Social bookmarking is a an increasingly popular way for website owners to drive traffic to their sites.

Social bookmarking sites are all about community and participation. Unlike static websites and blogs which consist of articles and other content to be read or viewed in some way, social bookmarking sites allow users to interact and even create their own content.

Social bookmarking sites generally operate in one of two ways.

First, there are sites that allow you to bookmark all your favorite links in one place. This comes in handy when you use different computers and need to access your favorites from more than one location.

But you can also make your list of favorites public, so you can easily generate some traffic by bookmarking your own sites and articles.

The second type of social site we’re going to discuss allows you to submit articles which are then voted up or down by the community. Stories that get the most votes are featured on high-traffic homepages, which can result in an avalanche of traffic.

You should try to write at least some of your articles with these social sites in mind. Write something that you know will be controversial and then submit it to a few social sites. If your article strikes a nerve it could skyrocket to the top of the rankings and your site could see literally thousands of new visitors from that one submission.

Hint – you can encourage your visitors to add your sites to their favorite social sites by adding bookmarklets to the end of each web page you create. Bookmarklets are small icons that you can download from each social site and add to your own web pages. When a visitor clicks on
one, your page is automatically added to their favorite service.

Which are the best social bookmarking sites to submit to?

There are far too many to name here, and new ones are popping up every day. But here is a short list of some of the most widely used.

Del.icio.us
Digg
Furl
Fark
Reddit
Simpy
Stumpleupon
Netscape
Blinklist
There are countless others to choose from and you should also try to find some that are specifically geared toward your niche.

Black Hat Tip – An easy way to get the ball rolling in your quest for bookmarks and votes is to set up multiple profiles with each social bookmarking site. If you have a dozen accounts you can automatically get 12 votes for each page you submit.

But be warned…if you’re caught your accounts will be deleted and your entire website may be banned from the service permanently. Use caution if you decide to use this method.

Ranking well in the search engines for highly competitive phrases takes more than just on-page SEO tactics. It takes backlinks, more backlinks, and still more backlinks.

A backlink is simply when the owner of another website or blog links to your site. As you’ll see,
a few high-quality backlinks can be far more powerful than anything you do on your own website.

To search engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN, when someone links to your site it’s like they are voting for it. Someone thought your content was valuable enough to link to, so it must be important. The more people linking to your site, the more important it must be.

Even more important than the number of links to your site is the anchor text. Anchor text is the visible, clickable text of a link. For example:

<a href=”http://www.yourdomain.com”>  This is Anchor Text</a>

The above is the html code for a link to a site called yourdomain.com. On the web page, the anchor text “This is Anchor Text” is what readers actually see.

Search engines see anchor text too, and they use it as a way of determining what your site is all about. This is why you want anchor text of incoming links to include your main keywords whenever possible.

So now that you understand why backlinks are so important, let’s look at ways to get them.

The biggest factor in getting people to link to you is to offer high-quality content that can’t be found anywhere else. Be different. Be controversial. If people think your site is valuable and unique, they’ll want to link to it.

You should make it as easy as possible for other websites to link to you. Set up a “Link to Us” page that contains snippets of html code they can just paste right into their site. Of course, you’ll make sure your keywords are in the anchor text.

i.e. <a href=”http://www.yourdomain.com”>  keyword</a>

Write some articles and submit them to article directories. They’ll get picked up and reprinted on other sites with your link in the Resource Box.  A single article could bring you dozens of backlinks.

Try contacting a few sites within your niche and offer to write a regular column for them. Or work out an arrangement where you trade content so each side gets a backlink.

Submit your site to free directories that are related to your niche.

Find blogs in your niche and post comments to some of their posts. Be sincere, and you may even form a new relationship with the blog’s owner.

eZine Advertising

Ezines are the online form of newsletters. Website owners use ezines to keep in touch and build a relationship with their visitors. Ezines are used to share news, updates, and promotions.

So how can you use ezines to drive traffic to your site?

Just about every ezine accepts advertising from third parties. By mixing a few paid ads in with
their content, website owners can defray the cost of operating an ezine and open up an additional stream of revenue.

You can place an ad for your website, product, or service in various ezines. If you do it right
thousands of people will see your ad and click on the link to your site.

You’ll want to place your ads in ezines that are narrowly targeted toward your specific niche.

Think about it. If your site is about rose gardening, would you be better off placing an ad in an ezine that was about rose gardening or just gardening in general? Obviously the one that is closest to your own topic will provide the most bang for the buck.

Prices can vary wildly from one ezine to another depending on the niche and the number of subscribers. But there are also different prices based on where your ad is placed within the ezine itself.

Many ezines contain several different ads. They may have one ad on top, another in the middle of the content, and another at the bottom. Prices can vary from one to another.

The most expensive (but by far the best) type of ezine ad is called a solo ad. As the name implies, a solo ad means “one ad”. When you take out a solo ad, your ad is the only one readers will see.

How to create a successful solo ad.

First, you need to find an ezine that narrowly targets the market you’re looking to reach. Browse sites in your niche and take note of which ones run ezines. You can find more prospects by going to Google and searching for:

“your keyword” + “ezine”

and

“your keyword” + “newsletter”

Once you have a short list you can narrow it down to find the most highly-targeted ezines to advertise in. Compare prices and the number of subscribers for each.

Before you place an ad, you should subscribe to an ezine and read through at least a few issues. You need to get the feel of an ezine and its style to make sure it conveys the message and tone you need.

Prepare to spend some time crafting your ezine ad. The words you choose will determine how successful your ad will be.

Lastly, you need to track your ads carefully. Test which ezines get the best response. Play around with your copy and see what kind of results you get.

Only testing will tell you which ads are bringing in traffic and which ads are wasting your money.

Article Marketing

An effective method for generating traffic to websites is through article marketing. This tried and true method has been used since the early days of the internet and it’s still as effective as ever

A successful article marketing campaign is not difficult to implement. The results could be astounding and definitely rewarding in terms of steady streams of visitors to your website.

Let’s see how we could put this marketing plan to work.

Write articles for other websites in exchange for a link back to your own site. Articles you write and submit should be different than the ones you are already using on your own website.

Share high quality unique articles. The more unique the better, so to build your reputation as an expert in your niche. You will get more backlinks and traffic, and you will likely be sought out for your opinion or for interviews.

Now let’s start an article marketing campaign.

1. Start by writing some articles of about 400 to 600 words. If writing is not one of your finer skills, outsource the work. The content must be genuinely useful tips and information. Thus, writing ads in disguise must be avoided.

2. Offer quality content. You wouldn’t want to publish someone else’s crappy articles on your site, so don’t expect them to publish yours.

3. Write separate articles specifically for your article marketing. You should also do the same keyword research you would do for your own website.

4. Take some time proofreading for typos and grammatical errors.

5. Find places to submit your articles. Building one-on-one relationships with other website owners in niche can be beneficial but time consuming. The better route would be to locate the many article directories which allow you to post your articles for free. Other websites can then publish your articles in their own sites.

There are literally hundreds of article directory sites to chose from. Here are a short list of some of the most popular article directories:

ezinearticles.com
goarticles.com
articlealley.com
articledashboard.com
searchwarp.com
buzzle.com
For a small fee, you may also consider using a service such as iSnare, which will distribute your article to many different directories.

Hot tip – Your author’s bio is vital to the success of your article marketing campaign. You definitely need to spend some time crafting the perfect message.

Keep it short and to the point, but always include the following:

Your name
Your website domain url as http://yourdomain.com (this ensures your link will be clickable.
A short teaser that entices readers to visit your site. Offer a free report or something else of value to get them to click on your link.

Unique and interesting website content is very important for both Internet visitor contentment & search engine crawlers .

A common saying among professional internet marketers is: “Content is King.”

It underscores the fact that content is significant for your business’s success. Quality website content ensures that the site is useful, informative and is valuable to its target audience. If the web site content is rich and compelling, visitors will come. It is the reason that people take the time to visit your site. Online visitors don’t come to your website to admire it, they come seeking information. Compelling website content will sell your service, promote your products, and convert your visitors to customers.

The best way to build long term traffic to your websites is by offering unique, high-quality content that can’t be found elsewhere. Most web designers are not experienced with copy writing and that is why the internet is littered with ordinary web content that is badly arranged. With poor web content visitors highly unlikely to want to commit to purchase products, pay for services, or even click links on your page. Writing effective copy for both your visitors and the search engines is both an art and a science.

It goes without saying that the quality of your website content is always more important than optimizing it. Quality content can help bring you more traffic. Search engines love sites that offer lots of quality content. One of the key elements of good website content is writing that has been optimized for easy indexing by search engines. High quality keyword-rich website content is one of the key elements the major search engines use to judge your site worthy of high rankings.

If you concentrate first on content that’s interesting and useful for your visitors, then use some basic SEO practices, you’ll eventually get those higher free search positions you want.

Contents for inclusion to your website:

Informative articles. The more articles you can add to your site the better. Each one gives you another chance to rank in the search engines, and free traffic is the best.
A blog makes a nice addition to any website, and since they’re updated regularly, visitors will return again and again for updates. Fresh content ranks higher with search engines.
Add audio or video to make it interesting to your visitors.
Add interactivity by using surveys and polls.
Message boards and forums let your visitors help create new content for you.
Testimonials from satisfied customers.
Add RSS feed of articles or news of interest matching to what your site is about. Search engines love content that is updated regularly.
Add product descriptions that link to your merchant site.
Use a form or visitor’s log for visitors to add their own comments.
Give your online visitors a good reason to return by updating regularly with interesting content. Keep in mind that it’s content that gets visitors there, it’s content that persuades them to bookmark your website, and it’s content that entices them to return. The success of your online business relies heavily on the quality of the content that you provide your visitors and online clients.

Social bookmarking is a an increasingly popular way for website owners to drive traffic to their sites.

Social bookmarking sites are all about community and participation. Unlike static websites and blogs which consist of articles and other content to be read or viewed in some way, social bookmarking sites allow users to interact and even create their own content.

Social bookmarking sites generally operate in one of two ways.

First, there are sites that allow you to bookmark all your favorite links in one place. This comes in handy when you use different computers and need to access your favorites from more than one location.

But you can also make your list of favorites public, so you can easily generate some traffic by bookmarking your own sites and articles.

The second type of social site we’re going to discuss allows you to submit articles which are then voted up or down by the community. Stories that get the most votes are featured on high-traffic homepages, which can result in an avalanche of traffic.

You should try to write at least some of your articles with these social sites in mind. Write something that you know will be controversial and then submit it to a few social sites. If your article strikes a nerve it could skyrocket to the top of the rankings and your site could see literally thousands of new visitors from that one submission.

Hint – you can encourage your visitors to add your sites to their favorite social sites by adding bookmarklets to the end of each web page you create. Bookmarklets are small icons that you can download from each social site and add to your own web pages. When a visitor clicks on
one, your page is automatically added to their favorite service.

Which are the best social bookmarking sites to submit to?

There are far too many to name here, and new ones are popping up every day. But here is a short list of some of the most widely used.

Del.icio.us
Digg
Furl
Fark
Reddit
Simpy
Stumpleupon
Netscape
Blinklist
There are countless others to choose from and you should also try to find some that are specifically geared toward your niche.

Black Hat Tip – An easy way to get the ball rolling in your quest for bookmarks and votes is to set up multiple profiles with each social bookmarking site. If you have a dozen accounts you can automatically get 12 votes for each page you submit.

But be warned…if you’re caught your accounts will be deleted and your entire website may be banned from the service permanently. Use caution if you decide to use this method.

Backlinks are incoming links that are directed to your website from other websites or blogs. It is vital because search engines use the number of backlinks a site has as a measure of its popularity. Internet marketers often then use backlinks as part of a SEO strategy.

Backlinks are very important when trying to get top search engine rankings. Not only do they generate traffic themselves by giving web surfers an active link to click through to your site, but they also increase your PageRank. PageRank is Google’s way of measuring the importance and relevancy of a website.

The more inbound links pointing to your site, the higher your PageRank will be. And the higher your PageRank, the more willing other websites will
be to link to you.

As you can see, increasing the backlinks to your site can have a snowball effect on the number of visitors to your website.

Here are few ways you can increase your number of backlinks.

Blogs are a good way to easily get backlinks to your websites. If your content is useful and informative, many bloggers will be willing to establish a reciprocal link with your site. Blog all the way to the bank.
Make it easy for others to link to you by creating a “Link to Us” page and give them the html code so all they have to do is cut and paste it onto their web pages. The easier you make it for them the more likely they’ll be to link to you.
Submit some articles to article directories in exchange for a link back to your site.
Submit your URL to various directories. Google and Yahoo are now the popular means for searches. However, directories haven’t expired out just yet. Some people still use them and the links still count for PageRank.
For a comprehensive list of directories you can submit your website to, check out StrongestLinks.com.
Establish a link to a website in exchange for that website linking back to you. It is called a reciprocal link.
Many webmasters have found great success with the method of reciprocal or cross linking. The key is to not just link to anyone for the sake of linking. Link to sites that are truly useful and relevant to your visitors. When done right, reciprocal linking will work for everyone and both websites will receive a boost in traffic.

It is worth mentioning that there is a caveat to all this overzealous linking. Google is said to be working on an algorithm that will deal with not only the popularity of the sites being linked to, but also how trustworthy a site is that you link to from your own website. Be careful about interlinking multiple websites on the same IP. If you own several related websites, then a link to each of those websites on a page could hurt you, as it may look like to a search engine that you are trying to do something fishy.

Backlinks are a vital part of operating a successful, traffic grabbing website. The more backlinks your website can set up, the greater the traffic will be flowing in to visit. If you don’t have traffic to your website then you are not going to make any profit from your online business

JVs are a powerful way of building traffic to your own website by leveraging the work and assets of others to your benefit. They are also a great way to build professional relationships that can last for years.

Let’s brainstorm some ways you can use JVs to get more traffic to your site.

• If you have a mailing list, you could agree to send out an email promoting another website in exchange for the site’s owner doing the same for you. You could reach a whole new audience that has never heard of you before.

• You could trade content. You write a series of articles to be posted on another website (with a link back to your own site), and you post their articles on your site.

• Create a joint blog or website. If you’re a great writer but you’re no good with graphics and you know someone who is just the opposite, work together to put your best skills to work for both of you. Include links to both of your own websites so you can both share in the traffic generated by the shared site.

• Create a community blog where several others have the ability to post. Each author can have his own column and links back to his own sites.

• Let another website owner interview you and post it on her site. She’ll be getting unique content to add to her site, and you’ll be gaining valuable exposure and building your reputation as an expert.

JVs are only limited by your own imagination. Be creative.

How do I find partners to JV with?

I recommend starting small with someone you know and trust. Promoting to each other’s lists is a great way to start with little financial risk.

If all goes smoothly you can look for a bigger project to work on together. Just make sure you both agree on what is expected of each party and you stick to your end of the agreement.  JVs are as much about building relationships as anything else.

Blogging is a powerful way to generate traffic and if you’re not already doing it you should start now.



The search engines love blogs and you’ll often see blog posts dominate the top rankings for keywords. You can take advantage of this by starting your own blog (or blogs) to generate lots of new traffic and funnel it all towards your main website.



You can build your website as a subsection of your current website or you can build it as a separate, standalone site.



Whichever you choose you’ll want to make sure you link back to your main site. Don’t just link to your home page either. Sprinkle in links to some of your other pages too.



I recommend using either Blogger (good) or WordPress (the best) to create your new blog. They’re both easy to learn and use, and they’re feature-rich and customizable.



You can host your blog on their servers, but I recommend you register your own domain and host your blog yourself.



There are 2 very good reasons for you to host your own blog:

1.  Your url will look more professional and credible.

If you use Blogger, your domain will look like this: yourwebsite.blogspot.com
And in WordPress it will be: yourwebsite.wordpress.com

But if you host it yourself it will simply be: yourwebsite.com

That’s much easier to remember and much more credible to your readers. You may sign up free at both these sites:  http://www.blogger.com and http://www.wordpress.com .

2.  The second reason you should host your own blog is even more important. Many blogs that are hosted on free services like Blogger disappear without warning or reason. It’s happened to many a blogger, and you don’t want to take the chance of losing all your hard work for nothing.

These are keys to a successful blog:

1.  Show some personality. A dull blog won’t build much of a following. Don’t be afraid to take a stand. Stir up a little controversy and get people talking about you blog.

2.  Post often…at least a couple times a week. Stale blogs that aren’t regularly updated quickly lose their following.

3.  Add an RSS feed so readers can subscribe to your blog and be notified when you add a new post.

4.  Find other blogs in your niche and add comments to their posts. Most blogs let you add a link back to your own site. You can use this method to build relationships and links to your site, but don’t abuse it. Post useful comments, not sales pitches or SPAM.

I hope this article is informative and will help in your blogging success.