WordPress Plugin - KeywordLuv
Current version: 1.03 (7th March 2008) | Read The Changelog
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Description
Reward your commentators by separating their name from their keywords in the link to their website, giving them improved anchor text.
Example
If they enter "Stephen@Custom WordPress Plugins" in the Name field, their comment will have:
Stephen from Custom WordPress Plugins Says:
rather than:
Stephen@Custom WordPress Plugins Says:
If they don’t enter the @ symbol, the anchor text will simply display as normal. For a live example, see the first comment below.
Why Is Anchor Text Important?
There are many articles about the value of having your keywords in the anchor text of backlinks to your site. This helps your site rank well for those keywords with the search engines, bringing you more traffic.
One source of backlinks are comments on DoFollow blogs, but the anchor text is normally your name. While this helps you rank well for your name, it’s practically worthless for your keywords. That’s why some commentators put keywords in the name field, but they risk being marked as spammers.
I understand people’s desire to get the best value from their link, but I’m tired of answering comments with "Hi Miami Hotels". I’d like them to leave their name, without it effecting their keyword benefit. Enter KeywordLuv…
By using KeywordLuv (and a Dofollow plugin) you give your commentators better links, rewarding them and encouraging more people to comment.
DoFollow
For your commentators to benefit from KeywordLuv, your blog requires a separate Dofollow plugin to remove the nofollow tag. KeywordLuv does not do this and without it, your commentators will not receive any benefit.
While KeywordLuv could remove the nofollow tag, there are many existing plugins that do this AND provide advanced features I don’t want to replicate.
Requirements
WordPress 2.2+ (tested on WordPress 2.5, 2.3 and 2.2).
Compatibility - DoFollow Plugins
KeywordLuv hasn’t been tested with most DoFollow plugins but problems are very unlikely. If you do encounter any, please let me know.
Compatibility - WordPress Themes
There is a compatibility issue with some themes. If your theme uses comment_author_link() to retrieve the comment author link, KeywordLuv will work fine. If it uses comment_author() and comment_author_url() to build the comment author link, then it will do nothing.
This issue, along with the possible workarounds, is outlined on the KeywordLuv - Theme Compatibility Issue page.
Note: If you use Brian’s Threaded Comments or YATCP for threaded comments, KeywordLuv will work, as these both use comment_author_link().
Installation
- Download the keywordluv-1.03.zip file and unzip it.
- Upload the keywordluv folder to the wp-content/plugins folder.
- Activate the KeywordLuv plugin within WordPress.
Upgrade
- Download the keywordluv-1.03.zip file and unzip it.
- Upload the keywordluv folder to the wp-content/plugins folder, overwriting the existing files.
Usage
When your readers leave a comment, they should leave their name and keywords in the Name field, using the following format: name@keywords.
When posts are displayed, the plugin searches for the @ character, strips it out and moves the name to front (outside the link).
Telling Your Commentators
This plugin is really to help your commentators, so you need to tell them how to use it. By default, the plugin adds a message to the comment form telling users to enter YourName@YourKeywords in the comment field. You can customise this message in the KeywordLuv options page in the Admin area.
Note: This message does not appear if you are logged in, as logged in users normally don’t have a Name field to enter YourName@YourKeywords into.
The problem with this message is that there is no way to control exactly where it will appear. It depends on your theme. In some themes, it may not appear at all.
If you are comfortable editing your theme, the best solution is for you to disable the message (in the KeywordLuv options page in the Admin area) and add your own message exactly where you want it (in comments.php).
If You Disable The Plugin
Whatever the commentator enters in the Name field is what’s actually stored in the database. KeywordLuv simply changes the way it’s displayed. If you decide you no longer want to use the plugin, simply deactivate it and commentator’s names will revert to what’s in the database.
For example, if they enter "Stephen@Custom WordPress Plugins", that’s what’s stored. If the plugin is active, it will display:
Stephen from Custom WordPress Plugins Says:
If the plugin is disabled, it will display:
Stephen@Custom WordPress Plugins Says:
Support
This plugin is officially not supported (due to my time constraints), but if you leave a comment below or contact me, I should be able to help.
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A sample comment showing KeywordLuv in action!
Note: you can’t see this working in the comment preview, only after it’s been posted.
Well, I’ll be the first to test it out on your blog. I’ll slap it on my blog as soon as I can.
I notice that the Recent Comments widget on my site doesn’t change. That plugin must be building the comments directly from the DB, rather than using WordPress’ comment functions.
Okay, I’ve sorted out my Recent Comments widget by hacking it. However, it’s uncovered what may be a serious problem for this plugin. KeywordLuv works by filtering the following functions:
- get_comment_author_link()
- comment_author_link()
If your theme uses these functions to display the comment author link, KeywordLuv will work fine.
If however, your theme manually builds the comment author link, using a combination of the following functions:
- comment_author or get_comment_author; and
- comment_author_url or get_comment_author_url
then KeywordLuv will not be able to filter the comment author link and will therefore not do anything. There is no way around this - apart from manually incorporating the plugin’s functionality into the theme, which isn’t practical unless you are an advanced user.
I’ll add this to the page above.
Why not include it on the options page? Put in the default and if that doesn’t work, they can select the others. Or… you could have it do a php search to find out which ones are being used on a particular theme and set them that way.
By the way, the link text at the bottom does not appear, probably because I’m using the CommentLuv plugin.
Hi RT,
Not that simple I’m afraid. With the first two functions, the link is created by WordPress and a plugin such as KeywordLuv can filter it.
With the other functions, WordPress doesn’t create the link, just the name and the URL. The theme would use these to build the link. A plugin could filter the name or the URL, but there IS NO link for it to filter. Sure, it could strip the name out, so the keywords are the anchor text, but then there is no way to pass the name to the theme.
I checked your site and the link text does appear, but there’s no gap between it and the CommentLuv text. Here is a snippet from your site:
I’ll have to add paragraph tags around the message.
You may not be seeing the message as it does not appear if you are logged in (I may not have said this anywhere).
There’s no point showing the text if you’re logged in, as you do not have a name field to enter YourName@YourKeywords (at least not with most themes).
RE: the link message running into the CommentLuv message: You could probably fix this by adding the paragraph marks around the message in the parameter, rather than waiting for a new version…
I disabled it, Stephen, until you get it worked out. My theme isn’t using the link() functions anyway and I’m leary of doing any theme editing until I get the kinks out of the 2.5 upgrade.
RT,
Okay, I’m seeing if I can come up with a plan - although it will have to involve editing themes to some degree - and in that case it probably makes more sense to change the theme to use comment_author_link() or get comment_author_link()!
Can I ask what you use for threaded comments? I use YATCP and I checked three versions of Brian’s Threaded Comments going back to 2004. They all use comment_author_link(), so anyone using either of those plugins will have no trouble with KeywordLuv.
You’re right. I was looking at the theme version instead of YATCP. I need to upgrade it from the 1st version though.
Okay, I’ve rewritten it. Themes that don’t use comment_author_link() or get_comment_author_link() can add the following before the link in their theme:
<?php if (function_exists('keywordluv_name')) keywordluv_name(); ?>
Of course, if they have to edit the theme anyway, it would be simpler for them to change to using comment_author_link(). From what I can tell, comment_author_link() is the way to go for people in the know. I’m not sure why theme creators would have used the other functions, but I’m sure some have.
Anyway, I’m done for tonight. I’ll put version 1.01 up tomorrow, with these changes and the paramater tags in the default message field. I’ll also add usage instructions to the document above.
Okay, version 1.01 is up and I’ve update the page above and the changelog etc.
Wow.. an awesome idea, Stephen. I am going to try this plugin as soon as possible.
K,
Thanks. That was quick - I haven’t actually announced it yet! I guess you have a sharp eye and saw it in the comments form. We’ll see how it goes. A lot depends on how people’s themes build the link. At least it works here though!
This is fun Stephen. I did notice it in the comment form.. (always looking for better things for WordPress
)
I usually condone comments using keywords in my blog if the comment was meaningful but I could never bring myself to leave comments in other blogs with just the keyword for my name. I would love to see more blogs use this. I will test it in my theme and let you know.
Yeah it is fun. You’ve got me commenting in IE now, because I’m logged in Firefox and it only works for people who aren’t logged in…
I’ve just noticed that in 1.01, the name doesn’t appear in the comments manager in the WordPress Admin area. It did with 1.0, before I changed so it would a little better with incompatible themes. I’ll have to look into this….
Okay, I’ve written 1.02, but won’t bundle it up until tomorrow.
Basically, if the plugin caters for those themes that aren’t compatible, it affects the Comments page in the Admin area (it just shows the keyword rather than name@keywords like version 1.0 did). There is no way around this.
So, what I’ve done is I’ve added a compatibility mode parameter in the options screen. By default it’s off. If your theme is compatible, no problem. If you find your theme is incompatible, then you’ll have to turn the parameter on - but the price is that you’ll only see the keywords in the Admin - Comments area.
I’ll have to write some documentation for this, so it won’t be up for 24 hours or so.
I’ll get it as soon as you have it ready (when I’m awake that is).
RT, I’m half an hour too slow for you! Don’t know about you, but I plan on not being awake very shortly!
Version 1.02 is now up. It can be downloaded on this page above. A full explanation of the compatibility issue can be found on the KeywordLuv - Theme Compatibility Issue page, along with some possible workarounds.
It certainly does make the comment section more personable. Thanks for the heads up. Zoomed ya!
Hi Paul, Thanks!
This plugin is working great on my blog. Thanks very much.
The only thing I’ve noticed, though, is that it doesn’t play well with CommentLuv. When CommentLuv is enabled, it shows as “person’s name@person’s website”, as opposed to just the name. Not really an issue, but I thought you might like to know.
Hi Grateful Guy,
Thanks for letting me know. I’ve had a quick look at CommentLuv and it creates the author’s name using a different method, that can’t be filtered. That means any work around will be less than ideal…
The best I can come up with right now, is that I’ll write a post explaining how to hack CommentLuv to embed the KeywordLuv functionality. I’ll try to keep it as simple as possible, but I know many people will not want to do this, so I may check with Andy Bailey about whether he can add the hack (that may be a bit presumptuous of me though!).
It’ll be a couple of days before I get it done though.
I’ve resolved the issue with CommentLuv, without the need to make any hacks to the CommentLuv plugin. It just works. This comment can be considered an example.
The changes are made in v1.03, which is not available for download yet, but will be soon. I’ll make another comment when it’s available.
For those interested in what it now does: When the comment is saved, KeywordLuv checks to see whether the comment author is in the comment body and if so, strips the everything from the @ symbol out. This only affects the comment author text in the comment body, not the comment author itself (the plugin needs the keywords in the comment author field).
As part of this testing, I finally enabled CommentLuv on my site and it’s here to stay. So now you’re getting Luv from all directions (have to be careful how to phrase this!).
Stephen Cronin’s last blog post..New WordPress Plugin - KeywordLuv
Version 1.03, which plays nicely with CommentLuv, is now available for download. Further details in the previous comments and upgrade instructions in the page body above (basically, just copy the new file over the old one).
I have it downloaded and will be installing it on ALL my blogs as soon as I get a round tuit.
RT Cunningham’s last blog post..10 Ways To Power Up My Blog
Hi RT,
Excellent! Let me know if you have any problems with it…
And just for you:
Sorry, couldn’t resist. My father bought a wooden one when I was young, hung it on the wall and made many a joke.
I now have it installed on them. Keep your tuits to yourself.
RT Cunningham’s last blog post..Charlton Heston, The Legend, Dead at 83
Just installed the plugin and I’m loving it. There’s a small incompatibility with a plugin I wrote called Ajax Edit Comments, but that’s only when editing the name portion of a comment, which hardly anyone does.
I’m testing it out on my site to see how the readers like it.
Ronald’s last blog post..Testing Out a New WordPress Plugin called KeywordLuv
Yep, I discovered that little bug when I tried to edit the name at lostaddress.org
RT Cunningham’s last blog post..Are You Willing To Blog Until You Drop?
Yep, not sure if I can fix it on my end or not. I’m currently brainstorming a feature set for a 2.0 version, and am always interested in coordinating with plugin authors for compatibility.
What I’ll likely do in 2.0 is use a comment section completely like the original WordPress one, in order to minimize conflicts with themes and other plugins.
Ronald’s last blog post..Liz Strauss at WordCamp Dallas Transcript
Ok, then the YATCP plugin should give you some good pointers — it uses a different comments.php, I think yatcp-comments, from the plugin itself.
RT Cunningham’s last blog post..Are You Willing To Blog Until You Drop?
Wow.. great to see all the new developments with the plugin. Sorry Stephen, I haven’t had a chance to install this yet. I am hoping to do it this weekend.
K-IntheHouse’s last blog post..DropBox - My Favorite File Sync Genie (beta invites available)
Awesome plugin! I’ve enabled it on my site (Kiwification) - I like to reward commentors however possible..
yes..I like to have more commentors as possible..
thanks to you..
This is a great tool to encourage comments. Thank you for sharing this with the community.
What a wonderful plug in. I luv it (pun intended.) I think it’s great that you are developing and sharing these things that are win-wins for the online community aspect of blogging.
Keep them coming!
Just wanted to say thanks for a great plugin, and for helping to not only encourage comments but also to reward everyone for doing it.
Great plugin, thanks! Good present for commentators with own blogs
Thanks to everyone who left comments over the last few weeks. I appreciate your support.
Can’t wait to start using this. I just updated to WP 2.5 and am using the latest Sem Pro theme, so fingers crossed that it will all work together!
Hi Tracy,
It should work with WP2.5, but not sure about the Sem Pro theme. Let me know if it works or not! I’d be very interested to know.
Stephen,
I’ve been using this plug-in for a few days now, and it rocks!
People love the fact that they’re getting a benefit from their comments and are commenting much more often.
Simply brilliant…
-Riggie
Hi Riggie,
Glad you like the plugin. I think it gives the commentators just a little more incentive to take action and leave a comment. Everyone wins!
I have installed it although I forgot that I had to log out for it to appear to me - I should have read ALL of your readme text but I tend to just read the install part and then go back to the readme if I have any problems. I also discovered, by logging out, that comment luv is working too so thanks for indirectly solving that dilemma for me too.
Hi Stephen,
I finally got around to installing the plugin and will report back with how it affects comments in my blog. Great to hear the CommentLuv issue is taken care of as well! Hope you are doing great.
Hi Stephen,
#1 You are my hero.
#2 If there is a way that I can get a small interview for a few questions with you for my real estate seo blog with you let me know by emailing me. Truly genius. as I may say again. Thank you thank you.
I’m still trying to figure out how to create a blog, everyone says go to word press but i must say web design has never been my fortie. if anyone knows how to create a decent blog thats easy to use and has keywordluv with it please let me know.
cheers
OMG. I love this plugin. I am currently setting up a new blog and planned on using the commentluv, but this, this is awesome. Great job and thanks.
Sweet. I would love to see a list of blogs that are using this plugin. It’s always nice when contributing on blogs to get a little link love as well.
thenk im aplication