WordPress SPAM comments on your blog is something that is just going to happen. WordPress is like the only girl in a male dominated gym. It’s going to get a lot of unwanted attention for a lot of selfish reasons.
What is WordPress Comment SPAM?
It can be more than one thing. There are the obvious spam comments, the ones that are impossible to understand, they seem to have been written by a 8th grader who is just learning english and decided to use your blog comments for practice.
Then there are the comments that look and sound legit and you’re half tempted to click approve, but then you look at the name and the URL and you realize they almost got you!
Some comments can actually be legit but because of the message and disposition of the commenter, you may wish to SPAM them instead of approving them. I’m referring to the angry, hostile, and rude comments that make you feel like you’re in high school again where the bully is focused on ruining your life.
Why is there so much comment SPAM?
Comment spam really comes down to one very simple thing. The LINK!
When you leave a comment on someones WordPress blog, you are presented with a few fields to fill out. One of those fields is for “Website”. Meant for the commenters website URL so that they can link back to their site.
Which is not a horrible thing if you’re a legit commenter. It’s nice to be able to link back to your blog. I know I check all the sites for my commenters. I’ve even noticed something that they could tweak about their site and I sent them a message about it.
The SPAMers however, are using the website URL field as a way to generate backlinks. Usually for SEO purposes, some for direct exposure to their commerce, dating, or some other less than interesting site.
I’m guessing using comments as a way to generate backlinks is less than ideal and probably a black-hat tactic when done the way most SPAMers do it.
Need help with this, let me know, Order a One Time Fix, and I’ll make all your comment spam nightmares end! Or just keep reading, there is a DIY solution at the end ;-)!
How to STOP all the SPAM Comments!
While WordPress and other blogging platforms automatically add the rel=”nofollow” attribute to the comment links, which essentially tells search engines that these links are not generated by the website owner and to not use them to influence search results, the spam comments keep coming.
Just shut them off!
People contact me because of the enormous amounts of spam comments they have, in some cases 7k+, and they just want to make it stop. Their first reaction is to just turn off comments. However, if you’re a serious, or want to be a serious blogger, comments are important for building credibility, trust, and communication with your audience.
Therefore I never recommend just turning of the comments.
Instead do this!
Install the Akismet WordPress plugin and go to aksimet.com and get you API key to benefit from all the power of Akismet (very important you get an API).
Akismet filters out your comment spam for you so you never have to see it or deal with it. It’s brilliant.
They filter something like 7.5 million spam comments an HOUR!!
This is a screenshot of how much spam they have blocked from my site alone.
The solution is pretty simple and you have the power to stop all the SPAM comments on your WordPress blog today, it will only take you 20 minutes at the most.
Download the plugin, it’s free, and then sign up at akismet.com for your API key. Then setup the plugin and you’re done!
Dropping the Mic!
Yes, it really is that simple to do. And yes, Akismet really works that well.
Akismet is developed and maintained by the same people who develop and maintain WordPress. They know what they are doing and they have decided to create a solution that allows you to continue to use the power of comments on your blog, without having to deal with the SPAM.
Need help with this, let me know, Order a One Time Fix, and I’ll install and setup Akismet for you!