Is StumbleUpon Right for My Business?

There are many ways to promote your online business. In fact, the more strategies you use, the better the possible outcomes for your venture. Along that line, have you considered the site StumbleUpon?

What Is StumbleUpon?

We knew you'd have this question. You might have seen its logo on blogs or at the bottom of web pages where other social bookmarking icons are displayed. It is a social bookmarking site of sorts, but that is really the tip of the iceberg.

StumbleUpon is a powerful and focused search engine. It is also a voting site. You can search for content (stumble upon it) and then rate it as being positive (thumbs up) or negative (thumbs down). What that can mean for you is that you can funnel traffic to your website business when you use this search engine for yourself. The service is completely free.

The first thing that you need to do is download the toolbar. Conduct all of your searches using it. The results returned will pertain to your niche category of choice. You can find interesting articles, read and vote on them. This also gives you a chance to see what the competition is writing about.

Add your own content to StumbleUpon. Other people who subscribe to the site (fellow Stumblers) will find your informative posts when you use your keywords to tag your work and also within your posts. They can then read and rate your work. When your posts rank high in positive ratings, this can increase your page views and your visibility within the community. When more people see your content, they can follow a link back to your site and see what you have to offer them. With a little effort you can increase your traffic in no time at all.

How can this help your business?

One thing that every business needs is customers. It is hard to find them if no one knows who you are. Through informative and well-written content, others can follow you right back to your website and the products that you are selling.

Also, just because you have traffic doesn’t mean that they will be interested in your products. Because you are using their toolbar to conduct your searches, anyone on StumbleUpon who uses those same keywords can find you. The traffic you are attracting then becomes more targeted so you are building your brand at the same time as you are finding potential customers with similar interests. One hundred targeted visitors who are interested in your site are better than three hundred who are simply browsing.

You can make business contacts through networking here as well. When you comment and vote others will get to know you. They may even begin to follow your "stumbles." This increases interest in your work and ultimately your business. But don't make the mistake of only promoting your business site here. That can be seen as self-serving and you could gain a bad reputation.

StumbleUpon has a lot to offer your online business. It’s free. Try it today.