StumbleUpon Can be Used to Build Traffic to Your Blog or Website

StumbleUpon (SU) is my favorite bookmarking site that can also be used to build traffic to your blog or website. I use SU as a nice break from working because one of my tagged interests in SU is animals. They have some of the cutest pictures and they make me smile.

When you're a stumbler you mark web pages you like as you come across them, give them a thumbs up or thumbs down if you don’t like them. This lists the pages in the SU database and later you and others can “stumble thru” millions of pages listed in SU. When you stumble using your SU toolbar web pages will display according to the interests you have selected.

SU is more than just a bookmarking site. It's also a simple social networking site. When you sign up with SU you select your interests so you can stumble things you like. When you give a thumbs up to a site it will be added to a page SU creates for others to see your interests. This will allow people to get to know you.

How Can SU Help Build Traffic?

As you are stumbling you can add your web or blog pages to SU by giving them thumbs up. This will add your pages to the SU database and allow other stumblers to find them. Don't just go and add all of your pages. You don't want to be a stumbler spammer. A good ratio is 50:1 this means for every 50 pages you give a thumbs up to you can add one of your pages. It does not take long to like 50 pages.

Once your page is listed others will stumble upon it. If they like your page they may even look at other pages in you website. They also have the ability to comment on your page, but comments are not used much.

Getting Started

The first thing you need to do is set up an account with SU.

Go to http://www.stumbleupon.com and click on the large orange “Join StumbleUpon Today” button.

1. Enter your e-mail address.
2. Choose a username (letters and numbers only). Click on the Check availability text link to see if your user name is available. You'll see a red alert if the one you want is already taken. If it's available, you'll see a small green circle with a checkmark.
3. Select your birthday from the three drop down menus.
4. Select your gender.
5. Enter the two words that you see in the challenge graphic.
6. Decide whether you want “friends” to find you by your e-mail address, and whether to show Website ratings and reviews next to search results.
7. Last, click on the orange “Join and Download Now” button.

You will be sent an e-mail with your username and system-generated password. You can change your password once you install your SU toolbar.

In the same e-mail you will have a link allowing you to install the SU tool bar. Go ahead and install it.

Keep yourself logged in so you can start stumbling once your tool bar is installed.

Start Stumbling with StumbleUpon

Okay, you have signed up and installed your toolbar so you can start stumbling. Go out and find some pages you like and give them a thumbs up so you don't look like a SU spammer. You will also get the idea how the system works.

After you log in, go and set your interests so you will see pages you like, something like animals or science.

Now that you have been using SU to mark others website go to your website and give one of your pages a thumbs up. This will put your site into the SU database and others will start to stumbleupon your website too.

Have fun with this tool and don't be a spammer.