What is Spam?
Everyone hates spam and I’m not talking about your good ole spam in the can either. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure most of you actually like spam (in the can), even if you say it’s “disgusting”. You’re a closet spam lover!
In the online world, Spam is a bunch of unwanted nonsense which has nothing to do with what your post is about, all to try and gain a back-link from your site to theirs or to promote something of theirs.
In the beginning stages of your website, this kind of stuff probably won’t happen that much because your site is barely getting indexed. As you add content and start getting traffic, your site will become a lot more credible and that is when the spam will start coming around.You will then start to notice that you’re starting to get more spam comments, which is actually not a good thing for your website.
Spam is Actually Not So Bad
If your site is actually starting to get spam, this means your site is starting to gain momentum and is actually becoming credible in Google and the other search engine’s eyes.
Getting a bunch of spam is a good thing in a sense that your site is starting to get attention, but it is a bad thing if they all hangout on your site.
When the spiders that crawl your site see these spam comments, it will not like them. Your site will get penalized for having these little comments, so now it is time to get rid of them and stop them from showing up, for good.
Get Rid of Spam Using Akismet
Once you get familiar with the online world, spam is going to be something that you don’t want around. I use Akismet, which is a free plugin from WordPress, which takes care of all my wonderful spam comments. Once you install this plugin and activate it, you will have a folder specifically for spam and you won’t have to worry about it after that.
Your actual comments will be in the regular comment section and your spam comments will be in another. I recommend you clear out your spam folder at least once every two weeks. I personally clear mine out whenever I have to respond to a real comment.
Here is a video walkthrough on how to install Akismet and get your free activation key
Not Everything is Spam
Just because you have a spam filter, that doesn’t mean that everything is going to be spam. You will occasionally have a comment or two, that get lost in your spam folder, so you might want to be careful when clearing out your spam folder.
I do a quick scan of my spam comments before I empty it because I have actually deleted some real comments, thinking everything was spam. I also clear out spam comments every single time I respond to a comment, because boy does that spam come quick.
I hope this will help you get rid of spam, so you can focus on creating quality content rather than worrying about spam getting on your website. Thanks for following and happy blogging!
-John
A Work from Home Business
A Detailed Review of No Cost Income Stream – Is NCIS a Scam?
hey john.
thank you for such a nice article it really help me to find out solution on my website spam comments.
keep it up for the good work
Thanks Tanmay!
Sometimes I like to go through my spam folder and see just how crazy and off topic messages I am getting! I think whoever creates spam-bots needs to figure out how to better determine the subject matter of the blog posts they are commenting on!
I don’t know why anyone would ever consider approving a comment about Dodge spark plugs on a comment about WordPress themes.
That being said…it does make it a lot easier to recognize spam when it is so blatantly spam!
Dustin
LOL! Most of the spam that comes in your comment box are actually the type of “back-linking” people pay for, which of course will not benefit them and it will actually hurt their blog. Thanks for the comment Dustin.
Hello, John
HMMMMMMM… YUMMY SPAM! I just love it but the “canned sort of course” 😉 I’m glad you put this post together because at the moment my WordPress blog is receiving at least 30 – 50 comments per day which I find damn right annoying.
Why can’t these spammers just build a good honest online business like the rest of us instead of attempting an easy ride on our blogs. Do they not understand that we will never ever approve their comments? So they should just quit while they are ahead…
Rant Over!
Thanks for the akismet tip and I will look in to this plugin.
Neil
Some people also use that “technique” to get a back-link to their site, which is also a great way to get punished by Google. Akismet is a great way to control the spam on your blog and highly suggested. Thanks for the comment Neil.
John, I couldn’t agree more! I also use Askimet and it has caught all the spam on my site. And I’ve had a lot. Good tip about going through your spam folder before you delete them! I found a few real comments in my spam folder, as well. All my best, Beckie
Glad to see this article helped you Beckie. Cheers!