Are You Hurting Your Reputation With Google And Other Bloggers?
I love all of my readers. In this post, I’m specifically talking to the ones who are bloggers. You all probably know by now that I’m committed to sharing what I learn as I continue on this blogging journey. I’ve always been the type of person that has always wanted to just do things the right way the first time. But as in life, with my blogging, I’ve come to terms with the need for me to accept the process. Here are some things I’ve learned, recently, that could have been harming my reputation in the blogosphere or with Google so I wanted to share them with you all. Some of them are tips that I’m sharing just because I’ve seen it and I know that if people read a post to tell them otherwise, perhaps they would fix it or add onto their to do list to grow their blog. As you plow through these points, I hope you will be able to determine if you are hurting your reputation with Google and other bloggers? Hopefully, you aren’t and if you are, you can always make changes like I continue to do! 
1) Is your gravatar picture showing a default face as opposed to an actual photo of you when you are making comments on other blogs? I’ve been actually blogging since March 2013 and I noticed that when I would comment on some blogs, there wasn’t a picture for me, but for others, it was. Right before I made the switch to WordPress, I was convinced that it was like this because these individuals were on WordPress. Well, after reading a commenting rules list on another blogger’s site, I learned that I didn’t have a picture because I didn’t have a picture or account set up with gravatar.com. This site is powered by WordPress.com. Many bloggers want to connect with you and see your smiling face to know who they are replying to on their post. I felt very silly for just realizing that this was the reason why I didn’t have a picture. Either way, I’m glad I have one now and I hope someone who doesn’t have one will register on that site to get one too. It took me 2 seconds to do it.
2) Do you have backlinks on your blog that are not relevant to your niche? First of all, I had no idea what backlinks were or how they worked. Two ways that I have learned that you get backlinks is by people referencing your site on theirs and also by people leaving comments on your blog. This was a real eye opener for me when I learned a little about this one. Many bloggers create buttons and like to swap with others. As long as people are within your niche, having them link to you isn’t a bad thing. It actually helps your reputation with Google. This was definitely a point where I had a sigh of relief because I have many topics that I blog about. If you haven’t already noticed, check out my pages up top that can give you a list of posts under those specific categories.
3) This brings me back to comments on your blog. You know now, if you didn’t know before from number 2, that comments provide your blog with backlinks that can really help your site. But what if the comments are not relevant to your post or if people who are not within your niche are commenting? Both of these types of comments can hurt your site. When someone leaves a comment that is irrelevant to your content, they are more than likely just trying to be seen. Because it hurts your blog anyway, you might want to rethink approving these types of comments. You know the ones where someone is telling you they nominated you for a blog award, or “thanks for hosting” on a post that isn’t a linkup or bloghop. How about the ones where someone says they are a new follower. I can respect the new follower comment if the person actually takes a moment to comment on the post that I put so much effort into composing. If you are a blogger who is doing these things, you are also hurting your reputation in the blogosphere. I’ve been guilty of a few of these types of comments in my early months as a blogger, so don’t feel bad. If you want to be seen and grow, just be more engaging by taking the time to comment on what people are saying in the post and then, share it if it is within your own niche and you think it will help your followers on social media. Before you know it, people will be returning the favor and you not only will begin to gain more followers, but great friends and faithful readers.
4) I’ve seen plenty of posts that address how to fix the “no-reply” blogger issue for people, but I wanted to mention that typically this happens when someone isn’t signed up for Google+. I just want to tell you that not being on Google+ is like shooting yourself in the foot as a blogger. First off, when you have a blog, most will tell you that Google Authorship is very important for helping you to show up in search engines. Google Authorship happens by your site/e-mail address showing up on your Google+ profile. If you don’t have an account, how will you set this up? Also, Google+ is apart of Google. You probably gathered that by the name. The connection to being able to make an impact with SEO on Google is as easy as sharing your post on Google+. This isn’t the only SEO technique, but it definitely is one of many that you can easily grasp simply by having a Google+ account and sharing your content. Forget the steps to fixing the “no-reply” blogger issue. Just sign up for Google+!
5) Speaking of social media, are you on just one form or none at all? If you are a blogger, if you want to grow, you definitely need to be on more social media sites. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Stumbleupon, Google+, Youtube, Instagram…am I missing any of the main ones here? We’ve already discussed the significance of Google+. Pinterest is one of the top traffic sources for many and Twitter is the easiest way to share and connect even within 140 characters. Facebook has recently admitted to making it difficult for fan pages to reach their fans. I’ll admit it does look like a ploy to get people to pay in order to get their posts seen. I post to my fan page and then also share the posts with my personal account friends. That usually helps my reach a little. I also have my Facebook personal profile connected to my Twitter page so everything that is posted on my personal page, by me, gets updated to Twitter as well.
6) A lot of people don’t know much about Stumbleupon. It is a social bookmarking site. Social bookmarking is pretty powerful for your content and helping your page views and rank. Share all of your content on social bookmarking sites. Here are some I’ve come across: blokube and blog interact. Share. Share. Share. Join networks like Triberr, too, as I’ve said before to get more bloggers sharing your content as well. Keep in mind that sharing encompasses more than you just sharing your own content. People will respect and trust you more when you share even other useful and helpful content that comes from other blogs.
These are just 6 tips I wanted to share that I’ve come across recently. I hope it has helped someone out in some way.
Did you know all of this?
Did I forget to add anything?
What’s a blog tip that you haven’t seen that you would love to share with others?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
XoXo,
I really learned something about comments here! I try hard to read posts and comment appropriately, but I do make sure to mention if I'm visiting from a blog hop, etc. I'll be even more careful now to make sure my comments are relevant to the post! I'm also interested in your thoughts on Google +. I've been reluctant to get involved there, even though my site is a Blogger site, but maybe I'll look into it. On tomorrow's list: visit gravatar.com. Thanks again!
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I'm so glad that you were able to take away a few things from this post. It was all worth composing it just because of that! Yes, some people are a little reluctant to use Google Plus. It's a bit different, but once you have it set up, bloggers will begin to add you to their circles, if you want, you can add them back. When you are more comfortable, you can join communities that focus on sharing content. I've gotten a lot of traffic to my blog just from sharing my posts to everyone and then in those communities. The beauty of it is, when you type in the title of my posts, guess what comes up? People on Google Plus who have shared it! I think it is easy to gain more exposure with SEO using it. If you have any questions about it, I'm pretty comfy with using it and wouldn't mind helping you at all.
Yay, you probably have read my mind. LOL. Creating an avatar is something I wanted to do even before but haven't! This is just so timely and these are really great tips. Thanks a bunch for sharing! I've just created mine!
I don't have StumbleUpon or Triberr accounts but I'm considering creating accounts there too.
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Hehe! Rea, at least you knew about the avatar thing. I had no idea. I felt so silly when I saw how easy it was to set that up. But hey, what could I have done? I didn't know but now I know.
Yea, I don't have a big following on Stumbleupon but it does have hashtags so people who stumble can easily find something that you bookmark on there. And what can I say about Triberr…it's nice to have others sharing on there and I've created more relationships with other bloggers from meeting them on there, too.
Excellent shares!!! Number 3 is like a blog buzz kill! I want to strangle people who leave those comments and yep I will delete them. It's like, at least scan and fake that you read my post you little merk! Oops, can I say merk here, lol!
I know I need to do better having a presence on social media but there isn't enough time. I'm trying to lock inan intern for this semester so hopefully my social media postings will improve in 2014. I love when bloggers share what they've learned. Thx for your unselfishness!!
Joi, reading your comments always brings a smile and a laugh out of me lol! I actually really hate #3 as well. The only way I could figure out a way to maybe get it to stop was to put it in a post so that people could see why it's a big no no. As far as your lack of time for social media, if anyone was getting to know you as much as I have been privileged to, they would see that you are a really busy lady! I don't see how you get the time to even blog let alone respond to comments and be active on social media. It sounds like an intern for social media for you would be so awesome and a great solution!
Wonderful tips Brittnei and yes I knew most of these, but still I can't help, but thank you for sharing these with all of us. By the way, I am big on looking through my comments before I approve them and make sure they are at the very least in my niche. And I also am big on all social media and am now just starting to also pouch my way further into Instagram (not sure why I shied away for so long there).
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Janine, you're a pretty big time blogger. I'm not surprised that you knew all of this at all!
To be honest, I'm not on Instagram. It's one site that I decided I won't be on for now because of personal reasons. I also feel like it is one less social media site for me to have to build and to have to establish a presence on so yippee! LOL.
Great list. I had a gravitar at one point and then got rid of it . . . *bad blogger* I'll go get a new one . . . hangs head in shame.
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Aw! I think it looks better when you are commenting if people can see who you truly are. Blogging is about creating and cultivating relationships so since most people don't necessarily see you in person, it's a great way to establish a real sense of connection by being able to connect a series of responses to a face.
I didn't know about Google+ and I just had Michelle explain to me what a "no reply blogger" is. Luckily I'm not one and I DO have Google+. Not that I use it as much as I should, but..baby steps, right?
I'm looking more into Stumbleupon lately. Someone big-time stumbled me once and it was earth-shattering! In a good way! I got more stats that day than I ever had. I want to do the same for someone. I'm not saying I'm big-time at all, but anything I can do to help.
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Yes! I've heard this about Stumbleupon. My following there is small, but I definitely use hash tags so people find me somewhat on there.
I think managing all of the social media accounts can be hard sometimes. So much to learn, so much to do. At least you are on Google Plus! 
People love your writing so much, Tamara, that I'm sure if you share even a little on there people will definitely respond well and reshare a million times over for you. 
These are some really great tips! I consider myself still to be an amateur blogger so I will take all of these tips into consideration. I actually didn't know about most of these. Thanks for sharing!
Kristal, I'm so glad I was able to share new things with you! I still consider myself to be fairly new myself. I just share what I learn as I learn it
Thanks Brittnei, these are great tips that you shared. I had always wondered about the picture issue and always forgot to look into it. Thanks, I'm going to go add my picture now.
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Awesome, Sonya! I'm glad I could share how to do that with someone else. I was in the same boat as you just a few weeks ago.
So great! I had never even heard of Stumbleupon – I must go check it. I've also been delaying joining Pinterest but this is my month to do it!! I was also a "no-reply" blogger without my knowledge when I first started and have since fixed that. Thanks for highlighting so much here!!
You're welcome! I can see you doing very well on Pinterest because people really love Fitness and health related information on there. When I had my health blog, my tips on workouts and fitness usually got a lot of pins and made my posts popular even months after I wrote them.
I JUST realized I was set up as a no-reply blogger when someone brought it to my attention! haha I learn new things every day from my fellow bloggers. So I made sure to check on my Gravatar picture (looks right!) and I have started using Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook more due to your suggestion
I can't believe how horrible FB has made the reach for my page! I have been reading about that…have you tried "promoting" your FB posts? I'll have to research more about comments creating backlinks. I have always HATED spammy comments (I find that fashion bloggers have been super guilty of this on my blog) and I don't usually like people leaving their homepage links in comments, either…I still don't want to get rid of my original blogger profile, so I'm not connecting my blog to Google + the traditional way 
Thank you for all of these tips!!!
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One way people lessen the likelihood that someone will put links to his or her blog in the comments is by adding comment luv. Blogger doesn't really have that. The only way I've heard of someone using Blogger being able to get it is if they use Intense Debate. That's probably the best way to go if you ever thought about transferring to WordPress in the future, too since Intense Debate comments can be transferred from Blogger to WordPress. (Not sure if you were thinking of doing that or not in the future.) Not connecting your blog to your Google Plus profile may not be good for Google Authorship. It's good to have Google Authorship for SEO purposes. If you check the link in my post for Google Authorship, you can see if when you set it up if it's linking your blog to Google Plus. I think that might be what it does. If so, you definitely want that so people can find your posts on Google and see that you are the author of your posts and blog.
Thank you for the tips. I will now have to try to find time this week to get into google+ which I have just been putting off for months and months. Love your remark in the Welcome where you say you write between looking after family and home. I feel that often I am looking after family and home in between all the things I do on the internet and computer which also needs to change.
Hi Sandra!
I'm glad these tips were helpful for you. Once you get G+ set up, I'm sure that you will find that it's pretty easy to share content on there.
Yes, family is always first for me. Blogging is a hobby. I have made a little from it though and I'm sure I will in the future, but that doesn't come before my duties as a wife and mom. I'm sure you will figure out how to put your family first again, too. 
Great tips!! I'm not sure about a few of them so I pinned this to refer to when I have a bit more time to look into these things! Thanks for sharing!!
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Hi Kim! You are so welcome! I hope you will find it to be extremely useful!
Thanks for pinning it!
It took me a while to figure out the gravatar thing, but I think it's so cool now that I have figured it out! I haven't used Google+ much but I think that my account lists me as the author of my blog…I hope so…I'll have to go and see if I can figure out if it does or not…
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I'm glad you are set up for both, Rachel. You get a lot of comments on your blog though. It doesn't surprise me that you knew most of this stuff already
I think I figured out the gravatar thing (I guess we'll know after I post this won't we ;)) Thanks for sharing these great tips Brittnei! I'm not a huge fan of google+ so far, but I know it's important for my blog so I have it. I just don't use it much. The hard thing about people being no-reply commenters is that I can't email them back, so they have to come back to my blog to see my reply. I didn't even know until like last month that when I reply to comments on my blog (which I used to do all the time) people had to come back to see my reply! Now I'll reply to comments via email if I can, so people know I'm reading their comments and replying.
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Yea I don't think I ever figured out how to fix that in Blogger. I also didn't like the no comment luv thing. People would put their blog links in the main post which is sort of tacky but they didn't have a way of letting me know who they were I guess they were thinking.
Brittnei thank you for sharing so much or what you have learned, it is so valuable to many as i can tell form the aboive comments. I have Google+ and a gravatar account, tick tick. Never stumbled myself or anyone although it sounds like the next move on my list. Pinned this for later, more to do.
Hi Karen! I'm glad that you were able to take away some things from this post. It makes it worth writing it all out for sure!
I've been blogging for a long time and just last month created an account on gravatar.com. I guess better late than never. As far as Google+, I am slowly making the switch to using it more with the new algorithm on Facebook preventing my posts from being seen. Thanks for the tips.
Hi there! So glad that you enjoyed the tips. It definitely feels like with blogging there is always something to learn or adapt to as new sites arise and things change. I'm sure you will get into a rhythm with it all
You are so wise and brilliant! I'm pretty sure (????) that I'm not set up as no reply, and I think I have my gravitar thing set but also know that sometimes, I'm the gray box lady. Thanks for doing this!!!
Aw, Kristi! What a nice thing to say! Thank you! I was the crazy grey or avatar box lady for the longest so no worries lol!
Great tips, I have learned these along the way just like you. I agree that sharing posts everywhere is important but so is viewing and commenting and sharing others work too. You are right that you gain respect and credibility when you do that. I love Sverve.com. Not only for sponsored post opportunities but I have found and connected with some great bloggers that I'm not sure I would have come across otherwise.
Sverve is nice. I think I forget how I connect with so many people. Sverve seems to be something I endorse people on after I meet them elsewhere (I think), but maybe I meet more people at SITS, Bloggy Moms, Facebook, linkups where there is a post that you have to create in order to link up like Ask Away Friday, Finish The Sentence Friday or 10 thinks of thankful. However I meet them, there is one thing I would love for all I meet to say about me and that is that I was very engaging and sweet in my interaction with them.
I'm glad you liked my tips. I hope you enjoy the rest of your week!
This is really good info. When I first started blogging I only had a pic of my blog logo as my avatar. Once I switched to my actual pic I got a lot more followers on Twitter and people were generally more receptive.
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Thank you! That's a great point you make! I know I personally don't tend to follow back people on Twitter who just have an egg profile and if they have an image or something, they typically need to be like a blogger in my niche for me to think about it then too.
I have several comments totally not related to certain posts and yes, these are the award nominations. Do you think I should go ahead and delete them? I'm just concerned that people might take offense. I checked my Google Page rank and it is at 0 pfft. I think Also, I am not sure if I did the Google authorship thing correctly. I will double check. Thank you so much for the tips Brittnei!
Hmmm…they may take offense but it is most likely because they don't understand what they are doing which is most likely why they are doing it in the first place. It doesn't mean you can never accept the awards, I would just never approve those sort of comments when they don't have anything relevant within them regarding the post you wrote. It's up to you if you want to delete those are already approved, but any comments that don't belong in my blog posts that I've created under this WordPress blog get deleted. Google looks at it as spam when people do that. I, too, don't have a Google Page Rank yet so don't feel bad. I feel like since I moved to WordPress anything that started to show up in Google for me is not any longer and if it does, it's an old Google Plus reference to a post I did on my old blog that I need to go back and change the links for so people can find my new URL on WordPress. It takes a lot of work to get PR so I know I'm going to have to be patient.
Girl, you couldn't have written a better post! I'm so glad you gave this useful tips, because even as a veteran blogger like myself I still have so much to learn. My current blog is the blog I've stuck with the longest and have been able to make friends and be a part of a real community. My approach this time around is completely different and your tips will definitely help me to garner that.
I recently re-discovered StumbleUpon myself. I used it years ago when I first started blogging, but didn't really get it. It is much better now and user friendly and it has been a good driving force for traffic the past few days since I've started to us it. When I read about StumbleUpon in your post, I thought you were reading my mind for sure, lol!
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LOL! That's too funny! The great thing about a lot of sites is that they do try to make things better over the years. The maybe not so good thing about that is that we as bloggers have to adapt. It can be a lot all at once which is why I take it one day at a time for sure!
I'm so glad that these were helpful for you even though you've been blogging for a while now.
Great tips! I've been blogging for a while, and a blog groupie for even longer, but had no idea about #1! I will have to go check out gravatar.com. Thank you for your help!
Yay! I'm glad I could have shared that with you Rachel! I'm so happy you enjoyed these tips!
This is great Brittnei! I really need to join Stumbleupon, I've been thinking about it for a couple of months and keep forgetting to actually do it.
Yea my following on there is still low. But I still post on there because it's all about creating links to your site and gaining exposure.
Great tips, Brittnei! I agree with the gravatar and other mishaps you have found as I have encountered them myself. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by to take the time to read these. I'm glad you already know this stuff! That's awesome!
For a new blogger, these tips are very helpful. Thank you for taking the time to organize and share this!!
Rachael
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You are most welcome! I always think what if I knew some of what I know now so I always want to share to help people out so they can know more than I did even with just starting out.
This is such an awesome post full of rich advice! I have heard of stumbleupon, but didn't realize the sharing potential. I have to look into that. And the google authorship – I think I tried setting that up at one point, but don't remember if I actually did it right. So THANK YOU for these great tips!
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You are so welcome! There is so much to do with blogging. I honestly feel like I can't keep up sometimes. I'm sure you will get around to Stumbleupon in due time.
Thanks for sharing Brittnei! #6 is news to me!! I need to definitely check this out!
Hey Tracie! You are so welcome!
That's interesting! I've never heard of that!