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In this episode:
00:11 – About the Disqus commenting system
00:31 – SEO value and ease of use
00:59 – Get repeat visitors with email follow-ups
01:23 – What if you have multiple sites?
01:39 – Installs easily and migrates old comments
01:50 – Try Disqus for yourself
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Quotables:
Thing is, with Disqus, it still gets you all that SEO value. [Click To Tweet].
…it’s much, much easier to put a comment on the website. [Click To Tweet].
Transcription:
James Schramko here and you probably noticed, I’ve changed the commenting system on this website at SuperFastBusiness.com. I’m going to tell you what it is and why I changed it.
So the new commenting system is called Disqus and that’s spelled with a q: D-I-S-Q-U-S, and I’ve changed to that from the WordPress commenting system and here’s why I did that.
Reasons Why I Changed To Disqus
Firstly, I noticed it’s on a lot of other websites and that’s a good sign. And apparently, it’s on over two and a half million websites already. Thing is, with Disqus, it still gets you all that SEO value. All of the comments are search engine readable so that’s really good. And more importantly, it’s much, much easier to put a comment on the website.
Now it lets you use the sign on with Facebook or other social media outlets so people can really easily leave a comment instead of having to log on and apply each time they want to put a comment.
Also, at the end of the comments are related posts, bringing people into your website, plus it follows up with emails when someone makes a comment. So it pulls the reader back into the new comments to see what’s there. And the way that the comments are displayed is really nice with that nested thing where you can reply to someone’s reply.
Plus users can vote up or down. It works really well on mobile devices and it has an RSS feed for people who want to follow just the comments on a particular blog post.
And as a person with multiple websites, I’m finding it nice and easy to have a central moderation where I can keep up to date with what’s happening with all of my websites from just one place and I can even keep in tune with the comments I’ve left on other people’s websites in the Disqus community.
Disqus stands out among other commenting systems
So I’m a big fan of the Disqus. It’s very easy to install. You can migrate your old comments. It works really well with WordPress and plenty of other platforms and that’s what I’m using from now.
What I’d Like You To Do
So what I’d like you to do is use it for yourself. Right below this video, place a comment, see how it works, tell me what your thoughts are and if you like the new Disqus feature that I’ve put on SuperFastBusiness.com.
I’m James Schramko. I’ll catch up with you in a future video.
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Leave a comment using the new system:
First
Hahah, sorry James, couldn’t help myself. I must say it did take me a while to post that because I had a disqus account from a blog I commented on ages ago and I couldn’t remember my password. That aside, I do agree the easier it is to comment, the more likely I will say my bit.
That was superfast! You must be picking up a feed
No actually, I was scoping out the latest changes to your site. Just good timing :)
Ahh that’s an evergreen activity. We change stuff a fair bit here
Hi, I was about to say something about Javascript and no SEO value.
But after looking at your sourcecode, I see the comments are actually in the code, google readable.
From what I know, that works through the Disqus API ? So I suppose you are using a plugin that uses the API to make comment crawlable? Thanks
Volker yes the comments are getting the SEO value. Plus there are more comments than I uses to get. SEO gold.
Yeah i noticed you’d changed earlier today. It might take a short time for people to register and start commenting again however if they’re cutting edge people like myself, i’m sure they will be like water and just go with the flow.
Nice view by the way..
You groover! It is easier to register using the social logins so most people will get the hang of it.
Nice work, love Disqus!
thanks Peter
I’ve used Disqus a few years ago on a couple blogs and it was ok.
You’ve convinced me to have another look, Schrammles!
lemme know what happens. For me = instant increase in activity
thats a good one ;)
easy huh!
Hi there! Let’s try this Disqus thingy… Easy enough to log in with and post using Facebook.
Iago the Facebook login was a huge reason for me to consider Disqus since pretty much everyone is logged in when they are in the web.
Thanks for the info about Disqus – I like it a lot!
Cool huh Ken!
Cool information
appreciated Jack
Just testing to see how easy (or not) it is to comment. We have never had much luck with wordpress comments because of the barrier of having to be logged in to comment. Anyway, this was quite easy, I just signed in with facebook. Thanks James, great tip :)
I noticed how easy it was for me to comment on other peoples blogs and that was a win!
I am all about finding out how Disqus works! Thank you for telling me about it.
My pleasure Leslie!
Wow it’s so fast! VERY COOL! Thank you.
indeed!
Sounds good I will investigate on how I can use it on my web sites….
nice one Gino
Disqus is for champs!
That’s a cool tip… gonna implement on a few site – thanks James
Phil report back on the progress – I am interested how ti goes for you
Sounds very interesting.
Have to admit that I generally dislike using 3rd party platforms but you have explained why I should take another look – Cheers for that! In the past I have had trouble getting it to recognize the correct Avatar to use (For example I have different twitter accounts for different businesses and it just picks up the one I am logged into at the time, which means a fair bit of messing around) Will try to make it work!
I also dislike third party platforms. One cool thing is if you ever change your mind the comments can be imported back to WordPress. (I think). Unlike Facebook…
Disqus is the shiznit… Good move James!
Appreciated!
I’m intrigued… must look at further.
Do that Rod
Thanks James I’ve used it on others and it seems easy to use. Seems excellent for tracking and building relationships. It’s got the tick from me.
awesome Steve
Gonna check it out…
nice one Simon
Hey James,
Just installed this on a site I own. Team is trying to figure out how to display posts from the rest of the site on there instead of “from around the web”
Any advice on how to make these show up below my post would be greatly appreciated.
Also, do you have a widget that controls the “related posts” you list above at the end of each article?
Thanks,
Sam
Sam I use YARPP for the related posts in addition to the function that Disqus brings. Be sure to export the comments from wordpress into Disqus (clear spam first)
James, what do you use for the Tweet This Comments in the text of your Blog Post?
see the comment above here
Looks Great James, thanks for the tip
my pleasure!
Hello James, Just added Disqus but at the bottom of our blog it has hyperlinks to other website’s articles. I can see on your blog it posts links to other blog articles on your own site. How do you do this? Is there a paid version that allows this or something?
Just log in to your Disqus dashboard and update your settings >> Discovery >> Increased traffic
I’m also interested in how you do the “Tweet this” inside your blog posts.
Thanks, James!
Deb
do this : TEXT-YOU-WANT-TWEETED [tweet this].
see image
good luck!
Did you say “central moderation where I can keep up to date with what’s happening with all of my websites from just one place “? Huge Time saver if I understand correctly.
yes that is correct
James – okay, so here I am. I will try this, but one of the things you forgot to mention was that you have to open an account with Disqus and then it becomes easier to comment. It’s when people don’t have an account, and don’t realise that they need one that is seems like too much bother to have to take an extra step every time you just want to make a comment. Most people just don’t want the hassle.
Your audience are probably quite Internet ‘savvy’, but the ordinary folks who surf the web are likely not to know this sort of thing and like me, have walked away from comment in the past when Disqus has been on the site. They too don’t give a hoot for things like SEO..just saying.
Caroline – You have to register to post a comment on the native WordPress system as well.
If you using something like Facebook comments you will get spammed massively. Once they are in they will be able to use single sign on with Facebook PLUS they will get email followups. Also if they are already registered on Disqus on any site they will be able to comment with ease.
Can I ask if this is instead of something like Commentluv plug in(free version) or do the 2 run alongside each other? We don’t use FB comments on the Blog, just the WP ones, mainly because we don’t want to lose them. I don’t think I have to log in anywhere on a site that just uses the generic WordPress comment structure…Lets see how this goes and thkx for your help. :)
Disqus will let you import all of your native WordPress comments. It will moderate them well. if you have other sites you have a central dashboard. Plus if you comment on a Disqus comment on another site it shows you that too. If you want to leave later you can export your comments to WordPress.
Thank You James. Appreciate your input. Actually, I can see that you can edit as well – that’s excellent. So what people like me need to know is that you sign up for an account but then after this it’s all so very much easier and convenient. I’m converted! :)
exactly – it is VERY cool once you are on the inside
I AM in on the inside of my site and I just got a notification from you. Plug in all loaded and seems to be working fine. So glad I took your advice and stopped being so pig-headed ;) Just have to show people how easy it is to set up..
Super! and be sure to adjust your settings regarding what other related posts you show. I just show mine from the blog and turn off monetization (external sharing)
James – In Pre-moderation, do you toggle – Moderate all comments or do you toggle – Comments don’t need to be modified? Not sure what the best thing to do is..
let em post. i check the email
Thank you!
Comment Luv will get you a LOT of spam in my experience. Disqus is really clever with spam moderation
With disqus..you can import all of your existing comments into the system. There’s a simple button you have to press once it is installed in your admin panel on site or at the admin panel for your particular blog account.
I also like Disqus but what I wanted to know is how we can advertise with their platform and where the ads are displayed. They claim to have more than 1 billion impressions/m but I haven’t seen a single disqus ads displayed. Where are the ads?
I turned off the monetization option
I am not talking specifically about this site. I just wanted to see where their ads are displayed. Any example site?
They pop ads in the related comments after the posts if enabled. Perhaps check with them?
You can enable the ads/revenue section with images or links from “Around the Web”.
I was looking for a good commenting system for a while James. Thanks for the post. How does disqus fare with the Thesis theme James? Do you have any info on this? Just love your work it’s just solid. ;-)
Matt yes it should work fine.
Already got it up and running. Do I have to come back to the site to reply to you or can I do it even in the Disqus panel. What a great system James – I am a happy camper. ;-)
You will see your Disqus comments from anywhere you happen to be (even your inbox)
I got the hang of it now James. Excellent – what an enjoyable and fast experience. Thanks again for having put together the article. ;-)
It was based on my own needs and of course many others will love it too! I love sharing these things
Always sharing it forward in the knowledge economy James… It’s a smooth interface – really nice to operate from. Are you aware of an iPad app for Disqus? No results came up on app store search.
What a great system – I couldn’t be happier with Disqus!
True Benny!
Once you install it it becomes much easier for customers to interact
Hi James. Appreciate your suggestions. Is a downside to this that we don’t get the commenters email address?
With WordPress comments we can require them to register which gives us the email address of the user for newsletter purposes which has high intrinsic value.
Any thoughts on this – is it possible to generate an email list report on Disqus commenters?
Sean I have never harvested email addresses from blog commenters to add them to my newsletter. I doubt that is best practise and could be against the will of your visitors. I have in the past used emails to follow up when new comments are made – the same way Disqus does uses plugins.
yes the broader view of interaction means other people might find your site that way
Great tool, easy to use. It’s refreshing to see that you have recognised a change technologies like SEO, and ensuring that as a innovative company are at the forefront in providing your consumers with up to date versioning of Disqus. Love it!!
It works so well for Seo because it encourages comments and moderates link spam nicely
Do you have to sign in at all?
Once yes
I am entertaining the idea of using disqus for my website
I’m still very happy with it
just added it to my site… no one still leaving comments lol .. hopefully that will change soon
Doing guest content for other people is a nice way to get people coming back to your site
will look into it
Found this video after looking for other videos on Disqus and wanted to know the reasons why so many sites were using them.
Happy to see you using it, downloaded and installed it on my own website.
– Isaiah Jackson
I think you will enjoy it Isaiah!
hello guys
Does Google index the comments with Disqus on wordpress? will I get the full SEO value? Do I need to do anything to make the comments searchable?
Can you have the newest comments at the top of the comments field? It seams to me you have the comments in the wrong order.
Guest and me are the same person, I had a problem with account set-up so had to delete and start again.
I have worked out how to change the order of the comments but am still interested in my questions on the SEO value.
All of the comments are search engine searchable.
Well done, the system is great. Regards, Karel Koes Hiranjgarbh Missier Paragh
Sure is
Thanks, very helpful!
Thanks Paul
Me ha parecido una buena solución
Gracias por tu ayuda
blubb
great youtube video: straight and to the point. thanks
testing
It works !
Lol.. Why Would You’d Test It Should Always Work If You Do It Correctly
Cool.. Now Your Using What I Always Use..
You Have Soo Much Comment But Soo Little Upvote’s.. Why Is That?
Is there any way to eliminate email verification? I don´t think so and I suppose it is not nice for users, specially on mobile.
It is hard to eliminate that without getting the horrid spam that comes along with that.