Comment spam is a common problem faced by bloggers, and it is a cheap technique used to get backlinks or traffic from your blog. It is even used for the purpose of advertisement. This type of spam can be really annoying as it not only affects your website’s reputation but also harms your website in multiple ways. Comment spam can have negative impacts on your website’s search engine ranking and can also give a negative impression to users, which may lead to a loss of trust. In some cases, comment spams may contain links that lead to inappropriate or suspicious websites, which can affect your website negatively.

Some signs of a comment spam include a comment with keyword-rich names, containing irrelevant or too many links, self-promotional, unrelated to your blog post, links to questionable sites, and fake email addresses. These spams can be easily identified at times, while spammers may try to appear authentic to escape detection. Therefore, to mitigate the impact of comment spam, it is essential to use effective techniques.

The below-listed methods can help you stop spam comments on your WordPress blog:

1. Use CAPTCHA
One way to detect whether a user is a bot or a human is by using a CAPTCHA. A CAPTCHA is an image or code that is presented to the user, requiring them to enter a code or answer a question that is only possible for a human to do.

2. Activate Akismet
Akismet is a custom-built plugin that checks comments and submits them to the spam folder if the comment appears to be spam. All installations of WordPress come pre-installed with Akismet. To activate the plugin, you will need to obtain an API key.

3. Ban Spammers by Their IP
Spammers can be stopped from accessing your website if their IP addresses are banned. This method blocks users from posting comments on your blog.

4. Disable Trackbacks
Trackbacks are notifications from other blogs that appear when they link to your posts. Trackbacks from other blogs can be disabled.

5. Turn off Comments on Old Posts
Since legitimate comments usually come only for new posts, comments on old posts can be disabled.

6. Use Honeypot Protection
Honeypot protection is a technique that involves adding a hidden field to the comment form, which is filled by bots, thus blocking the bots.

7. Remove URL Field in Comment Form
Removing the URL field from the comment form prevents users from filling the URL of their site when they comment on your blog. This method is effective in reducing spammers from targeting your website.

8. Hold Comments for Moderation
If your blog doesn’t receive too many natural comments, you can manually approve comments, which ensures that all comments are reviewed and approved by you.

9. Disable Anonymous Commenting
Only allow registered users to leave their comments. This method ensures that all comments are made by registered users and not by anonymous users.

10. Completely Disable Comments
Completely disabling comments is another way of getting rid of comment spams. However, this method also prevents genuine users from commenting on your blog.

In conclusion, comment spam is a menace that can harm your website’s reputation and search engine ranking. While it may seem challenging to tackle these spams, the techniques outlined above are effective in preventing spam comments from appearing on your WordPress blog. By implementing these techniques, you can ensure that only genuine users post comments on your blog, which, in turn, will help you build a strong community of readers and followers.