Social Bookmarking Links are Ridiculous
If your website is filled with numerous links to several online forums and directories, on the pretext that these links will popularize it, you need to rethink your strategy. There are times when the readers will go away because the links look horrid.
Encouraging your blog visitors to show their support in as many ways as possible seems like the right idea, but is it? Telling them to digg it, rank it at stumble upon, bookmark it and mention it to their friends seems like a straight forward plan.
Consider it from the view of your readers: Is any added value created by the social bookmarking links?
If your reader is actively using one of the social media sites, it's very likely that they have the accompanying toolbar installed. Clicking on the familiar toolbar button is probably much faster than finding the right tiny icon on your site.
If your reader does not know what social bookmarking is all about, it's unlikely that they will take the dozens of icons on your site as an inspiration to find out AND then after they have registered on a site come back to your post to bookmark it.
You would probably highlight your post on more than one social media site but how many other people would?
Therefore does it pay to have these icons using so much space on your blog? Obviously the right approach is to test it. Google Analytics can be used to record clicks on outbound links.
That being considered, every once and awhile you should persuade your readers to digg your post using one particular service that is the objective of that certain post.
What do you think? Are social bookmarking icons just a nuisance or are they a useful tool? Click over to my blog and add your two cents.
About the Author: Are your customers paying attention? Read more articles by Nick Dalton at http://www.AttentionRich.
More articles by Nick_Dalton
Print Article | Download PDF | 64 views | Nov 21 2007
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