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Web 2.0 and Web Marketing

I like to believe that Web 2.0 and Web Marketing were made for each other. After this article, I believe that you will agree with me also.

There are many ways to create traffic to your site using the all powerful Web 2.0, but in this article, I am going to explain what I consider to be the Top 5.

Jack Humphrey, a well known Web 2.0 Expert, describes it this way in his Authority Black Book:

Generally speaking, if people can submit links to content, submit content, make comments and vote good/bad content up/down thus affecting the amount of traffic that content can generate, it's Web 2.0.

Blogs, wikis, file sharing site, social networking sites are all examples are Web 2.0. Some of the more popular Web 2.0 sites are: Youtube (file sharing), Facebook and Twitter (Social Networking), Wikipedia (wiki), del.ic.ious (bookmarking), and Digg (content rating system). The list just goes on and on and the amount of traffic that these sites generate are absolutely outstounding.

How can you harness the power of Web 2.0 you might ask. Well listen up!

1. Create content that is compelling and has quality then submit to Web 2.0 sites

For example, if you write a compelling article, you can submit that it to content rating system and content sharing website such as Digg or Reddit. Content sharing and content rating system websites sometime specialize in a particular industry.

When you submit your article to any of these sites, people will vote on them. The more votes your article receives, the higher it will move up on the list and will be available to more and more people to see. This will create a great amount of traffic since readers will have to click on the link to go back to your site to read the entire article. This also builds a permanent link back to your site that is available to people for the years to come. (Don't forget, a link back to your site from a quality website will help in the search engine rankings!)

2. Web 2.0-ize other people's websites that contain links back to yours

I assume you already understand how bookmarks or favorites work in your web browser. Some website work on that same concept but the bookmarks that you set are public. Del.ic.ious was one of the first and most popular example for this. People's bookmarks are public and browsed by others and lead to clicks to sites that people have bookmarked. So make sure that you bookmark your website and inner pages that you would like others to be guided to. Also, these bookmarks can appear in search engine results. Two other examples of these social-bookmarking sites are Simpy and BlinkList.

Let's say that you have already written an article and have submitted it to a handful of content sharing and content rating system sites. You can then further market your content by using social-bookmarking sites to bookmark that article on the content bookmarking site. This is very powerful.

One particular Web 2.0 website that is very popular and can generate tons of traffic is StumbleUpon. This site allows people to give any page you deem worthy a "thumbs-up". And if you get enough "thumbs-up", people browsing StumbleUpon will see it and click over to that page. So I always make it a point to "Stumble" my websites' homepage and sites that contain links to my website as well.

If you become an active member in a handful of Web 2.0 websites and utilize these first two suggestions alone, you will be amazed at the kind of traffic you will generate.

3. Engage in the Community

When I suggest becoming an active member I mean that you regularly visit your favorite Web 2.0 site and contribute to them by either your comments, votes, guest articles, etc. For Example, if you like Digg or StumbleUpon, visit them regularly and submit content and reviews on sites that you like and enjoy. You may enjoy Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin. Create a profile on those sites, then go out and establish connections within the community.  The more you do this, the more you can harness the power of people that you meet to help market your website for you. We in the business like to call that "Viral Marketing".

Visit and comment on blogs in your industry. This is another very powerful way to engage in online conversations. Blogs are Web 2.0 and have been around for a while now. Unfortunately, each and every one of us now that comments have and are being abused.  You absolutely must leave a comment that contributes to the overall blog post.

Only add a link back to your website if you are asked to. This won't help in the search engine ranking but does allow traffic to be driven to your site by fellow commentors.

4. Encourage Your Visitors to bookmark and share your content

If you have a blog, I highly suggest you to add a feature that shows up after every post and allows your visitors/readers to bookmark or submit your post to other Web 2.0 sites. One that I recommend and has increase my own site traffic is a add-on (or plugin) called "Share This". If you are running a WordPress blog you can find a plugin that will integrate this into your site. It is very easy and takes little to no technical knowledge. If you write a memorable or interesting article, this allows people to make bookmarks to it, Stumble it, Digg it, etc. This in the long run creates great amounts of traffic to your site.

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5. Add a Web 2.0 feature to your site

First and Most Important of all, your business or you personally need a blog. If you don't have one, then stop reading this and go out and get one! A blog allows you to post new information that is relevant and helpful to your visitors/customers. It also allows your audience to communicate to you by leaving comments.

You could add a wiki to your website. A wiki is software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content. By encouraging your website visitors to create content for you, you're allowing your site to grow and become more informative, thus creating more chances to be found in search engines. These features can be found as third-party software packages and integrated into your existing website surprisingly easily.

The power of Web 2.0 is outstanding! It is time that you begin to harness this tremendous power by following these 5 suggestions, then you will be on your way.

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~ Kyle Reddoch

Photo credit to Goam Media