How To Factor User Comments Into Your SEO Strategy

User-generated content is a known brand-builder and boosts SEO for social media and customer reviews. What about commenting on a website, though? In a recent info session, Google’s SEO expert John Mueller shares the ins and outs of comments from an SEO perspective. 

If commenters are brand advocates and remain on topic, then chances are the comments they leave will help boost your site’s SEO. Comments that reflect a user’s experience of your website or brand in their own words help Google’s algorithm better understand how to present your page in search results. However, if comments are spammy or off-topic and go unmoderated, they can cause more harm than good. Going off-topic can turn off the algorithm by sending mixed signals about the purpose of your site and can also signal to users that you are not actively tending to your audience by letting such comments go unmoderated. That said, if you can help direct the conversation on your website and are vigilant about cleaning up spam or off-topic comments, comment functionality will likely benefit your site’s SEO.

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