StumbleUpon, once one of the most promising Internet sites, has lost ground in recent years to other content discovery sites like Pinterest and social media networks such as Facebook. Due to emerging competition, the company has stumbled recently, experiencing layoffs and difficulties raising additional venture capital funding.
However, dismissing StumbleUpon would be a mistake, advise marketing experts. PR and marketing pros can use it as an effective tool for gaining backlinks and increasing website traffic.
StumbleUpon visitors can discover, or stumble upon, websites recommended by others with similar interests. Users can use a search function or browse categories, much like television viewers flipping through channels. The site boasts 25 million users, or “stumblers,” with 512 interests organized into 3,000 channels.
The site may be preparing for a rebound. In a Medium blog post, the site’s cofounder Garrett Camp announced that he is returning to become a majority shareholder and will work on revamping the site.
Proponents offer marketing and PR professionals these tips for using StumbleUpon to gain backlinks and increase website traffic.
Content Submissions
Regularly submitting blog posts to StumbleUpon means more users will notice them and could potentially start linking to it, says Alicia Thomas, content manager at Search Engine People. Browsing channels in your niche can help identify the most successful types of posts. Popular content types include videos, infographics, list-type articles or tutorials, but submit only your best pieces.
As with other networks, it’s important to include an attention-grabbing headline, tag submissions with relevant keywords, and upload an image suitable to the topic.
Submitting content all at once may appear overly promotional. Instead, submit posts gradually over time.
Grow Your Followers
Strive to grow your followers in order to attract visitors. Search your topic of interest, find recommended websites, view people who like it, access their profiles and follow those with similar interests, advises Laura Jonson in a Spin Sucks post.
Sharing other people’s content, rather just your own, can help grow followers. Monitoring how stumblers respond to your discoveries can indicate what kind of content is best to produce.
Consider adding a “StumbleUpon” button on your webpage. This will enable visitors to share, like and review your page on StumbleUpon.
Be patient. Success requires long-term dedication — adding and sharing content, liking pages, and attracting followers over time.
Consider the site’s Paid Discovery advertising option.
Try to be Discovered
Seeking new readers as opposed to short-lived views is the preferable strategy, recommends travel blogger Norman Schwarze who says he has achieved a good deal of success on StmbleUpon. Listicles and animal photos may gain likes but draw few new readers. Instead, post something that matters.
Because of its limitations, using StumbleUpon extensively is the most realistic way to gain followers. However, unlike many social media networks, you don’t necessarily need a huge following to attract website views. The key is to properly tag content.
Bottom Line: StumbleUpon, once a premier social website, can still be an important tool for attracting new readers. As with all networks, conscientiously working the network is what eventually works.
Have you used or considered using StumbleUpon to increase website traffic? Please comment below.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
