Social bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon, Digg, Sphinn and Propeller are taking the Internet by storm, and it’s because they’ve been helping Internet marketers promote their products and services quickly and efficiently. Social bookmarking has become one of the best modes of viral marketing, not to mention the best fallback method of traffic building during this Google dance season.
However, not a lot of people do understand the very nature of social bookmarks. Thus, they can’t make the traffic that comes from these sites to linger and make most of the site. What are the right ways to do it then? Here are some tips that can maximize the traffic that comes from social bookmarks:
1. Use common SEO techniques – Make sure your headline can draw attention. Your title should create an impact, if you want your targeted audience to click on your articles and bookmark them into their own bookmarking sites. You should also focus on your description. It doesn’t have to be provocative, just enough to capture their curiosity. Nevertheless, it’s always important to never resort to exaggeration only to increase their interest. Creating a title such as “5 Ways to Cross the English Channel Alone†may only merit your article as a joke.
2. Sustain their interest all throughout the paragraphs. Oftentimes you’ve heard of suggestions to concentrate on your first paragraph. Ideally, that’s the way to go. However, it doesn’t mean you have to forget the remaining ones. One of the best ways to sustain their interest is to settle for short paragraphs. This way, the white space can provide comfort for their eyes, and they don’t easily get tired reading your articles. Most of all, be personal in your approach. Talk as if your audience is just in front of you. Being conversational always goes a long way.
3. Add bookmarking buttons on your site. StumbleUpon, Digg, del.icio.us, and other social bookmarking sites all have buttons that you can add to your site, or even in your articles. This will make it very much easy for visitors to bookmark articles and eventually share those articles to their network.
4. Choose the right category. There are times when you can never be found in social bookmarking websites simply because you have chosen the wrong category or you haven’t picked any. Categories make it very much convenient for your targeted audience to search for articles and sites that they can add into their bookmarks. Hence, don’t pick Technology if you’re talking about Diabetes. If you can’t find any category, feel free to contact the social bookmark sites’ webmasters.
5. Build your network. Being a lonely wolf doesn’t get you anywhere. There are a number of average stories that gain popularity simply because they have solid network of friends who are helping them in Digg-ing or Stumbling for traffic. Thus, ensure that you can have time to take a look at other people’s profiles and start building your contact list.
6. Don’t submit stale news. Remember what they say, “Old news is already history.†. Gather stories that haven’t been talked about yet or add a twist to that topic. You can even go for something controversial as long as you remain objective. Go for how-to’s (StumbleUpon traffic magnet). They’re timeless.
7. Make your RSS feeds subscription chicklet, button, or link and email newsletter subscription options obvious. You can tweak your blog’s layout and set your single post pages to have all the tools that help convert traffic to regular visitors readily available or accessible.
8. Make it a point to understand what type of content your network of social bookmarking friends love. StumbleUpon stumblers (as mentioned love lists and how-to’s) differ from Diggers (games and tech news). See what works for your site and keep on providing relevant content that’s tailored to a certain social bookmarking site’s traffic.
Now rinse and repeat!
So would you mind adding this post to your bookmark of choice?
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