Blog spam is an unfortunate by-product that comes with the encouraged interactivity on blogging sites. When viewers visit your site it is always good to have them post comments In fact many people judge how popular blogs are based upon the amount of comments they see.

Of course most site owners would like to see comments that are constructive and helpful towards the development of the site itself. However there are many online who use this opportunity to be nothing more than disruptive or for their own promotional purposes. Even worse are those who submit links that are malicious in nature and therefore pose a threat to you and your readers.

Since it would be nearly impossible to prevent spam like this there are ways a blog owner can identify and reduce the amount of spam that shows up in comments.

Here are 3 different 'warning signs' you can use when people post comments to your blog as to whether it is something you should approve or delete.

Keywords as Names

Any comment that is left without the name of a person is usually a big flag. Normally these spammers use keywords instead of a name in an attempt to get back-links to their sites. These people are simply trawling for traffic and likely use software to post comments.

Generic Comment

Comments left that say very little other than some polite chatter or remark about nothing in particular is a strong clue they have been software generated. These comments tend to 'draw you in' based upon their complimentary nature.

Another style (if you want to call it that) spammers use when they post comments is making critical or inflammatory remarks.

You simply need to look at these comments closely to see if they 'really' have anything to say that can be related to the post.

Comment is Irrelevant

These comments are fairly easy to recognize and usually target sites that do not use any type of spam filter. The remark normally contains information or a response that is clearly NOT intended for the blog they are found on. These spammers are the most irreverent since they blatantly 'hawk' their own sites or simply aim to be disruptive.

Blog spam is just another unfortunate by-product that comes with blogging sites that encourage and experience reader interactivity. The fact of the matter many visitors will judge how popular blogs are upon the number of comments they see. Site owners do want people to post comments that can be used for constructive purposes bit it is hard to prevent spam showing up in these comments. The 3 warning signs discussed above can be use to detect and minimize the amount of spam you approve for posting on your site. By filtering spam in this way you will be protecting your readers from potentially malicious sites. The net result will be an increased feeling of security and satisfaction by your readers when visiting your site.