Is it acceptable to add a link back to my site when leaving comments on other blogs?

• Is it really spam to add your link to blog comments? I do a lot of blog commenting on a variety of different subjects and I always try to add value with my posts.

  I also make it habit to include a link back to my site when possible. Should I not do this? What's the proper net etiquette for future reference?

Answer: A general rule is that it's not comment spam if your comment or link adds value to the discussion taking place. Most blogs employ moderation to remove comments that don't add value. If your comment or link is overly self-promotional or off-topic, it's likely to get deleted.

If the blogger is really annoyed with your off-topic self promotion, they might even mention it on their blog. And if they're a high profile blogger, that can create a real reputation management problem for you. Every time someone searches for your name or business in Google they could be presented with that blogger's post talking about what a spammer you are.

So clearly you've got to use good judgement. Bloggers want to promote dialogue on their sites in order to drive traffic and repeat visitors, and a great way to encourage that is to reward relevant comments with a link.

Typically, blog comments are set up so that the user name you register with will be the anchor text of the link pointing back to your site. To avoid looking like a comment spammer, use your actual name (or a pseudonym if you want to remain anonymous). Avoid using your business name, and definitely don't use keyword-rich anchor text. Nothing says spammer like making your user name something like Book Dubai Hotels Online.

You can also often include a link within the comment itself, but only do this if the resource you're linking to really is extremely relevant to the discussion taking place in the blog. For example, if you wrote a related blog post building up...