While StumbleUpon is a very well known social bookmarking website, a great variety of people and businesses are utilising this valuable Internet marketing application to maximise their internet traffic.

StumbleUpon, owned and run by eBay, operates as both a search engine and a social bookmarking website to rate other websites, web pages, internet video clips, audio files and all sorts of images. Those who sign up with StumbleUpon (it’s totally free) can provide ratings for websites they’ve come across.

Using StumbleUpon can easily help your website attract visitors. The more people who stumble upon your website and like it, the higher your ranking grows. A high ranking means even greater traffic to your site from StumbleUpon members and beyond. StumbleUpon can be even more valuable to your website if visitors leave a short review about your site along with their rating. And we’re talking major traffic potential when you consider that StumbleUpon currently has nearly 8 million members and growing.

Website owners who use StumbleUpon have noticed an immediate increase in their website traffic. Those who track traffic methodically say StumbleUpon creates more clicks to their website than any of the other search engines. It can make a difference in their search engine ranking as well.

But the key to success is having good content on your website. It needs to be informational or educational, providing the reader with something of value. If you’re selling products or services, list some informational content on your site that deals with current trends in the industry, a new discovery, or recent events that are linked to your products or services. Currently, StumbleUpon has 500 different topics. Utilise these areas of interest to develop content that’s of intense interest to StumbleUpon members.

To retain the new visitors that StumbleUpon brings to your website, add feeds, email subscriptions, contests, or special offers to your website to encourage StumbleUpon members to become long-time customers.

E-commerce websites can also benefit from StumbleUpon if it’s creatively designed or has an intriguing way of branding a product. The social aspect of StumbleUpon will enhance the exposure of your site. It’s viral marketing at its best.

StumbleUpon can also help your website gain more traffic through its buttons. You can add a button to your website and encourage your visitors to submit your content to StumbleUpon. It’s a free and easy way to spread the word about your site.

If you’re looking to enhance your website’s presence, it’s time to StumbleUpon a new marketing tool and give it a try for yourself.

Adam Toren, Co-Founder of Young Entrepreneur, specializes in developing the profitability of struggling businesses with a specialised and ‘bottom line’ approach. Adam, along with his brother, have created, purchased and sold a variety of companies over the years. At the moment, they own and manage a highly successful publishing company and several dedicated online enterprises.