Free Social Bookmarking Software and Directory Submissions

Sorry folks - this is gonna be a short one, as I'm totally zonked, and I still have to write a Toastmasters speech for tomorrow. I just wanted to inform you of two link building strategies I just employed this evening to bring a little more traffic to this here blog.


Free Social Bookmarking Tool

About two minutes ago, I wrapped up my final social bookmarking submission - 1 of the 20 that I just just banged out in 10 minutes. How did I submit my site to that many social bookmarking sites in less than 10 minutes? Why with the help of my dear friends over at SocialMarker. The folks over at SocialMarker provide a nice piece of free social bookmarking software that runs right in your Firefox browser.

Some people frown on using a tool like SocialMarker, as it may encourage spamming. Frankly, I don't see the argument with this tool in particular. I still have to manually create an account for every site on my list, I have to fill in most of the submission fields, and, of course, captcha verification is always required. I see it more as a guide - I just check the "DoFollow" box (I'm only concerned with dofollow at the moment, as including all the nofollows would require new account verification to 25 additional sites), and I'm off, submitting a fully keyword optimized title, description, and link to 20 different search engine-friendly (SEF) bookmark directories.

SEO Friendly Directory Submission

Additionally, I submitted this blog to dozens of high PR ranked, seo-friendly site directories by cruising down the list at DirectoryRoll.com. Submissions can often take months to get approved (or denied), so I figure I might as well get cookin' now. Though being linked to dozens of site directories won't necessarily boost you to top of the SERPS, most of them are totally free, the submission process is relatively painless, and when you're hurting for traffic, every little bit helps. Just a couple quick things to consider during directory submission:

• Almost every site directory on the web offers a pro version, where you pay to speed up the approval process, and get more prominent positioning. The general consensus with my friends at Digital Point is that although being featured in a well-established directory (like Yahoo or DMOZ) once gave your site super clout in the SERPs, the SEO juice is no longer as potent - spend your money at your own risk.

• Many site directories require reciprocity, where in order to be featured in their listings, you must post a link on your site to theirs. Although I'm not against link exchanges, there are literally thousands of site directories on the Internet, and linking to all of them can start to cause a leak in your SEO rapport. Most of the directories featured on DirectoryRoll don't require reciprocal linking.

• Lastly, here's you chance to promote your site for free. As nominal as the results may be, you might as well take advantage and do it right. Submit your URL to the category that most accurately fits your site's content. Not only will you increase your chances of getting the listing approved, but visitors who found your site from a directory just might stay for a while.

Keep bangin!