John Chow dot Com Free WordPress Installation - Start Your Blog Today!
 

The Top Commentators List Is Back

written by John Chow on August 23, 2009

How to make $593 in less than one hour

I had to disable the Top Commentators Plugin last week because it was having problems with the WordPress database. The plugin was slowing down the loading of the blog to the point where it was timing out. After a week of tweaking, I’m happy to report that the problem seems to be fixed.

The Top Commentators list the top 10 readers who posted the most comments to this blog over the past seven days. It’s a running seven day total. If a reader stops commenting, he will disappear off the list within a week.

Show Top Commentator rewards your top blog commentators by exposing their blogs to your readership. The links do not have a nofollow tag so the top commentators get some Google juice as well. I know the plugin really works to increase comments because there was a decrease in comments when the plugin was turned off. Now that it’s back, I expect comments to return to normal levels.

If you’re looking to generate some comments on your blog, rewarding your blog commentators with the Show Top Commentators plugin is a great way to do that. Check out this blog’s current top 10 commentators.

  1. ZK @ Web Marketing Blog
  2. EarningStep
  3. hospitalera
  4. fas
  5. Michael Mindes
  6. Erika Marie
  7. Shanker Bakshi
  8. Benjamin Cip
  9. Cam Birch
  10. Igor Helps You Succeed

Download Show Top Commentators

Did you enjoy this post? Get John Chow Dot Com updates via email...

Stay up to date with all of John Chow’s tips for making money online and blog posts by subscribing via email. Your email will be kept private and never shared with anyone.

{ 62 comments }

Darren Singleton August 23, 2009 at 9:40 am

Glad you managed to solve the problem John.

I wonder how much traffic people are receiving by commenting so much?

John Chow August 23, 2009 at 9:43 am

It’s not just the traffic. The link helps them rank in Google and other search engines.

Props Blog Ideas August 23, 2009 at 12:22 pm

Do you think the top commenter app is useful even for sites that aren’t high ranked on Google?
I can see how being a top commenter on a site like yours can benefit a website’s Google rank, but do you think it leads to a negative community impression (spamming/uninteresting/boring content)?

EarningStep August 24, 2009 at 5:00 am

with or without this plugin , i will always comment on your blog. because i think it is easy to give some comment whey you have visit and read the post

Walmart Coupons August 24, 2009 at 5:19 pm

What did you say John? Being a top commenter help the commenters rank in Google?

Just curious, how is that possible when you are adding the no-follow tag??

Walmart Coupons August 24, 2009 at 5:24 pm

I take it back. It is dofollow. I was looking at the links in the post. They are no-follow

Lee Ka Hoong August 26, 2009 at 6:17 pm

John, I’m always curious about a question. Says the top commenters gain tons of backlinks in every pages of your blog. One day they’re kicked off from the top commentators list, then all their backlinks will be gone. Is this a good way to generate backlinks to rank higher since it’s not the permanent link building strategy?

Regards,
Lee

King of Commission August 25, 2009 at 6:43 am

Not much traffic, like 5-10 hits per day probably. It’s more the Goog juice people are interested in.

browie August 23, 2009 at 9:59 am

Sweet, I can’t wait to spam the crap out of this place.

needmoney.com August 23, 2009 at 4:12 pm

HAHAHA.

kiran August 23, 2009 at 10:10 am

i think top commentator will huge amount from your site.
gd to see u posting commentators list

TYCO Magazine August 23, 2009 at 10:14 am

Sometime, I would love to know how you tweaked it exactly.

John Chow August 23, 2009 at 10:29 am

You’ll have to ask my admin. He did all the work. :)

ZK @ Web Marketing Blog August 23, 2009 at 10:36 am

Well I would love to come here and get the latest and good information and knowledge.

But however if we will get in return as link juice than this is always welcome.

Luke August 23, 2009 at 1:04 pm

Maybe your admin could upload the plugin with the tweaks so we can put it on our blogs? :D

Niche marketing August 23, 2009 at 1:09 pm

Actually I didn’t stop commenting when the plugin was down, but I forgot to change my name from “hospitalera” to “niche marketing”, what a pity that you don’t use keyword luv, that would be great ;-) SY

fas August 23, 2009 at 1:29 pm

Nice to be on that list :)

Phil Hogan August 23, 2009 at 2:07 pm

Looks like I’ll have to spend some time commenting. Thanks John.

Phil

james M. August 24, 2009 at 1:24 am

From the looks on that box there, it does look like we’re gonna have to spend a lot more time commenting. Me? I don’t even think of it because I am sure I can’t make it to those levels, because I can’t comment on any post where I have no clue what it’s talking about. And I hate to just write in: “Nice post John.” :)

Greg Ellison August 23, 2009 at 2:11 pm

I am glade it is back up. Nice work Admin. Greg Ellison

aansa August 23, 2009 at 2:39 pm

So it was your top commentators plugin which was making your site slow. I had to sometime close the site because it just could not load. Good to see that you are able to resolve the issue.

Lee, Blogger's Workshop August 23, 2009 at 2:43 pm

Yep, I’ve had the same problem with the plugin. It’s one of a handful of plugins that didn’t play nice with my theme. Glad you found a workaround.

BTW, thanks for stopping by my blog, and for the RT on Twitter!

Lee

Michael Mindes August 23, 2009 at 3:38 pm

Excellent! Send me some link juice. Hopefully I don’t get crowded out by spammers, since I like to leave pertinent comments.

Now I just need to get some guest blogging spots…. ;)

Gary Arndt August 23, 2009 at 3:39 pm

I’m going to check out this plug-in on my site.

needmoney.com August 23, 2009 at 4:12 pm

Sweetness.

Dana August 23, 2009 at 4:22 pm

I hope that I am in the list in the future. :)

Prepaid Legal Benefit August 23, 2009 at 4:50 pm

I am glad to see you brought it back. I think it has so many applications… not the least of which is your ability to use it as a tool to teach others to use social proof and positive reinforcement to get and keep traffic.

Warmest,
Jonathan
http://www.greatlegalbenefit.com/today

WAMWAN August 23, 2009 at 5:06 pm

John, did comments slow down, significantly, at the absence of the Top Commentators?

Props Blog Ideas August 23, 2009 at 8:07 pm

Was it just comments that slowed down or were page views down as well? Obviously, if there aren’t as many people viewing there would be less comments. On the other hand, if people are checking back for replies to their comments, there might not be as many hits…

Toan Nguyen Minh August 23, 2009 at 6:22 pm

Nice changes, John. I will try to spam on your blog ^_^

Paul Marusich August 23, 2009 at 7:39 pm

glad to see the problem was fixed. was this a problem specific to your blog or will everyone have the same problem?

Andy August 23, 2009 at 9:17 pm

Top commenter plugin often leads to more comments, but it’s the nofollow tag is often there. Interesting strategy John.

Probably leads to tons of comments in the near future and then go back to the normal high again. It’s good to see that there’s actually come conversation and discussion going on, and not just spam what you would expect.

Gyanguru August 23, 2009 at 10:45 pm

Yes this definitely leads to more comments and its good as it ignites good and fruitful discussions.

Benjamin Cip September 12, 2009 at 2:38 am

Ya, but it also leads to a bunch of more spam.

Your Name (required) August 23, 2009 at 10:45 pm

The Top Commentator WordPress plugin is very popular. Bloggers use it to reward their loyal readers and encourage visitors to comment. But there are additional benefits as well. Blogs which use this plugin, for example, have increased subscribers, page views, and overall traffic.

But there are some negative things that bloggers have also noticed, which makes me, at least, ask the question: “Is The Top Commentator Plugin Worth It?”.

Props Blog Ideas August 24, 2009 at 9:48 am

Other than load speed which John already addressed, what are some of the negatives? It seems like everyone else is the top commenter plugin good reviews.

Igor Helps You Succeed August 23, 2009 at 11:48 pm

I had no idea I am one of the top commentors. LOL!

Thanks John.

zeeshan August 24, 2009 at 2:32 am

this top comment list is helpful.I surf these guys blog to see what their blog is about .I think other too.Giving them decent traffic

Mike August 24, 2009 at 3:30 am

It’s a great idea to get people commenting on your blog. Shame I’ve yet to get a single comment haha!

Michael Craig August 24, 2009 at 5:21 am

Hey, I encountered the same problem on my blog .. return Top Commentator plugin is great news!

Scopeformoney.com August 24, 2009 at 5:59 am

I’m also thinking of implementing top 10 commentors widgets on my blog

ZK @ Web Marketing Blog August 24, 2009 at 8:52 am

Just make it do follow and keep your both eyes after implementing, so that genuine commentator should get top position.

Chris Peterson August 24, 2009 at 7:22 am

This is Gr8 News John :) I hope i will be able to come to that list in order to achieve some good rankings in Google. You rock Man ..

Make Money Online Blogging August 24, 2009 at 7:28 am

Luckily i did notice that that ‘top Commentator” widget is not there, i keep on commenting as usual and see i am there in your TC list.

-Shanker Bakshi

fas August 24, 2009 at 8:38 am

Yes the plugin is worth it. It gives readers incentive to comment.

PPC Coach August 24, 2009 at 8:41 am

Does using this plugin lead to more spam comments that you have to filter through? Or do you get the same amount of spam regardless?

ZK @ Web Marketing Blog August 24, 2009 at 8:50 am

Spammers can not run after top commentator because for that they have to come again and again with same name.

Where as Spammer believe in one policy … HIT and RUN …

Michael Mindes August 24, 2009 at 9:15 am

That is a lot of spam that they would have to sling at a high traffic blog. Which is where they would want to be.

Sam August 24, 2009 at 3:05 pm

Thanks for giving the opportunity John :)

A great blogger is the one that helps its readers by any means necessery.

Gold Coins Blog August 24, 2009 at 4:25 pm

Glad to see that it’s fixed

videostar August 25, 2009 at 12:43 am

Nice to see the commentors on their places.Without the TClist Johnchow looked strange.

myskin August 25, 2009 at 2:02 am

good news, useful to visitors get rewards in the form of links and visitors for free

Best CSS Gallery August 25, 2009 at 3:11 am

Great news, John :)

Affiliit August 25, 2009 at 7:13 pm

Great news john!

Essay Writing August 26, 2009 at 3:01 am

Thanks john for bringing back top commentator feature at your blog. I hope to see my name in this list next time.

Props Blog Ideas August 27, 2009 at 12:04 am

the top comments plugin is great. in my oppinion. it helps give people an incentive to be active in your blog and allows them to help themselves out as well as yourself since they get links back to their site. im a believer

Dean Saliba August 27, 2009 at 3:18 am

I’m am thinking of adding this kind of thing to my blog. It rewards people for commenting regularly.

The only thing that stops me is the loading problem you have experienced and I’d have to edit my theme again. :D

Michael Mindes August 27, 2009 at 7:52 am

Since the top commentator list has been back on the front page, I noticed my search traffic has significantly increased.

Granted it went from about 5 visits per day up to about 30 visits per day, but improvement is improvement any way you slice the monkey!

TheBlogIsMine Dot Com September 4, 2009 at 4:41 am

With or without this plugin , i will always comment on your blog. because i think it is easy to give some comment …

Dan Gabriel September 4, 2009 at 10:39 pm

Great tool – make the search for comments faster and efficient. Thank you for all your comments.

Dan Gabriel
twitter.com/gdan

Teen money September 6, 2009 at 3:47 am

It is a great application. To become a top commentator is a great thing. But even this application allows no follow tags so google juice is not always there. It is a mutual beneficial thing. Great move to add it.

Free Arcade Games September 6, 2009 at 3:22 pm

Dang John, I still remember when you gave links and shoutouts to people 1-2 times per month..

-Mike