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How to Remove Spam Comments on Wordpress

  • Writer: Chris Lam
    Chris Lam
  • Aug 23
  • 2 min read

I once had a client that let anyone comment on their blog posts. Their web developer didn't bother to ask the client if they wanted comments turned on. So any bot was able to register and spam every post. By the time they hired me, I discovered this: they had about 58,000 spam comments auto-approved. FIFTY-EIGHT THOUSAND SPAM COMMENTS.


supermarket wall of spam

(Ask me which state this web developer is from. This is why my right eye twitches whenever I see agencies based out of this state do business.)


I'm going to share this tip on removing spam comments from your site from Alison Monday of Tiny Blue Orange. I've had the pleasure of working with Alison on a different client's site, and she's someone to add to your "to hire" list, if you have a Wordpress website.


Here is a simpler way of removing existing spam comments, without adding another WP plug-in. (From Alison Monday)


  1. Go to Comments + review your pending list

  2. Mark any spam comments that you see

  3. Make a note of words or phrases that are used in the spam comments on your site

  4. Go to Settings > Discussion

  5. Scroll to Disallowed Comment Keys and put those words + phrases on individual lines within the white text box

  6. Save your changes

  7. Repeat these steps every week or month depending on how many comments you get

For step 5, for example, your Disallowed Comment Keys might look like this:


  • bitcoin

  • SEO

  • high-quality

  • off topic

  • wow


Here are some other suggestions from Alison on her blog.


It's too late for my client with the 58,000 spam comments. I had to use a plug-in to remove them all. But it's not too late for you!


OR... turn off all comments, especially if you don't have the time to moderate or respond back. (My comments are turned off for that reason.)

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