It’s a sad but true reality that quite a few people make it their mission to visit websites and leave spam comments. If this happens to your site, it’s bad news, as it will end up with even more spam in the future.
What’s more, spam comments can cause users to lose trust in a website, making it harder to acquire leads and sales.
In this article, we’re going to discuss what causes these spammers to want to comment on sites in the first place, how they get around security, and how to stop spam comments on WordPress. This way, you’ll know exactly what to do to get the best business possible.
For further information on comment moderation, visit Viafoura.
Here’s how to deal with WordPress spam comments.
Delete WordPress Comments Spam Immediately
The first course of action should be to delete spam comments as soon as you see them. Don’t just ignore them and leave them to be displayed on your site forever because that will only encourage other spammers to do the same thing in the future.
If working with WordPress, the easiest way to delete these comments is by going into the “Comments” section of WordPress Admin Panel > Select all those that are spam > Delete.
While this does work for some sites, it’s not a very efficient method if you get lots of spam each day (as we know most business owners do). Not everyone has time to go through every comment manually and decide whether or not they’re legitimate before getting rid of them, so what can be done instead?
Report Spam To WordPress Administrators
Also, report spam to WordPress administrators. They are likely to ban user accounts that have been reported many times.
You do not need any special knowledge for this process; just go on the Comments page in your dashboard and click “Report” under each comment you wish to report — they will notice it more quickly if you give them a link directly to the post containing these comments (such as example.com/my-blog/?p=123).
If somebody is genuinely abusing the system by leaving spam all over your website or blog posts, it would be worth reporting their IP Address too.
However, we cannot guarantee how fast action will be taken against spammers when using only an IP address alone (which can also change frequently) so please report spam comments.
Use The Akismet Plugin For WordPress To Automatically Filter Out Spam.
Akismet is a plugin for WordPress that is installed on millions of sites. It uses various techniques to catch as many spam comments as possible, and the Akismet service will also analyze suspicious links in your blog posts using its link database.
This particular plugin is free. And it works the first time perfectly without the need for any setup or configuration whatsoever.
To install Akismet, go to Plugins → Add New and search for it. Then, click Install Now on the plugin’s homepage to activate it. It is entirely free of charge.
And you can always upgrade your account if needed. It’s great for WordPress beginners and developers alike, so you don’t need to be a coder to use it.
Block The Ip Addresses Of Spammers
Blocking the IP of spammers would be the most effective way to deal with spam comments, but it’s also complex and time-consuming. To secure an IP address in WordPress, go to Settings > Discussion tab.
Next, click on the section titled “Blocked Senders” and add your email there, where you can type in a full or partial email address of spammers that have been sending comments to your site.
Then save changes by clicking on the button labeled “Save Changes” at the bottom right corner of this page. This is great as long as the spammer is not coming from a proxy or VPN.
However, if this occurs, you will have more problems to deal with, requiring intense time and effort to resolve the problem.
Create A List Of Keywords That Are Likely To Be Used By Spammers And Include Them In Your Comment Blacklist, E.g., “Free,” “Viagra,” Or “Casino.”
This is a great way to block the most obvious spam. The first step to dealing with spammers is creating a blacklist that blocks common phrases or words used by them.
The more specific your list of blacklisted terms is for your blog’s industry, the better it will perform at blocking spam comments.
For example, if you run an online business selling handmade baby clothes, then include “free gift” and “buy one get one free” in your blacklist because this phrase is commonly found on websites offering these deals as marketing ploys to drive traffic to their store through affiliate links embedded within their comment content.
Likewise, if you regularly receive spammy-looking messages from users about cashing in on a “secret shopper program” or your blog is linked to by other big-name sites that use spammy-looking promotion tactics, include these search terms as well.
Turn Off Commenting On Posts With Sensitive Information (E.g., Medical Conditions)
You can prevent spam comments from appearing by turning off comments on posts with sensitive information, like medical conditions. This is because spammers want to sell their products and services through affiliation or ads.
They don’t care about your blog post content since they just have a link that leads back to them anyway. So by turning off commenting on those types of posts, you also turn away the spammers who are trying to comment in the first place.
While it may seem harsh, there is a benefit of this approach. It also helps to create a sense of community among your loyal readers so that they know where and how you want them to comment on your blog posts.
Conclusion
Now you know how to deal with WordPress spam comments.
While most WordPress users are busy dealing with their valuable business matters, an increasing number of spammers want to give them a hard time.
Spam comments not only degrade your site’s security but also affect its ranking on Google search results pages. As a result, you must take some steps to deal with spam effectively.
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