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Avatar Went Hot: August 9, 2007 - 8:51 am
Posted By: toprank 329 days ago
Topic Type: News Story (Jump to http://www.toprankblog.com)
Category: Blogging
I may not read 400 SEO blogs every day, but I read at least 50-100 one day per week and these are the things that can make it a pain in the rear experience. Listen up!
30 Comments     

Comments

from deltatango5 329 days ago #
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Very good points raised!

from dannysullivan 329 days ago #
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I'm with you, Lee -- especially on the who the hell are you post. I go to blog all the time that I want to cite -- and I want to cite some name, some person, and have some idea of who wrote it. And as I spend more time with Sphinn, I'm shocked at how many blogs don't seem to date their articles.

I'm a sinner when it comes to registration. Well, that's not going away. It's an excellent way to stop blog spam. It's not that I'm too lazy. It's that registration isn't that hard, assures me Akismet doesn't do things like eat good stuff (for the longest time, I was flagged by it) and just works.

from Sebastian 329 days ago #
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#2500 gives this remarkable rant an easy to remember URL, well deserved :)

from Jab 329 days ago #
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I know about these bugs in my blog. :) I`m already working on them.

from AndreyMilyan 329 days ago #
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There is a flip side to not posting a date. In the SEM industry, where new articles are popping up every minute, readers are spoiled by the up-to-the-minute info.

Would you read an article on landing page optimization from 2004? Many people wouldn't even though the advice there is probably just as relevant today as it was then.

Of course, there are other ways to resurrect the old posts that are still relevant but I can see where those bloggers are coming from.

from toprank 329 days ago #
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Hey Danny, the comment registration is a bit different with a blog like Search Engine Land. SEL is a single source, go-to site for all news about the search marketing industry with many regular readers who probably stay logged in. I think you're on the right track with registration in your unique case.

The issue I have is with sites I might only visit once per week or every few weeks.

Sebastian, I saw that and thought it must be a sign for me to break my 2 week hiatus from posting to Sphinn. :)

Andrey, it's true with the changing nature of the SEM industry things can get outdated quickly. However for someone like me, it's very important to know if a blog is current and maintained. A big part of the value of a blog is being able to tap into the blogger's steam of conciousness.

from MattMcGee 329 days ago #
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I just commented on Lee's blog, but I'll add something here because Danny is right. Registration isn't difficult, and if someone is too lazy to register, I'm not sure that's the kind of person I want commenting on my blog. Sorry if that hits anyone too close to home, but oh well......

I have another blog (non-SEO industry) that doesn't require registration and the quality of comments is pretty weak. I also have to spend X amount of time every day deleting spam. Not fun.

from DavidWallace 329 days ago #
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I'm guilty on requiring registration. Initially I didn't but then found myself wasting time sifting through junk comments trying to make sure good comments were not included before I deleted them.

I'd like to install some kind of CAPTCHA device that makes commentors enter a code but have not seen anything yet for Movable Type (can anyone help me here). Until then, I'll keep registration in place.

One thing I do practice is that once someone comments and I either know them or trust them, I set it so their future comments post immediately. However, they still have to be logged in to TypePad but I feel the same way Matt does in that it is not that much of a burden.

from paisley 329 days ago # - show/hide this comment
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no comments = no porn spam...

no trackbacks = no porn spam...

from toprank 329 days ago #
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Matt, I'm curious if you are open to the challenge of trying things without registration for a month and then reporting the before/after?

BTW, I finally registered with both Matt and David's blogs, so now I have no excuse for not commenting. :)

from kimber 329 days ago #
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My biggest pet peeve is the date one.

@Andrey:

"Would you read an article on landing page optimization from 2004?"

Absolutely not. Well, maybe I would but I would certainly keep looking for something more recent for sure.

from identity 329 days ago #
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Great points, but I have to agree that, good or bad, I think registration is here for the long haul... just one of the checks and balances for best interests of the blogger as well as the readers.

from CarrieHill 329 days ago #
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i might suggest to any Wordpress users a spam filter plugin called "SpamKarma" we use it and it ROCKS - I get about 1 or 2 bad comments filtering through every 6 mos or so, and I look at my SpamKarma spam logs and haven't missed a good comment yet because it was filtered out.

ps - I dont get paid to say that, I just like their product.

from AmyGreer 329 days ago #
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Sebastian - good call on the #2500 ...

Danny - are there plans to eventually customize Sphinn URLs in the way the Title tags are customized?

from g1smd 329 days ago #
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Each thread does appear to have a URL that includes the hyphenated title, as well as having the alternative numbered URL that you might see above.

from AmyGreer 329 days ago #
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Does it? Maybe I'm not seeing it. All I see for this page is: http://sphinn.com/story/2500

from g1smd 329 days ago #
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I see a few in Google SERPS.

http://www.google.com/search?num=100&q=site:sphinn.com&hs=T9E&start=800

You'll need to look closely.

from dannysullivan 329 days ago #
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During the beta test, we had URLs based on titles. Here's the problem. If you changed the title, the URL changed and broke things. Or if you submitted, then discarded and tried again, you'd get a number shoved after your title. It was weird. So we went to using numbers. Sad you can't tell from the URL what a story is about, but it solves other issues.

Lee, you are right that registration is something that SEL can "get away" with easier, I suppose -- in that we have a larger audience and picked a lot of that up from the start. If you were a new blog and trying to grow participation, dropping registration might be helpful. Heaven help you when you add it later, though :)

from MelissaF 328 days ago #
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I think your 10 are dead on, especially the registering for comments. I don't do it and won't. I just exit.

from southwestseo 328 days ago #
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No follow doesn't piss you off?

from toprank 327 days ago #
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Nope!

Worrying about nofollow on blogs is a distraction from the real value that happens with commenting: the exchange of information, opinions and interaction.

from pittfall 327 days ago #
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Lee,

Great rant and not just a soap box article, but a valuable lesson. (I will apologize for my comment on the original post hit the filter) doh!

from aimClear 327 days ago #
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Whew, as we read Lee's post it was like "check-good there, check-nope we don't make that mistake" etc...Thanks for the post.

from LocalHound 326 days ago #
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Good post... I will definitely use this as a checklist, thanks. I will be staying anonymous for a while longer, can't help that.

from bigoak 303 days ago #
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I was glad to see my SEO blog didn't make any of these mistakes. Thanks for the refresher in creating a good SEO blog and any blog for that matter.

from MattC 303 days ago #
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@dannysullivan, you are still using the title as the URL in your breadcrumbs.

from dannysullivan 303 days ago #
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Yep, and we have a third way URLs show up, too. On the list to be fully stamped out later this month.

from WaltVerastegui 302 days ago #
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Great post...

from KarlRibas 266 days ago #
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An absolute superb post! As a person who reads many blogs, I hate having to register or having to remember a login and password just to join in on the conversation. I'm sure there are times when having a login and password are relevant (as Matt and Danny pointed out), but in most cases its a hassle for readers.

from stevee1 125 days ago #
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50 - 100 blogs a day? I can't imagine what your day would be like!


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