Getting the Most Out of Bookmarking Submissions

Social bookmarking websites let users submit and vote on stories they find interesting. The most popular links will make it to the top of the front page, and are likely to get a lot of exposure in terms of click through, link popularity, and link reach as many other webmasters are likely to frequent these bookmarking sites and even publish their own stories linking back to the original hit.

Some online marketers think that if they simply drop enough links into the bookmarking websites, they'll eventually have something that benefits their brand. While a few links may get picked up by search engines, they're more likely to just ignore the submissions that aren't well-received by the bookmarking community.

Keep these things in mind to maximize a social bookmarking campaign:

Community Culture - What types of stories typically make it to the front page of the social bookmarking sites that you want to work with? Is there a bias toward politics or technology or humor? Every online community has its own culture, and if you want to make an impression with the audience of a bookmarking website you'll need to identify with them on their terms.

Fresh Content - New information that cannot be found elsewhere is more likely to become popular with a social bookmarking websites' user base. Since the algorithm of the site automatically updates as the next big story breaks, social bookmarking users are particularly interested in the new stories that haven't been told yet.

Participation - Users build a profile by commenting and voting on other peoples' stories, too. Not only do these comments build up links to the user's profile, they indicate to other members that you are participating beyond what gives you an immediate and personal benefit. It can also help to submit interesting links that aren't related to a website you're promoting - it can only help in terms of credibility and testing out what will be popular.

These steps won't guarantee a successful social bookmarking marketing campaign - but they will definitely help you get the most out of your efforts and move forward in the right direction. Like many things in life, you will only get back in proportion to what you have given.

John McDonald is an independent author and website publisher. He's active with social bookmarking as a contributor and as the administrator of an education bookmarking and webmaster bookmarking website.