26/10: Stumbleupon Reviews and Guides

Way back in the mists of time I joined a new program called Stumbleupon using my wife’s name, and with the intention of spreading the word about her art. I then completely ignored the site and never thought much about it again, until fairly recently. A lot has been written about SU, and I’m not making a groundbreaking post here, but this is my quick take on it for anyone still not familiar with SU and looking for information.

Getting traffic to any blog involves work and things have moved so rapidly as each year passes. The rise of social blogging networks and Web 2.0 have provided numerous ways for bloggers and webmasters to try and get their message out to the world; to the point that it’s almost impossible to keep up with the developments. I’m not going to try and tell you why Stumbleupon is so important or how best to use it - there have been plenty of articles on the subject and I’ve linked to some of the better ones at the foot of this post. What I will say is that if you are still ignoring Stumbleupon as a social traffic generating tool, you are probably missing out on a great opportunity to find new readers and new and interesting sites and people.

The fact is, Stumbleupon works. You can, in a very short space of time, start generating a lot of traffic to your blog or website, just by being an active Stumbler. I try to Stumble blogs and websites on a regular basis and it brings several benefits. Once you begin to make some friends on SU, and start to Stumble your own favorites, you will see results quite quickly. It’s not unusual to see hundreds of visitors after being Stumbled by others, particularly if they are a top Stumbler or respected source of consistently interesting and worthy Stumbles. You will probably find that the more time you spend exploring the site, the more great content you will discover and the more like minded people you will interact with, and this is what helps the program to grow and, in turn, helps you to drive visitors to your own sites. Like all Web 2.0 and social sites, participation is the key - give and take makes SU go around - but don’t worry, because with SU, it’s always fun and interesting, and you will find topics that interest you.

In my current attempts to achieve less reliance on Google, SU has become a search of choice for me - and it really does deliver some great results too. As a Stumbler, you will naturally link up with others who share your interests. This means that it is not purely the province of techies, bloggers, marketers etc. It is infinitely tailored to your wants and needs, and you will find fellow Stumblers in your sphere of interest very easily. When you befriend them, you can access all their favorite places and they can do the same with yours. User driven content of interest really works well and the more folks you hook up with, the greater the information sharing becomes. You are allowed up to 200 friends at SU so network sensibly and you will hopefully reap the rewards!

If you are wanting to drive more visitors to your own content, you will succeed if your Stumbles are worth reading and voting for - if you try to spam the system you will inevitably be hoisted by your own petard. Stumblers are a generous bunch by and large, but they will soon be turned off by rubbish and spammy efforts at blatant self promotion - this is a good thing. Also, the quality of traffic you command will depend on many variables and a lot of Stumblers will visit only as long as it takes to click on to another site from their toolbar. However, some will stay, and eyes on your content are all good after all, even if only cursory.

If Web 2.0 means nothing to you, a good introduction to the kind of social sites involved can be found at the Social Networking Articles Blog and for a comprehensive source of information you may like to read the Web 2.0 Authority Black Book These will give you a good grounding in the services and sites available and just what you an use them for.

When it comes to SU, I’m listing below a list of authority posts on the subject, (there are literally hundreds more but if you think there’s one that should be listed please leave it with your comments) so there’s really no excuse for you not to get Stumbling. When you do, be sure to drop by and join my friends list

The Unofficial Stumbleupon FAQ

6 Reasons To Love Stumbleupon

8 Reasons Why I Prefer Stumbleupon

Five Tips For Getting Traffic From Stumbleupon

Bringing Those Stumblers Back

Making a Power Account On Stumbleupon

Dosh Dosh - A Comprehensive Guide To Stumbleupon

Stumbleupon Versus Digg

Internet Marketers Guide To Stumbleupon

A Definitive Stumbleupon Guide

Technorati Tags: Stumbleupon, Web 2.0, Social Traffic, Social Networking, Social Bookmarking, Web Traffic, Stumblers