Alert: Blog spam. What it is and how to avoid it. Don't be a victim.

As part of what I do with JustLocal, I often informally share my IT skills and knowledge with JustLocal advertisers to further assist them. I'd like to share the following comment which was posted to on my blog yesterday in case it helps others with their blogs.

Thank you for sharing this detailed walkthroughs. Its a big help for me. Keep posting. By IT Companies Melbourne

This is what I call blog spam. Companies are looking for ways to get links to their sites using your blog or site. There is no link in the actual blog. The link is in who the comment was written by and is a link to the company posting it. In this case it was a company in Melbourne.

I check all comments and have noticed a number of businesses using this practice. These business should stop their actions. They have no obvious interest in the blog and they are just using other people's resources in a way that isn't appropriate.

I don't mind companies contributing to my blog and am happy to give some link love back, but don't just use other people's resources as your latest marketing approach. Whomever is advising you is damaging your business reputation. This company is an IT support company and if they resort to such practices, then it raises questions as to their ethics. Remember the end does not justify the means (Gandhi)

You can avoid blog spam on your blog by checking each comment. Unfortunately some blogging packages don't show you the links in obvious locations. If in doubt after you post the comment, check the comment as others would see it. If you can't remove the comment then be very selective about the comments you accept. Treat the information as though you had written it, as it represents your business. Your blog is your business and comments, even written by others on the blog, reflect you.

In this case it was a thinly veiled marketing attempt, but it could be worse. You could end up sending your readers to a malicious site and end up damaging their computer.

If you value your readers then take a moment to review the information others may be posting via your site. Your readers may not thank you, but at least you'll know you are looking after them.

Kelvin Eldridge
http://www.justlocal.com.au/