Along with other forms of Web 2.0 technology, social bookmarking is one of the latest trends to explode in the online world. The principle behind SEO bookmarks is very simple. If someone comes across your website and finds it useful or interesting, they can post it on a relevant social site so that other web users can easily find it and so they can find it again themselves.

How social bookmarking can benefit your business

There are several ways that having your website bookmarked can benefit your business. First, many customers will not buy your product or service on their first visit to your site. If they bookmark it and can easily find your site again, they may be more inclined to buy from their repeat visits. If you’ve tagged your site in a Bookmarking 2.0 site, other users who see the bookmark and visit you can comment on your site, encouraging your original visitor to come back and buy from you.

Another advantage of SEO 2.0 is that it is viral. If someone sees an interesting or relevant bookmark on a site, they can place it on their own site, blog or forum, or on another site.

This technique is of limited value in increasing your web ranking directly. This is because many websites use a type of link that will not be followed by search engines and therefore not indexed. However, there are others that offer search engine friendly links, and if your site is bookmarked to other sites, blogs or forums, you will get many valuable links to increase your web ranking.

What works and what doesn’t in bookmarks 2.0?

As with most forms of Internet marketing, the most crucial key to Web 2.0 success is having compelling, interesting, and informative content. No one will want to risk their online reputation by bookmarking a site that is full of fluff, and other users certainly won’t copy that bookmark to their own sites.

Encouraging your visitors to bookmark your site can be as simple as placing links on your web pages in places where your readers will easily see them, such as at the end of an article. You can link to a number of social websites, but be careful filling your pages with Web 2.0 links, as this may seem a bit desperate. Whenever possible, choose niche sites that are truly relevant to your business.

There is some debate as to whether you should submit your own web pages to social websites. This will undoubtedly become more difficult as sites crack down on users who do this, but at this time, bookmarking some of your own pages can be an effective strategy. After all, you can sign up for an account with a username unrelated to your company. You might also consider bookmarking other sites related to your business and then asking if they will bookmark you, similar to getting reciprocal links.

Social Marketing Web 2.0 gains strength

The influence of social bookmarking sites like Digg is on the rise, certainly for the foreseeable future. Tagging your website on social bookmarking sites can increase your online exposure, drive repeat traffic to your site, and improve your web ranking if you can find sites with search engine friendly backlinks. Web users love to talk about new sites they have found that are interesting or out of the ordinary, so having web content that is informative and compelling increases your chances of being socially bookmarked.