Use Share Options to Boost Your Blog Traffic and Visibility

Via my new Ask Denise feature, I got a great question about using share buttons on blog posts from Kathleen at FabFit50s.com.

Kathleen asked:

My question is about the share buttons you use. I'm working with a designer on my blog and would like to tell her which ones to use. Do you recommend all of those that you use below?

She is referring to the SexyBookmark buttons on DeniseWakeman.com (built on Wordpress) which are different from those in the footer of this blog.

The first thing to know is that in the six years I've been blogging, the platforms have evolved enormously and with the introduction of social networking and sharing it's easier than ever for your readers to share your content with their friends and followers. So, you MUST have multiple ways for your content to be shared.

Including sharing options on your blog boosts your visibility since shared links show up on your readers' social sites. If your content and blog post titles are compelling, you will see a boost in traffic from new readers.

The challenge comes in deciding what sharing options to include. SexyBookmarks is just one of many, many plug ins you can add to your Wordpress blog. I found a post that covers the top 20 social bookmarking plugins for wordpress so you can pick the one the fits the look and feel of your blog best.

A note on SexyBookmarks (and other bookmarking plugins): these services usually include dozens of sites you can share to. This can be overwhelming. Customize the settings to reveal the top social sites rather than all. For example, SexyBookmarks by default has all 90 sites selected. Choose the 5-6 that are most important for your niche and audience to share to. This will require less decision making from your reader and you're more likely to get them to take action.

If you use TypePad and haven't checked the design module lately, you'll find that there are many options built in for you to share your posts on Twitter, Digg, Delicious, and Facebook. If you haven't added these features to your blog, do it now! Go to Design > Content > Post Footer to set it up.

I still see a lot of blogs that do not have any way to share the content. I find that if there is no easy way to share blog posts, I don't bother. I'm not going to take the time to copy and paste a URL into a status update field. You have to make it super easy for people to broadcast your content to their own communities. That will drive new traffic to your site and introduce new prospects to your products and services.

What is your favorite social bookmarking tool? What do you think is the optimal number of options to give your reader? Please post your comments below!

Comments

[Kathleen]

Thank you, Denise, for the explanation! I'll have to do some research to find where my "fans" hang out most!

[rob@midlifeop.com]

Hi Denise,

Thanks for this. I changed my template recently and hadn't realised that I had lost my 'sharing' buttons in the change.

I've now restored them...

best wishes

Rob

[Home business tips]

Social bookmarking plugins are indeed VERY IMPORTANT for every blog to have. With social networks becoming a choice of millions and also with bookmarking serving multiple functions of seo as well as sharing its one tool / plugin no one can afford to miss out on anymore.

[Julius]

I totally agree with your point about choosing the 5 to 6 social sites that are relevant to you and your readers. I saw this blog that listed all the 90 social sites and how it made the site look cluttered and quite hard to access.

[Gerard Martin]

Hi Denise.

I agree that adding share options is a good promotional strategy. Site owners should understand the behavior of consumers. Since most of them have social networking accounts, it would be strategic to create a link where they can see and repost certain articles that they found interesting in the internet. Our company site that was designed by a (toronto) web design company already incorporated such feature. I suggest other sites to utilize it as well to gain more site followers and potential clients.

[Tiffany]

Thanks for sharing this info! It's easy to underestimate the importance of making it easy for users to share.

[Jett Thompson]

That's a very good summary you have provided over here.

[Domonic]

Hey thank you so much for the great tips! I'm going to be starting a blog soon so I'm doing some research... Thanks again!