If you run a WordPress blog, you probably use Akismet to handle and manage comments left by readers. Akismet is the default plug-in and works very well.

Or does it?

While Akismet does an excellent job in weeding out the spam comments from the legitimate ones, it does have its flaws.

Akismet is Flawed

The problem with Akismet is that it allows blog owners to specify which comments are legitimate and which are spam. This is completely opinion based and differs for each blog owner. Because of this, blog owners could inadvertently mark legitimate comments as spam. Sometimes this happens by accident, and other times they truly think the comment is spam, even if it isn’t. Obviously, one’s opinion can differ from another’s.

Once a comment gets marked as spam, any new comments that reader makes will automatically get marked as such across all blogs that use Akismet to manage comments. This is done through tracking the IP address and email address.

The system is obviously flawed. Akismet allows users to request that they be white-listed again, but it’s no guarantee that will happen.

There are other problems I could get into, such as privacy issues, but I’ll leave that one alone. Here are my two gripes I have with Akismet and why I have found a better alternative to manage comments on this blog.

1. Marking Legitimate Comments As Spam

Most likely you’ve scoured the spam folder, looking for legitimate comments to un-mark as spam. I used to spend a lot of my time doing this, as legitimate comments would get filtered out and be marked as spam, even though they weren’t.

Not only is this annoying, but it wastes so much time – time I don’t have.

2. Not Allowing Legitimate Comments At All

This was the last straw for me. It’s one thing to prevent spam comments from getting through, but when legitimate comments from readers are being blocked entirely, it’s time to make a change. A blog isn’t a blog unless readers are able to comment on posts, and I wasn’t about to ignore this problem. I needed to make a change, FAST!

I don’t know how long this was going on for, but Ana from Traffic Generation Cafe made me aware that her comments weren’t getting through. It was apparent that Akismet was blocking her comments altogether. She advised me that I find an alternative comment management plug-in to handle comments, otherwise I could be losing out on other legitimate comments, and ultimately readers. Thanks, Ana!

So that’s exactly what I did.

Akismet Alternatives

There are quite a few alternatives to manage blog comments. Some paid, some free. If you’re like me, I’m a huge fan of free stuff. Let’s take a look at 5 of them.

5 Free Anti-Spam WordPress Plug-Ins

1. Bad Behavior – Bad Behavior is a PHP-based solution for blocking link spam and the robots which deliver it.

2. Sblam! – Stand-alone PHP script or WordPress plug-in, whichever you choose.

3. AntiSpamBee – Protects your blog from spam by replacing the comment field.

4. Defensio – Defensio is an advanced spam filtering web service that learns and adapts to your behaviors and those of your users.

5. G.A.S.P – This plugin will add a client side generated checkbox to your comment form asking users to confirm that they are not a spammer. It is a lot less trouble to click a box than it is to enter a captcha and because the box is genereated via client side javascript that bots cannot see, it should stop 99% of all automated spam bots.

My Anti-Spam Plug-In Recommendation

I am currently running G.A.S.P. on this blog, and I absolutely love it. If I had to recommend a plug-in to manage blog comments, it would be G.A.S.P. I also use a plug-in called Simple TB Validation. Simple TB Validation performs a simple but very effective test on all incoming trackbacks in order to stop trackback spam.

With both of these plug-ins combined, I get very little comment spam. I still get a small percentage that I just delete, but I don’t have to go sifting through the spam folder anymore. It has saved me a ton of time, and I know it will help you manage comments more effectively.

The best part is, you won’t be turning away readers due to them not being able to comment on your blog. I urge you, consider deleting Akismet and finding an alternative. You and your readers will benefit greatly.

What Do You Use?

What are you using to manage blog comments and combat spam? Let us know in the comments below. And while you’re there, see G.A.S.P. in action by checking the little box to confirm you’re not a spammer.

I can barely hold my excitement in as I’ve been looking forward to this for quite some time now. For about the last week or so, I’ve been playing around with a new blog theme, completely in the background and undetectable to anyone.

Thanks to the plug-in Theme Test Drive, I’ve been able to install a new theme and customize a good portion of it behind the scenes. You’ve all been seeing the current theme while this was going on.

Missing the old theme already? Here’s a farewell snapshot…

In my excitement to roll out the new theme, I forgot to get the snapshot before enabling the new theme, so I had to find a cached version with the old theme… LOL.

As you may notice with the new theme, there is still a lot that needs to be done, most notably the footer area. I’ll get to that in a minute.

This new theme is a customized version of the FlexSqueeze WordPress Theme, which is a completely customizable theme that allows you to create your own unique blog theme. I bought this theme on a recommendation from Dennis Edell, and I couldn’t be happier.

This theme had everything I wanted, and then some. The main thing I wanted was better navigation, and if you’ll notice, the page links are now below the header and to the left, rather than above the header and to the right.

The next thing I wanted was a feature area, which is right below the navigation. I can add whatever I want here, and I may be changing some of the offers over time. The newsletter opt-in will most likely be permanent.

You’ll also notice I now only have one sidebar (a big one at that) on the right-hand side. I also have two sub-sidebars below the main sidebar to add additional content.

Within the next week you’ll see changes being made to the sidebar. I already have plans for it, and once I get everything finalized and the way I want it, it shouldn’t change much after that. So, don’t be alarmed if you see random stuff disappear or appear over the course of this week.

At some point, I’ll be adding a custom header to replace the plain, boring one you currently see. It’s okay as-is, but I think I can make something that stands out a little better.

I’ll also be adding additional pages to the blog as well. Not sure when this will happen, but I know for sure that I’ll be adding a Comment Policy, Disclaimer of some kind, a Write For Us page, and a Resources page that contains tools that I use and recommend.

I Need Your Help

As with any new theme installation, etc., there is always the chance for some bugs/errors to occur. I haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary yet, but if you come across anything, please make me aware of it so that I can get it fixed.

And lastly, as mentioned above, there is a feature section at the footer. I had played around with this, but I couldn’t come to a conclusion as to exactly what I wanted there.

So, I’m asking for you to recommend what I should do with that space.

What should I include in the footer area? Should I remove it altogether? Should I add the newsletter opt-in form there also?

I’m open to any and all suggestions.

I’m very excited about the new theme, and I think it looks more professional than the old one. I look forward to the new changes to come, as I hope you are too.

I appreciate and thank you for sticking with me and helping to make this blog what it is. I couldn’t have done it without all of you!

The creator of CommentLuv, Andy Bailey, has created another awesome plugin for WordPress called TwitterLink Comments.

Basically what this plugin does is allow commentators to type in their Twitter user name. Once the comment is left, a “Follow Me” link will appear next to the commentator’s name. This allows readers to be able to follow them on Twitter easily if they find their comment useful.

If you look below the comment box you will notice a blue rectangular box with an input field. You can just enter your Twitter user name here once, and the link will show next to every comment you make from then on. Cool, huh?

To read all about the plugin check out the post: http://wpmu.org/twitterlink-comments-hassle-free-follow-me-links-for-your-commenters/.

I’ve installed this plugin because I know how popular Twitter is and hopefully this will be a way for you, my readers, to get more exposure and more followers.

With in that in mind, this means you need to comment! Yes, another reasoning to my madness is I’m looking for more of my readers to comment on my posts. Sounds crazy, right?

Hey, you help me, and I’ll help you get more followers. Commenting is a win-win situation. I even have Andy’s CommentLuv installed, too, so you can use your keywords as part of your name. If you find my posts useful, or even if you don’t, I’d love to hear about it.

So now there’s absolutely no reason not to comment.

Share your thoughts below!

It’s time for another blog post roundup. Here are July’s blog posts in case you happened to miss any.

Do You Suffer From Information Overload?

PPG 2nd Annual Marketing Contest

Proper Etiquette When Using Someone Elses Content

Free Contextual Link Partnership WordPress Plugin

I Wrote My First Guest Blog Post

Contextual Partnership WordPress Plugin UPDATE

Freelance Work From Home

Freelance Writing Opportunities – Blog Writing

Blog Writing Update

A week ago I posted about the new Contextual Link Partnership WordPress Plugin and how it allows you to earn free and unlimited one way backlinks to your blog.

Since the plugin was new and I just installed it on my blog, I didn’t have any results to share with you. Of course my hopes were high as this looked like the ideal setup in getting relevant backlinks.

Well, I just received an email from the owners yesterday that pretty much fortifies what I’ve already been saying about this plugin. So far they are seeing tremendous growth in the network and have started distributing backlinks.

I still have high hopes and look forward to the potential that this neat little plugin will have for my blogs, including this one.

If you would like to learn more and read up on what’s been going on just head here: http://www.contextualpartnership.com/news/over-54000-places-for-your-links/.

I would recommend grabbing this plugin and utilizing it on your blogs. You have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. And don’t worry, I’m not getting paid or anything to promote it. I just see a lot of value in this and hope all of you will too.

Here’s a really cool plugin for all of you WordPress users out there. If the idea of building relevant and natural backlinks to your blog appeals to you, which it should, then this plugin is for you. It’s called the Contextual Partnership Plugin.

The basic gist behind the plugin is that you do nothing different from just blogging as you always do. For each post you have, past and present, you can build backlinks with your chosen keywords on other relevant blogs in the network.

Notice I said network. This means that there is a network of bloggers who all have this plugin. As the network grows, there will be more and more blogs available to earn backlinks from. So, this is important as you need to spread the word to everyone you know about this plugin and have them install it on their blogs.

There’s an approval process before your blog will be available in the network. It took my blog about an hour to get approved, so you shouldn’t have any trouble either. You can install this on as many blogs as you own, which I would recommend.

The only guidelines is that you have at least five posts, have contact information readily available, and provide value in your posts.

I just installed this yesterday, and it could take a few weeks before I start seeing backlinks. I’ll keep you updated on the results.

This is one very easy and automated way of building more links to your blog. Another free method that is similar to this is the Free Taffic System. I’ve been using the Free Traffic System for quite some time now and have seen excellent results. With both of these at my disposal, I’ll be able to work less to build high quality, one way backlinks.

I recommend you take a look at the Free Traffic System and also download this free plugin so that you can start to experience the same awesome results I’m getting.

I’m all for getting more traffic to my blog. Traffic is a good thing, especially when you’re trying to sell products online as an affiliate. You won’t make sales if you don’t bring in any traffic.

I’ve been a subscriber of Jeff Johnson’s for quite some time now, and he provides some top notch tactics on getting more traffic and sales. And believe me, I don’t use the phrase “top notch” lightly at all.

Jeff knows his stuff and tests everything he does. It also helps to have a team working for you, which of course, Jeff does. He had his team put together new software that could get more traffic to his blogs by optimizing them for search engines and utilizing various plugins.

Jeff provides a lot of awesome content on his Underground Training Lab blog, and for free. He’s really a down to earth guy that enjoys sharing what he’s learned with others. I’ve learned a lot just from his videos. If you’ve never seen any of Jeff’s videos before, you can check them out on YouTube.

Jeff decided to give away his SEO blog software for free. I’ve already downloaded my copy and plan to install it here on this blog shortly. I wanted to make all of my readers aware of this software and how it can really benefit your blog by bringing in more traffic, and hopefully more sales.

You can grab your copy of Jeff’s Free Traffic-Getting SEO blog software here. All you have to do is simply enter your email address… no name required. You’ll also get full instructions on installing the simple plugin and setting everything up.

If you don’t yet have a WordPress blog setup and want to take advantage of this software, simply sign up for a hosting account through HostGator, and I’ll help you set up your new blog and software. HostGator is my recommended web hosting company as they provide the best support, and their prices are very hard to beat.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on how this software is bringing in more traffic for you. Did you find it easy to install and setup? How much more traffic are you getting from it?

Once I get it up and running on here, I’ll be back with an update.

I’m not a huge Twitter user, personally, as I don’t spend hours at a time chatting with my fellow tweets. I guess you could say I don’t use it for its intended use of socializing with others and building relationships. I make occasional updates about what I’m doing or thinking, but I don’t usually chat with anyone.

Nonetheless, I can’t ignore the fact that Twitter can bring in a lot of traffic. Twitter does have many advantages, and I continue to get more and more followers daily. Because of this, I use a service to automatically post my blog updates to my Twitter account.

As a marketer I try to capatalize on my efforts to get as much traffic with as little effort as possible. I’m sure others could agree that they strive to do the same. What better way to do this than to have others help bring you more traffic? That’s what the TweetMeMe WordPress plugin is designed to do. You may notice a little box above every post showing how many tweets that post has. There’s also a little green rectangle that says “ReTweet.”

If you find my posts useful and would like to share them with your fellow followers on Twitter, you can simply click that button at the top of the post to ReTweet it. Of course, you’ll have to have a Twitter account first. You can sign up for free here.

Also, be sure to follow me on Twitter at @AMater.

If you realize the true potential of social media and how sites like Twitter are gaining a foothold in the marketing world, you may want to consider adding this plugin, or a similar one, to your own blog.