I had read an article encouraging people to comment on blog posts, videos and articles to get one-way links back to your website and increase traffic.

This is a good.

I added a comment, with a complaint noting that their comment system was highly favorable to the blogger, but not to the commentor and might even hurt the commentor.

When you comment, be sure you get a do-follow link directly on the comment back to your website.

The blogger actually sent me an personal response. What follows is the gist of our exchange.

Blogger to Me

It does not seem like you took your time to actually take a look at where my commentators links are leading. Yes, they do lead to an internal page. Each one of those pages is actually dedicated to my commentators.

It brands them with all their comments and opinions and it DOES lead to their website with their chosen anchor text. AND that link is DoFollow.

I appreciate the complaint, but I think it was made in haste.

My Reply to the Blogger

Thanks for taking the time to write. You have a lot of comments to respond to. It is admirable for you to answer them.

I do not remember my original comment. I did spend a lot of time looking at your comment system, but I am sure you are right in that I made the comment before I realized totally how it worked. I doubt I understand it all now.

I do not remember exactly, but I think your blog post was specifically about encouraging people to comment to generate traffic.

My point was that the commenting system you are using probably generates less traffic for a commentor than a simpler one with a keyword link directly on the comment.

The SEO Super Comments system you are using basically says the same thing, that their commenting system is designed to optimize the blog website, not send traffic to the commentors.

At least there is the one link on the internal page, but that means a reader has to go to the internal page and find that link, which is not as nearly as obvious as it would be on the original comment. I missed it and I was looking for it, so how likely is it for an average reader to find it?

What is the drop off in getting traffic when a person has to click on two different pages? Pretty big, I guess.

There are other issues too.

The commentors name and domain name are now serving as keywords on your blog, so the commentor may be creating competition for themselves. Your internal links with the commentors keywords are on your article page, which is a more popular page and ranks higher than the page on which the commentor has a link.

If the commentor comments on lots of blogs with similar systems, the commentor could be creating many pages competing with himself.

Conclusion

Before you comment, check out the commenting system. Make sure it is one that gives you fair credit for taking the time to contribute to the other person's discussion.