Branding Personal Or Other Wise With Gravatars

Commenting on blogs has got to be one of the best ways to generate back links to your own website and/or blog. The simple act of reading a post, looking for the Comment link or button, filling in the fields with your name, an email address that is never used, and the all-important link to your web site makes sense not only link-building wise, but it also enhances your own reputation online.

Another tool to add while you comment is an Avatar that represents either yourself or your website or just a symbol to associate you with the image.

From the Wordpress web site:

According to the Gravatar.com website, Gravatars are Globally Recognized Avatars, or an “avatar image that follows you from weblog to weblog appearing beside your name when you comment on gravatar enabled sites.” You register with the Gravatar server, and upload an image which you will use as your avatar. The gravatar image is keyed to your email address, so that it is unique to you.

From the Gravatar.com site itself:

Your Gravatar is an image that follows you from site to site appearing beside your name when you do things like comment or post on a blog. Avatars help identify your posts on blogs and web forums, so why not on any site?

If you click on the title of this (or any) post, you’ll easily get to the commenting section. This post also shows either the number of people who have posted a comment or – in the case of a brand new, not yet responded to post – a No Comment. You click on that link and you are taken to the area where you can add your two cents.

Adding an image further enhances your online presence. And Gravatars are a simple way to do that. So not only is commenting FREE, but an excellent linking building and personal or product name branding recognition marketing method.

Just be sure that you comment on what you read. Comments that are nothing but ads are considered spam and are deleted.

It’s your time involved – but a free marketing strategy to use. Make good use of your time and make yourself stand out from the crowd by signing up for, and using, your Gravatar.

(Note: Blogs and forums that allow gravatars will automatically detect and pull in yours. You don’t have to do anything other than signup, for free, for your own gravatar.)

(P.S. The new services ARE coming. Just final testing and tweaking going on.)

Tags: advertising, advice, Avatar, avatar image, avatars, browser tools, business building, comments, free marketing, gadgets, gravatar, how to, images, internet tools, link building, marketing strategy, own website, personal name branding, personalization, presence, reputation, search engines, viral marketing, web forums, weblog