active, plus it makes the blog look better to first time visitors.

Lots of wins there, with no downside, right?

Well, no – there are downsides.

If you have comments on your blog, you must moderate them. You must. Allowing unmoderated comments to appear on your blog will inevitably lead to problems, and they could be big problems!

That takes time, and people say this is why they don’t allow comments. I’ve never quite understood that, I have mine set to not show until I approve them, and it literally takes a couple of minutes to whack through them and refuse all the clear nonsense.

All the nonsense that is just gobbledy gook, or links to clearly dodgy sites – delete, delete, delete and it’s done. They look terrible, and they could lead to hacking and damage in the view of the search engines, so block those every time.

As for comments that are from real people, but negative, well then it’s not as clear cut as it might seem…

If someone makes a post disagreeing with what you say, I think you should allow it to appear. Not only does that give you the opportunity to counter the opinion with your own reply, it let’s visitors see that you are prepared to have honest debate rather than hide behind anything.

If the original poster then comes back with abuse as their own counter argument, then delete it. No need to let abuse through – it is *your* blog after all, and you’re entitled to have standards you stick to.

So, if you allow comments on your blog, then it seems obvious that you should block all the nonsense comments that will certainly come, but do take into account the positive aspects of allowing negative comments to appear, before you rush to hit the delete button!

Let me know what you think (positive *or* negative!)

‘Til Next Time,
Health & happiness,
Gordon
P.S. Here’s another article: Content Creation – Do I Practice What I Preach?
P.P.S. Don’t forget to read The Blogging Secret The Gurus Don’t Want You To Know!

Do leave a comment!

Leave a Reply to eyenie X

12 Comments

  • I completely agree, Gordon. I like to show that I’m tolerant and non-judgmental. I might not agree, but it doesn’t bother me to have other people’s opinions on my blogs. I think it encourages further thought and engagement.

    • Hi Kerry,
      That article idea came to me after I saw a comment on someone else’s blog. She had engaged with his negative opinion but then he replied with abuse. She had left all comments there and I suggested there was no value in leaving the abusive one there.
      You hit the nail on the head when you mention further thought and engagement.
      Thanks for stopping by!
      Cheers,
      Gordon

  • What an interesting point, Gordon! It’s good to show that you aren’t afraid, worried or phased by someone else’s point and opinion! 🙂 Thanks for pointing that out 🙂

    • Hi Emily,
      Yes, there is no reason to be afraid of other opinions, especially if you are in the business of giving your own!
      Cheers,
      Gordon

  • This is an interesting topic…I’ve seen people get oooodles of comments, both negative and positive, after a “controversial” post, and it really shows movement! Plus, it’s foder for other articles and allows readers to “defend” your point of view if they agree more with you than with the negative poster. Great for community building! I haven’t gotten any truly negative comments yet, but will be READY thanks to you! 🙂

    • Hi Eyenie,
      Yes, movement and activity is prob. the biggest plus of allowing comments. I’ve had people disagree, not real negative ones (yet!).
      I have had plenty of the nonsense ones, which I doubt were ever sent by an actual person, so they just get trashed!
      Cheers,
      Gordon

    • I agree Roy,
      If someone is scanning comments on a post, something that’s def. likely to keep them is a negative post, because they want to see how you reply. That in turn makes you seem more ‘real’ to that reader.
      Cheers,
      Gordon

  • Hi Gordon,
    Great topic. I was so excited when I got tons of comments on all articles on my new Blog. Then I read them. Poor grammar, lots if mistakes and false praise with URL’s that looked like drug companies. Ah, SPAM. It took me 2 hours to clear out 160 phony comments. When I get a real comment, even if negative — I answer. They usually don’t reply again. I’m vigilant because I think the quality of comments, negative or positive matters. Thanks for the discussion.
    Judith

    • Hi Judith,
      Oh yes, the nonsense/rubbish comments look terrible to a visitor, makes your own blog look unattended and gives totally the wrong impression. Negative opinion comments though? Differennt ball game, and constructive replies to those makes your blog look all the better!
      Thanks for stopping by!
      Cheers, Gordon