How to use StumbleUpon Effectively

StumbleUpon is a tool similar to a search engine.  The difference is that StumbleUpon searches the internet for search results based on a users preferences.  You must first create an account with StumbleUpon and create a profile.  Based on your likes or interests, StumbleUpon will return search results or you that will be more on target that regular search engine results.  Each time you use StumbleUpon and like or dislike something, you create a better search experience for yourself and StumbleUpon will return even better results the more you use it.  


StumbleUpon can especially be influential and beneficial as a blog owner.  The more blog content viewers Stumble and Like, the more your blog posts will show up in search results.  The more your blog posts show up in search results, the better ranking you will receive with services such as Alexa and Google Pagerank.  Using the StumbleUpon “I Like it!” button is similar to the Google +1 button or the Facebook “Like” button you see in the share buttons usually underneath blog posts.  I’m a firm believer in paying it forward.  If you like a particular blog post, why not give them a little extra attention that they deserve by Stumbling the post using the “I Like it!” button using the browser toolbar extension.  Chances are you will be returned the favour in the future. 


Tips to use StumbleUpon in order to increase traffic to your blog:

1. Make sure when signing up (or if you already have an account) with StumbleUpon, you fill out your profile completely.  Particularly your profile bio and interests.  If people are to follow you on StumbleUpon, this will be the first page they see and if you don’t seem interesting, they likely will not follow.
2. Read my tutorial on How to Stumble Like and Google +1 blog posts.
3. Make sure you tag your Stumble likes correctly using Recently Hot Tags or Most Popular All Time tags StumbleUpon already uses.  It is important to tag posts correctly to maximize the number of people a stumbled blog post will reach.  If you think about using popular search terms when using search engines, this is a similar scenario.  If you tag a blog post with a term that most people would not search for, chances are not good that the blog post will be easily found.
4. Use the StumbleUpon toolbar when stumbling and the “I Like it!” button on the toolbar when you like a blog post.  This is the most effective way of gaining traffic and the best value in StumbleUpon results. Install the toolbar using the browser extension links below.
5. You should randomly Stumble every so often.  This is what the “Stumble!” button is for.  Every time you want to stumble a random blog, just click that button on your StumbleUpon toolbar and when a blog post pops up that you like, click the “I Like it!” button.  You can also just click the “I Like it!” button whenever you do come across a random blog post that you enjoy without using the “Stumble!” button.

Tip: You can Stumble your own posts but it’s better if someone else Stumbles your posts.  If you do stumble your own posts, you must make sure to stumble others posts a lot more than your own.  Otherwise your stumbles will have less value and you will actually damage the value of your rank, so to speak, with Stumble.  If you Stumble your own posts too much, StumbleUpon may even block you from stumbling any of your own posts altogether.  If you do have a post that you think is of value to many many readers, stumble it.