“Clicks random link… Goatse.”
– Bad Luck Brian
A few nights ago I went on a variety of websites and posted comments that all contained links to shock sites.
While you are probably imagining that my actions were done solely for the purpose of trolling, they were actually key components in an elaborate scientific experiment.
My hypothesis: Almost no one ever clicks on anything in the comment section.
My test: Post normal comments that contained hyperlinked text leading to various explicit websites. If no one banned me, the link had obviously not been clicked.
Process: I commented on Reddit, several blogs I dislike, and on a few other places.
Results: I got in trouble a whooping zero times.
Conclusion: Not many people read the comments section on blogs, or scroll through entire forum threads. Unless you’re the top commenter or have something very insightful to say, your post will go almost unnoticed.
From personal experience I get better response rates from linking articles on Twitter or directly emailing website administrators than I do from commenting on other people’s work.
P.S. I actually check out every link that appears on my site. If you’re an up and coming blogger, feel free to post a message.