Most likely you know by now that commenting on other blogs can bring you decent traffic to start with. What most don’t know is that you can easily begin to use the tactic against yourself and hurt your blog or brand. Here’s seven ways you may be shooting yourself in the foot:

1. To Much Self Linking - Nobody likes a spammer and your not working with bots here. People can tell your a spammer when they see 3 links to your various blogs in every comment. This includes just dropping links with no comment, or irrelevant links and comments alike. A link here or there pointing to a resource or article related to the post is the way to go when it comes to link dropping. You will find people respond much better to the latter.

2. “That’s Great!” Comments - People can also tell your just baiting when all of your comments are 2-4 words in length. Combine this practice with dropping links and your sure to wreak havoc on your brand or blog. You could be placed on spam lists, blacklists, and people may realize what your doing and publicize it. Make your comments count and don’t go for quantity over quality because sooner or later it will bite you in the ass.

3. First! - Now that people are using comments for traffic, people have begun to post comments just to be first. There’s two ways to look at this one. First off, if you are posting a quality comment its not a big deal and can actually be a useful tactic. When you start to write two word comments just to snipe the first position you will annoy everyone on that blog quickly. Take a break and let someone else get the space for a while as well, people will respond better if it seems more organic than forced.

4. Spammy User Names - With the addition of the Top Commentator widgets on many websites, people did not miss a beat on filling their names with keywords. While this is not really a big deal, you can take it to far. If your name is 4 – 7 words long you are pushing your luck. Not only will it look unnatural but all of the keywords will make it appear spammy. This can again hurt your brand or blog and get you blacklisted on your niche sites.

5. Personal Attacks - There’s a fine line between ball busting, debating, and attacking someone. Aside from walking away with an altered ego, you can really do some damage to your reputation here. Whether a comment was misinterpreted or not be the bigger man. If you disagree with something and respond to it shooting from the hip, expect things to escalate. Unless you want a reputation for poppin’ off at the mount… Don’t do it.

6. Did You Read The Post - Always read the FULL post before submitting a comment. There’s nothing like feeling the impulse to write a comment and then realize you now look like an idiot because your way off base. If you do, it’s going to remain there and you cant do much about it. Developing a reputation for eating your words is sure to damage your brand, and credibility. Take a moment to look things over before getting into comments.

7. Comments Have No Value – While its a no-brainer it apparently needs to be reinforced. If you are adding comments to a blog that have no value you will quickly see a chain reaction with the end result being a damaged reputation for your brand. The easiest way to add value is by helping other commentors, posting relevant information or news, or in other words act as an authority. While it’s okay to crack a joke or two at other’s expenses you don’t want to be a bully so take it easy.

Bottom line: Remember that everything you post in a comment will be public and most of the time you cant edit or delete whats said. If you think something has the potential to damage you rep or your brand then don’t post it, its that simple.