Spam. Spam. Spam.
Does anyone really enjoy spam in any form? Either the potted meat kind of Spam or Internet spam that clogs up your email with offers for eternal youth, beauty and success. And then there’s the spam that shows up as comments on your blog. Equally annoying.
It’s relatively easy to avoid the potted meat form of Spam. Just say no. As for Internet spam it can be a bit of a challenge, but it can be done with the right knowledge and the right tools.
Comment spam is what we’re looking to eradicate. While email spam targets you, comment spam targets search engines. So why does that really matter? If they’re targeting search engines, not me why should I care?
It’s all about your presence, your reputation
Google is everywhere and one of their goals is to rid the Internet of bad links. Not just the sites that buy links, but also the sites that allow them. While it may seem like a great idea to approve comments to improve your numbers think again. You do not want Google to think you’re actually allowing bad links onto your website. You do not want the wrath of Google upon you.
It’s all about how you look to your readers. You want them to have a positive impression when they visit your site. If you show up for a date and you haven’t showered, your clothes are all wrinkled and you have a hunk of spinach in your teeth your date’s impression of you is unlikely to be particularly positive. Your readers will have an equally negative impression of your blog if it’s chock full of spam. It shows that you don’t care and that you’re not maintaining your site.
Then there’s guilt by association. Your reader may click on a link to another comment author’s website which is spam. And your reader ends up someplace they’d rather not be reading about something that may actually be offensive. Is that the impression you want to leave with your readers? Your readers come to your blog/website because they find you interesting, informative, and funny. Don’t make them lose the faith by allowing comment spam.
Just Say No to Spam
There are a number of relatively easy ways to prevent comment spam. I’ll cover the other options in another post. Once again WordPress plug-ins come to the rescue. I’m opting for the easy answer because code is not my second language and I want to spend my time writing my blog, not futzing around. Here are three great plug-in options to help render spammers helpless.
WordPress Plug-Ins
The Askimet plug-in checks each and every comment, pingback and trackback by running detailed checks on the Askimet Web Service to determine whether a comment is spam.
Wp-Ban is used to blacklist IP addresses that try to post spam comments on your blog. This plug-in involves a bit of work and your investigative skills. You will need to note the IP addresses of the spam comments that appear on your blog. Then add the offending IP addresses to the plug-in blacklist. Over time, as your blacklist increases you will find the number of spam comments are reduced.
G.A.S.P. is the Growmap Anti-Spambot Plug-in. Unfortunately bots are used quite frequently to spam blogs and websites. This plug-in allows you to add a captcha checkbox to your comment form. Those commenting must check the box to confirm their humanness rather than using an automated system to submit their comment. This will significantly cut down the automated spam that appears on your blog.
Again, make the time to ensure that your website or blog is spam free. It will be one less thing to worry about giving you time to focus on what you do best.
