Yes, it’s true that not everyone on the internet will agree, and yes it’s true that comments amidst strangers can quickly escalate into full-on battles between keyboard warriors. However, that small snag should not be the definitive factor when considering comment sections as an engagement solution and ad revenue source for your site.

In fact, the misconceptions about comment sections and moderation services have unfortunately cost many publishers the opportunity to significantly boost engagement and earnings. Over the past several years, online digital publishers such as NPR removed comment sections from their websites entirely because they claimed the profit did not justify the constant need for moderation. The clapback from their move to limit public input was jarring despite statements of reassurance from their managing editor that a better solution would be announced. Today, the publisher relies heavily on third-party social media as their engagement solution, a solution where control and monetization possibilities are limited.  The experts at Insticator believe this was not the best move especially when considering the imperative factors of a cohesive monetization strategy. 

Comment sections can be one of the most data-enriching ways to encourage engagement on a website. By creating a community where users are enticed to interact, a publisher can simultaneously create a culture of loyal members, where their data-driven experts can gain key information for endless consumer-focused campaign opportunities. If you are deciding whether it is imperative to add a comment section to your website and stay current amongst the competition, these top benefits will highlight why you should.

Ad Interaction Through Your Website Comment Section

One of the top monetization strategies is to creatively push user engagement through data-driven advertising, especially when incorporated with a personalized and fully managed supply-side platform. A popular engagement solution where Insticator strongholds the market by utilizing 1st party data for their publishers in order to attract a more valuable and targeted audience. The benefits of this strategy is that the direction is completely controlled in-house through the facilitation of discussions within a comment section. 

Rather than leaving users with only information and updates – without a place to provide their input – you can invite users to be a part of the conversation, to create a culture and community within a comment section. Encourage them to be heard. Not to mention, they will want to linger around a bit longer and ultimately boost your impression rates, among other things. 

Boost User Dwell Times

Again, people who are more engaged with your content are much more likely to remain on your page. No matter what kind of metrics your data management and monetization strategy is keyed to track, one of them is bound to be the average user dwell time. Dwell time determines how long each visitor spends on a specific page before leaving your website or returning to their search engine page. Research has shown that publishers incorporating comment sections on their websites retain longer dwell times than those without.

Gain Incredible Insights

Consumer-focused campaigns are the way of the future, as a growing number of online digital publishers are looking for ways to stay current and create dynamic ad solutions to improve the user’s experience overall. But the end user is not the only one benefitting from the decision to add a comment section; publishers can learn key information by reading, moderating, and guiding user comments. 

Comment sections can speak to trends, needs, and concerns that might otherwise go untracked by even the most advanced metrics systems and data-driven experts. It is also a good idea to take note of which topics are gaining the most buzz, so you know what types of ad content to produce in future consumer-focused campaigns. 

Offer Rewards and Incentives

After adding a comment section to your website, one method to maximizing your audience’s potential and conversion into loyal members is by offering a subscription-based service. This acts as a major incentive for commenters to continue interacting on your website in order to earn exclusive awards. For instance, highly-active users in the comment section can be boosted with a badge or star next to their name, labeling them as top commenters or authority figures on the subject matter. 

This helps to build trust within the community, between peers, and with your publisher brand. Those who aren’t sure where to start can partner with our experts to gain access to the best and most fitting WordPress website comment plugins for beginners and veterans alike. 

Keep Readers Coming Back for More 

There is a reason why successful online digital publisher’s build up a loyal follower base with a comment section as the engagement solution of choice. By facilitating meaningful conversations, your website will be known as a space where real talk happens and where real opinions are heard. Publishers who quickly respond to comments, questions, or complaints on their website gain trust in their audience and create more opportunities for their cohesive monetization strategy. 

Customer loyalty is often a big metric measured by publishers looking to gauge levels of interest in certain interactive pieces of media on their websites. Higher engagements lead to more impressions, which can grow incrementally and automatically when users are known to return.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Your Users for What You Want

Engagement goes beyond responding in comment sections and boosting the accounts of users who remain loyal. It’s to ensure that the key parts of a site stay current; the way in which content is produced, and the position in which ads are placed. Publishers who add strong CTAs and intriguing closers are more likely to get the results that they want. 

Why?

Because they were direct and asked their users to take action. Advertising is about bringing attention to the content that a publisher wants their audience to see, but also relating that content within their consumer-focused campaigns back to the users to gain a reaction. It’s okay to be transparent about that. Using Insticator’s custom ad engagement products is a convenient way to know which content types are going to spark engagement for your site while others may fall flat. Helping you to fine-tune an engagement solution to boost your user interactions and your traffic all at once. 

Consider Your Comment Section and Connect with Insticator Today 

With Insticator’s all-in-one ad management platform that focuses on interactive ad units and monetization strategies, you can take your website comment section to the next level. We will help you turn those comments into a community of loyal members to build your brand and spread the word to other future visitors. With seamless integration of website and mobile app designs, advanced first-party data collection services, and a slew of insights to help you discover what’s best, Insticator’s full ad management platform for publishers is a perfect solution for your site. 

Request a demo of our platform to discover your opportunities!