If you haven’t been using social bookmarking sites to generate traffic you are missing out on a large consumer potential. As the net becomes more interactive and users gain more decisiveness on what is and isn’t “quality content,” building links using social bookmarking sites continue to pop up to serve virtually every known online niche.

Social bookmarking sites are very popular when it comes to user generated and voted content. However, some dont cater to every niche. It is mostly a playground for techies and gadget geeks which leave those who write for other niches off the front page and in some cases off the websites in general. Thus more and more people are starting to build links using social bookmarking sites that are niche specific.

These sites do pretty much the same thing that sites such as Digg does, which is to help people get their work exposed. For internet related content people are finding places like PlugIM.com and MarkTD.com are sending them more traffic than Digg ever has. Many websites, including Digg, are anti marketing which means that small business related topics rarely make it to the front page. However, finding and using a Digg-like site that pertains to your niche can greatly increase your traffic. Building backlinks using social bookmarking sites like these will provide great benefits to your business.

Some of theses sites offer a Digg It button to place on your site and if so, use it. The easy way for publishers to hasten their entry into the Digg and Digg-like ecosystem is to add a Digg It button or link to pages on their sites. Surprisingly, considering the importance of Digg, few publishers have done this. Having a Digg It button on your website encourages user participation, which increases your article exposure, traffic, and, ultimately, your sales.

Before publishing on Digg, look for “vertical” Digg-style sites to publish on because you will most likely receive more traffic from these sites than Digg even though they are much smaller in comparison to Digg.

There are several lists online that you can use to find Digg-like sites that work for you. Simply Google your niche and the terms Digg-like, Digg-style or Digg clones.

Keep in mind however, that these social bookmarking sites are all communities that you have to be active in to gain the real benefits. That means submitting content frequently, voting early and voting often. Many webmasters admit to getting traffic from leaving comments on other users’ content almost as much as they get traffic from their own content.

As it gets harder and harder to reach Digg’s front page, people will be looking elsewhere for their social news. Web masters should consider trying all the Digg-like sites out there that relate to their niche to see what does well for your site’s content. And if worse comes to worse and you can’t find your niche in any category create your own Digg-clone.

Take care
Jeff Casmer

For more information on Social Bookmarking Sites:

Social Power Linking

Earn Money at Home

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