It has taken me some time to understand the whole Social Networking and Social Bookmarking concept and how it can improve traffic to your site. I am slowly starting to understand how I can use them. More importantly, I am being to see how I can share interesting sites with others. What Are Social Networking Sites?
Social networking sites, like Myspace and Squidoo can be compared to the “Town Square” of the Internet. They are places where people come together to chat, interact, exchange ideas, and develop new relationships.
A Social networking site is a place where people go to meet other people and to …. socialize!
Social networking websites provide another opportunity to get your ideas and products in front of a lot of eyeballs. At this point in time social networking websites are among the most heavily trafficked of ALL websites online.
What Do Social Networking Sites Do?
Social networking sites allow you to create a personal “profile” that reveals, among other things, your personal interests. Other people can access and read your profile online, to learn a bit more about you.
I really don’t like the idea of revealing my personal details online. However, with Social Networking sites, I don’t have to reveal my full identity, location, phone number etc. I can even keep your email private if I wish.
The idea is to create a profile that focuses on my interests within the niche of the website or product I’m promoting. Then, I invite profile readers to visit my website(s) and/or blog(s) where they can learn more about my “topic of personal interest.”
Look at Squidoo - I have several lenses that focus on different niches. Theoretically, my profile for each of those lenses needs to be tailored. You can see my lenses here.
Using Social Networking Sites to promote your niche is not sneaky or unethical. Just make sure the information you provide has real informational value to your readers.
Do Social Networking Sites Work?
I think so. I utilize Squidoo quite a lot. One of my sites, DVD Unlocker, gets approximately 50% of its traffic from my Squidoo Lens. The balance is from organic search engine searches.
My other lenses send traffic regularly to my sites or blogs as well.
My Google analytics show me that I regularly get visits from other social networking sites. With a little more work, this traffic will increase.
Join My Blog Log Community
One of the Social Networking sites I have recently joined is My Blog Log. This is just one of the Social Networking sites that I am part of. I like My Blog Log, because I can “show off” my blog visitors. When you join My Blog Log community, you will show in the Widget on the right (in the lower third of the screen).
Apart from that, by appearing in this widget on my blog will help drive more traffic to your sites. How? Simply, when you appear in that widget, your name and a link to your Blog Log profile appears on my site. This link is indexed by the “bots” and (as long as your profile is linked correctly) your website or blog.
To further increase the traffic, surf other blogs within the community, the same link will appear on those sites. By linking your profile to your website / blog, you will start generating traffic to your site.
This helps your search engine rankings by using external links……. pretty cool.
