Definition
Comment backlinks are links obtained by leaving comments on blogs and articles that include a link back to your site. In the 2000s, this technique was very effective because comments passed link juice as dofollow links. Today, virtually all CMS platforms (WordPress, Drupal) automatically add the nofollow or ugc attribute to links in comments. Comment spam remains a major problem on the web, combated by tools like Akismet. Relevant and constructive comments on quality blogs can still generate referral traffic and brand visibility, but should not be considered a link building strategy.
Key Points
- Nearly all CMS platforms automatically add nofollow/ugc to comment links
- Direct SEO impact is negligible; the value lies in referral traffic
- Comment spam is counterproductive and damages reputation
Practical Examples
Relevant comment
On a blog article about link building strategies, you leave a constructive comment sharing your experience with a link to a complementary case study on your site.
Comment spam
A bot posts thousands of generic comments ('Great article! Visit my site: ...') across blogs. These comments are filtered by Akismet and provide zero SEO value.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, as a pure link building strategy, blog commenting is no longer effective. Links are nofollow and have no ranking impact. However, genuine commenting on influential blogs can generate referral traffic and visibility.
They do not pass direct PageRank, but they contribute to link profile diversity. Google has also indicated that nofollow is now a 'hint' rather than a strict directive.
Go Further with LemmiLink
Discover how LemmiLink can help you put these SEO concepts into practice.
Last updated: 2026-02-07