Will User Generated Comments be the King of Search Engine Optimization? How does this compare to copywriting?

Sites like Digg, Reddit, Slashdot, StumbleUpon, and the many other user generated content sites are quickly becoming the money making online properties to have. But some smaller user generated sites and niche bloggers are creating some very lucrative properties of their own.

Last night while trolling around TechCrunch I ran across Cookshow, a user generated site made up of videos created by the users. Cookshow is interesting to me since I can now show my skills as a former chef and create my own online cooking show. But what is more important it shows me that as a content creator for many niche sites, I do not necessarily need to be the sole source of content. If I have an area of real estate on my site for users to add their content, they will also want to promote it too. But how do these sites keep users coming back?

Comments! For thirty days I studied several blogs that were very active. Their readers were promoting everything that the bloggers would write. What was the one thing that each of these bloggers did that kept the readers coming back? What made these blogs so sticky that every day I would see the avatars on the MyBlogLog widget spinning? It was simple! The bloggers were interacting with their readers in the comments. Most posts would have from 5 to 20 responses to the comments made.

So how do I capture this user generated comment content? Do what they are doing! If it works for bloggers like Quadzilla, Maki, Andy Beard, Marty Weintraub, Lyndon Antcliff, and Darren Rowse just to name a few, why can’t it work for both you and I? Each of those bloggers have utilized their social skills to make friends with their readers. With only a few comments they can create a loyal reader. Just think if you could interact with every reader that came to your blog. Then convert them to be a dedicated subscriber of your content. Do you think that they are willing to communicate with you on your blog? Yes, of course they will! This content that they create with their comments is what you want on your site. You can’t pay for content as good as this. The risk of duplication is nearly zero when you begin to add a long string of comments to your posts.

Think about this for a minute. What would you rather have, a 2000 word essay on your site about your product, or a 200 word post with 2000 words in the comment section below your post all created by individuals with different outlooks?

Update: I have just stumbled across this related post: Content or Community, The Red Pill or the Blue?

 Reputation Management

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