Social Bookmarking Litter and Innovations

It seems as though there are more and more industry standards by the day. You show up on any website and although aesthetically it is clean looking, it is covered in bells and whistles, buttons, and symbols. Long gone are the days of rotating gifs and hit counters though, which is a blessing. Nowadays, website options offer a purpose and can help increase traffic.

Are all of these worth the trouble though? You're certainly correct to be skeptical.  Covering your website in jargon and widgets won't just confuse visitors but may send them out the door. You will need to find a fine line of balance for your user to interact with and help promote your website without giving them too many points of exit.

- While it may be tempting to incorporate every possible social bookmarking tool, but if it isn't something applicable to your market, why bother? Stick with the top names and locations where people are participating. Sure, you may think that a shared link is valuable no matter where it ends up, you still don't need to include a bookmarking button for JoeBobs Discounted Backlink Bookmarking. If someone is a dedicated user of that network, they will find a way to share the content if they link it that much.

- Utilize plug ins and already made tools to help simplify the process. At times, people shy away from advertising a tool created by someone else, but if it is useful and worthwhile, there shouldn't be a problem. Otherwise it will be up to you to create your own social bookmarking section with solo links and image placement. This may not be that difficult but it adds new areas of your website for links to break. If you stick with a service you just need to make sure you copied and pasted correctly. A reliable favorite of mine is AddToAny.com.

- Another great option that has recently popped up is the inclusion of web toolbars across the bottom of websites containing customizable options. They allow you to chat with others on the site, see how many people have interacted with the bar, and lead them to brand fan sites or Twitter accounts all in one area that is always facing the user whether they scroll or change pages. They also offer options to monetize your site through donations and In-Text ads. One of the most popular options at the moment can be found at Wibiya.com.

- There are always new additions to the market which people may be using that you are unable to integrate into your site at the moment, but should be aware of. A great example of this is Clipmarks.com. A rather ingenious way of improving the shared portions of websites. It adds the usability of grabbing an image off of page and being able to share it in a social bookmarking atmosphere. While there is no on site integration yet, you can always invite your users to try it out on your site and start clipping.

Social bookmarking is here to stay, so much so that statements like the beginning of this sentence have become antiquated. Embrace them and be sure to include them anywhere that you refresh and spend time on current content. Don't let it go to waste. The easier it is for your users to share what you've created the more likely they will be to do so.