Drive Free Traffic to Your Site or Blog with Stumble Upon

[believegecko]

I use Stumble Upon (SU) to drive traffic to my sites. I have had days where I've received as many as 5,000 extra unique visitors. Did I make loads of extra money from Adsense or sell more through my affiliates on those days? No. What I did get was comments from users on my pages that I used to improve my sites, and I got loads of inbound links from people that liked things in my sites. SU has helped my sites get more exposure, inbound links, bookmarks, etc.
If you want to exchange stumbles set up a SU account and then contact me through this MB via PM or my SU account. My SU name is: Sagegoat. I will help get you started by stumbling your site and give you some tips if you need them.

[John Wesley]

I get tons of traffic from SU too, although it's been a bit down lately.

[believegecko]

I'll visit your blog and stumble my favorite pages. If you want to do the same for me please visit the site in my signature.

[Caveman Joe]

SU has worked well for me, too. The StumbleUpon extension for FireFox is a must-have.

[JohnPlace]

Okay, guys. First of all, thanks for the recommendation regarding Stumble Upon. I had heard of it, but this is my first time using it.

I'm going to visit all of your guys' sites and stumble stuff I like, but I want to make sure I'm doing this correctly. Do I just click the "thumbs up" icon while viewing a page I want to stumble?

(Update: I'm pretty sure I figured this out on my own. I've already "stumbled" pages at each of your sites. If there's anything else you want me to look at, post a link.)

If anyone wants to return the favor for me, links are in my sig -- and here are a few articles that have very low bounce rates and high page-view times, so people generally like them:

11 Causes and Cures for Procrastination
6 Steps to Earning a Big Fat Raise
Discover Your Message

[believegecko]

JohnPlace : I'll stumble some of my favorite pages on your sites now. I can really use some help for: Children's Franchises
Good luck everyone!

[JohnPlace]

Originally Posted by believegecko

I can really use some help for: Children's Franchises
Good luck everyone!

Done. Good luck.

[Caveman Joe]

OK, I'm doing a few stumbles on your sites too.

[JohnPlace]

Hey guys, could someone help me understand how Stumble works? I don't know if the problem is just me or what, but it seems non-intuitive, and I have some questions I'm hoping you guys can help me with:

1) Is "stumbling" a site like "digging" it? In other words, if I click on the "thumbs up" when I'm viewing a site, does that give it an additional "stumble" point?

2) How can I see how many stumble points my page has?

3) How come when I click "thumbs up" on a site, I don't show up on the comments page for that site as a "person who liked this site."

4) Is there any way to browse all the Web Sites in a category on Stumble, or must you stumble around (ie click the stumble button) until you find something interesting?

5) To give your sites the boost you're looking for, do I just click the thumbs up arrow while viewing your page?

Thanks guys. I'm new at this and appreciate your patience. I spent a long time yesterday clicking the thumbs-up button, and I hope I'm doing this the right way.

[Peter S C]

Hey,

Thanks for the tip Gecko - I've sent you a pm.

I've stumbled a few pages for you guys, so if you want to return the love feel free

24 Daily Habits
50 Ways to Change Your Life For the Better
Wake Up Calls

[JohnPlace]

Some of you may already know about stumblexchange.com, but given the nature of this thread, I figured this was worth posting:

stumbleXchange :: Exchange Stumbles to Promote Your Website

[Gazzali]

hi there friends

what is SU and how to get one?

cheers
gazzali

[believegecko]

Originally Posted by JohnPlace

Hey guys, could someone help me understand how Stumble works? I don't know if the problem is just me or what, but it seems non-intuitive, and I have some questions I'm hoping you guys can help me with:

1) Is "stumbling" a site like "digging" it? In other words, if I click on the "thumbs up" when I'm viewing a site, does that give it an additional "stumble" point?

2) How can I see how many stumble points my page has?

3) How come when I click "thumbs up" on a site, I don't show up on the comments page for that site as a "person who liked this site."

4) Is there any way to browse all the Web Sites in a category on Stumble, or must you stumble around (ie click the stumble button) until you find something interesting?

5) To give your sites the boost you're looking for, do I just click the thumbs up arrow while viewing your page?

Thanks guys. I'm new at this and appreciate your patience. I spent a long time yesterday clicking the thumbs-up button, and I hope I'm doing this the right way.

I'm not a Stumble expert, but I have been using it for a while with success. here are answers based on what I know:
1. When you give a site a thumbs up it is like a point for the site. A thumbs down is like a point against it. I think that the amount of sites you have stumbled controls how powerful your stumbles are. If you have stumbled and rated 1000 sites your thumbs up will have more influence than someone who has rated 10 sites.
2. I'm not sure how you can see the exact points, but you can get an idea what people think of a page by going to your page and then clicking the "comment on this page" balloon.
3. I don't know why you are not always shown as a person who likes a page. I know that SU watches how long you stay on a page. If you rush through stumbles and only stay for 5 seconds the value of your thumbs up may not be as high as someone that stays on a page or site for several minutes. This is probably another rating factor to combine with #1.
4. You can do searches for a specific keyword from the SU homepage. I don't know of a way to see all the sites in a category.
5. Yeah, if you want to help someone's page that you like just give it a thumbs up. If you want to do more for them you can click the comment balloon and leave a comment. You can also go the the person's SU account home page and add them as a friend and even give their profile a thumbs up. Here's my profile page: StumbleUpon » sagegoat's web site reviews and blog
If you like the info I've given then a thumbs up to in and adding me as a friend will help me be a more powerful Stumbler.

Stumble Upon just got bought by Ebay. I expect that SU will eventually evolve into a more traditional search engine based on the thumbs up and down system. For some time folks in the Internet search industry have been predicting that search engines are going to go more social based. It's probably a good idea to get well imbedded in SU now.

I could use some stumbles and thumbs up to a new page I just created:
Baby Books

[JohnPlace]

Originally Posted by believegecko

I'm not a Stumble expert, but I have been using it for a while with success. here are answers based on what I know:
1. When you give a site a thumbs up it is like a point for the site. A thumbs down is like a point against it. I think that the amount of sites you have stumbled controls how powerful your stumbles are. If you have stumbled and rated 1000 sites your thumbs up will have more influence than someone who has rated 10 sites.
2. I'm not sure how you can see the exact points, but you can get an idea what people think of a page by going to your page and then clicking the "comment on this page" balloon.
3. I don't know why you are not always shown as a person who likes a page. I know that SU watches how long you stay on a page. If you rush through stumbles and only stay for 5 seconds the value of your thumbs up may not be as high as someone that stays on a page or site for several minutes. This is probably another rating factor to combine with #1.
4. You can do searches for a specific keyword from the SU homepage. I don't know of a way to see all the sites in a category.
5. Yeah, if you want to help someone's page that you like just give it a thumbs up. If you want to do more for them you can click the comment balloon and leave a comment. You can also go the the person's SU account home page and add them as a friend and even give their profile a thumbs up. Here's my profile page: StumbleUpon » sagegoat's web site reviews and blog
If you like the info I've given then a thumbs up to in and adding me as a friend will help me be a more powerful Stumbler.

Stumble Upon just got bought by Ebay. I expect that SU will eventually evolve into a more traditional search engine based on the thumbs up and down system. For some time folks in the Internet search industry have been predicting that search engines are going to go more social based. It's probably a good idea to get well imbedded in SU now.

I could use some stumbles and thumbs up to a new page I just created:
Baby Books

I added you as a friend. If anyone would like to do the same for me, here's my link: StumbleUpon » JohnPlace's web site reviews and blog

[MartialDev]

Originally Posted by JohnPlace

3) How come when I click "thumbs up" on a site, I don't show up on the comments page for that site as a "person who liked this site."

Your vote may have been automatically discarded. They do that if you vote for one site (presumably your own site) too many times.

Try voting for one of my articles, and see it it works

[Caveman Joe]

As an aside, John, I've just had a look at your website - and speaking as someone who does this sort of thing for a living, I can say it's very well-designed indeed. Just thought you'd like to know.

[JohnPlace]

Originally Posted by Caveman Joe

As an aside, John, I've just had a look at your website - and speaking as someone who does this sort of thing for a living, I can say it's very well-designed indeed. Just thought you'd like to know.

Thank you kind sir.

[Phil Newton]

@Gazzali: StumbleUpon is a browser extension that lets you visit random pages that are aligned to your interests. For example, if you tell it you're interested in personal development, clicking "Stumble" would take you to an article about personal development. It's a strange concept, but it works really well. You can find out more at StumbleUpon » Welcome to StumbleUpon.

When I first heard of StumbleUpon a few years back, I didn't really "get" it. The idea of viewing random pages on the internet seemed strange, but once I started using it I was converted. I've found loads of really useful things online that I would never have seen otherwise. What makes it really great is that by bookmarking it I give hundreds of other people the chance to see something useful too.

My StumbleUpon home is StumbleUpon » Sodaware's web site reviews and blog.

[Caveman Joe]

You know, I'm really unconvinced that StumbleXchange is a good idea. The whole point of StumbleUpon is that it's built on recommendations from real human beings - people stumble good stuff, stuff that they like, and an algorithm sends the same page to other people who it thinks might like it. When you introduce a lot of people stumbling random pages simply in order to get stumbles themselves, you're bound to have an adverse effect on the system as a whole, and on your own reputation within that system.
Check the reviews of StumbleXchange:
StumbleUpon » stumbleXchange :: Exchange Stumbles to P...
As one reviewer summed up in just three words: "Feeding on itself."

[mentalmosaic]

Hmmmm... well, I just stumbled upon this thread!

Very intriguing! I've been getting traffic, but few comments (direct emails to me, but few comments.) Guess I'll stagger my way over to stumbleupon and see what the buzz is about.

And I'll be sure to stumble folks that I see in this thread (once I have a clue!)

Have fun!
Tui

[JohnPlace]

Originally Posted by Caveman Joe

You know, I'm really unconvinced that StumbleXchange is a good idea. The whole point of StumbleUpon is that it's built on recommendations from real human beings - people stumble good stuff, stuff that they like, and an algorithm sends the same page to other people who it thinks might like it. When you introduce a lot of people stumbling random pages simply in order to get stumbles themselves, you're bound to have an adverse effect on the system as a whole, and on your own reputation within that system.
Check the reviews of StumbleXchange:
StumbleUpon » stumbleXchange :: Exchange Stumbles to P...
As one reviewer summed up in just three words: "Feeding on itself."

Good point.

But keep in mind, StumbleXchange started because of threads like this one -- where people were exchanging stumbles. The WebMaster of StumbleXChange makes it clear that users shouldn't stumble sites they don't like, and there is even an option where users can vote to have a particular site banned. The Webmaster also says he is working to keep spammy sites out.

Apparently, a stumble-exchange thread (like this one) on another forum got so big that the users could no longer keep track of which sites they'd looked at and which they hadn't (until they went back to refresh their memory) -- that's why StumbleXchange was created. It was supposed to be tracking software to make sure people were reciprocating time spent reviewing (with the option of stumbling at their discretion).

I think the site could potentially be used in accordance with StumbleUpon's TOS (and apparently, SU says they are okay with the site for now), but the natural human tenendecy would be to abuse it. So I agree with you -- I'm not entirely convinced it's a good idea.

There is a fine line between inviting someone to review your site and exchanging stumbles blindly, and an argument could be made that StumbleXchange has crossed that line. If the content within SU becomes too spammy, people will stop using SU. And I've got to think that SU will start fighting back, which could hurt anyone who has used the site.

[believegecko]

I found this excellent SU guide: A Comprehensive Guide to StumbleUpon: How to Build Massive Traffic to Your Website
It's worth reading.

Don't forget to add everyone on this thread as a friend and give their profiles a thumbs up if you like their sites. Stumble each other's sites too if you like their pages.

[JohnPlace]

As a side note, how do I make sure my site will show up for people who are "stumbling through" the self-improvement category?

My site was originally discovered in the new-age category (by one of you nice guys) , but there's really only one new-age article on the entire site.

[believegecko]

By finding a page that isn't yet stumbled someone can stumble that page and include it in the self-improvement category.

[absvan]

I would assume that it works but thought I will still ask. Does stumble work for blogs?

[Phil Newton]

It works for blogs, but you only really see a spike for individual articles. Once they've been added to SU you'll probably find yourself getting a few hits every day. If it really strikes a chord with people, you'll get thousands of hits in a very short space of time.

[Mark Lapierre]

A question for those of you more familiar with SU. The content of my site doesn't a) stick to one particular topic (it covers personal development, psychology, sociology, philosophy, science, and spirituality) and b) asks more questions than it answers. Would my site have much to offer SU users?

I assume that it would if each page can be categorised individually, and that that's how pages are stumbled. At least it will have something to offer as long as users are willing to think (and discuss) rather than be given answers (which is a challenge for my site in general, not just in respect to SU).

[subfreq]

What an awesome thread.

I've been stumbling for the last couple of hours and are working through the user sites from this thread.

My nickname is Scoot08 on Stumble if anyone wants to add me i will stumble their site for them.

My site is MyVisionBoard - Create Your Future Vision

[Peter S C]

The more I Stumble the more I like it......

Changeyourlife is my SU name.

[JohnPlace]

Originally Posted by subfreq

What an awesome thread.

I've been stumbling for the last couple of hours and are working through the user sites from this thread.

My nickname is Scoot08 on Stumble if anyone wants to add me i will stumble their site for them.

My site is MyVisionBoard - Create Your Future Vision

You have been stumbled, my friend. I've seen your site before and thought it was a neat idea.