Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking websites are another product of Web 2.0. Features vary by individual site, but all are great tools for promoting and getting links to a website. Links on these types of sites can result in a surge in traffic if they become popular.

A popular model for social bookmarking sites is that used by Digg. Users submit links to pages they find interesting or useful, and other users can vote for the ones they like. The more votes a submission gets and the more quickly it gets them, the more prominently it is featured. Links that make it to the front page of the site are seen by the most users, and they are more likely to receive a large amount of traffic while they are there.

StumbleUpon is another such site that has achieved great popularity. Users download a browser toolbar that they can use to vote on sites they visit. There is also a “Stumble” button that takes them to a submitted page that the service has determined should fit with their tastes according to past choices. The more positive votes a page gets, the more traffic it can receive.

When submitting links to these sites, getting some friends or colleagues to vote your submission up will increase its chances of success. There are groups you can join that exchange Digg and Stumble requests, or you can simply email people in your address book who might be interested in your submission. If you do this very frequently you could, however, run into trouble, so use this technique sparingly.

The key to success with these sites is submitting the right kind of material. Digg, for example, is primarily designed for news stories or timely blog posts, so if the link you want to promote doesn’t fit into those categories, you might want to try elsewhere. It’s also important not to submit and vote for only items from your site, because if you do, users will perceive you as a spammer. You could also be banned from the site. Related Posts :