Two Traffic Sources You Cannot Do Without

by Adrienne Smith on January 12, 2012

If you have a blog then you definitely want traffic right? I’ve covered this topic in a few of my posts on all sorts of different ways you can drive traffic to your blog.

Just in case you were late to the party or by some chance happened to miss these particular posts you might find them helpful.

30 Ways To Promote Your Blog For Free
My Secret To Blogging Success

I think we can all agree that there are so many different ways to drive traffic to your site. One of my all time favorites of course is sharing other people’s content. I had another look at my Google Analytics and low and behold it proved that by sharing the love, it will come right back to you.

Here are my top ten traffic sources from December 11, 2011 to January 10, 2012 for your viewing pleasure:

1. (Direct) / (none)
2. Google / organic
3. t.co (Twitter) / referral
4. Facebook.com / referral
5. Youtube.com / referral
6. Google.com / referral
7. StumbleUpon.com / referral
8. Triberr.com / referral
9. Hootsuite.com / referral
10. Marketingwithsergio.com / referral ~ Thank you Sergio my man, giving you some link love…

Two traffic sources you cannot do without are Google and StumbleUpon.

Google+

This past Tuesday, CNN reported that Google merged their default search to include Google+ which means your social shares will now show up in the search engines. I knew this would happen, why else would they create the Google+ share button! People love social sites and we do love sharing so at least now it’s official.

So what does this mean for you? Share baby, share…

When you visit someone’s blog and you are reading their posts, I know you share it with your friends right! If you haven’t before now you better start. Most bloggers give you a lot of different options for sharing their content. You have Facebook, Twitter, Google+, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn, Digg, Delicious, and the list goes on and on.

A lot of us have our own preferences for where we like to share the content so for some of us we stick with just a few. Now that’s okay I suppose but when someone visits your blog you sure would love for them to share your content everywhere right! So if you want others to do it for you, why aren’t you doing it for them?

I can understand overwhelming your social sites with tons and tons of different content so it’s really up to you how you would like to go about it. The one thing I definitely want to bring to your attention is that now when you Google+ a post and that post shows up in the search engines, guess who’s photo is going to be out beside that post!

That is if you have a Google+ account and have your gravatar set up like you should. Are you understanding what this means? Oh and I can’t forget that when someone Google’s your name, your Google+ profile will show up as well. Do you have that one complete?

I get asked a lot how I’ve been able to get so much traffic to my site because people see all my comments. Did you take a look at my list up above where I showed you my traffic sources? I got it straight from Google Analytics so you can see all of those referrals mentioned. Share, share and share… If you are in the process of branding you, this is one of the best ways to go about this.

By the way, if you aren’t on Google+ yet you can get an account by signing up here. One quite note though, you do have to use your full name.

StumbleUpon

I’m very late to the party as far as StumbleUpon is concerned. That’s right, for months I’ve read that it’s the second highest traffic source online. I was shocked when I read that over and over again yet I still didn’t do anything about it. That is until I listened to an interview that Andy Nathan did with Saul Fleischman, one of my Triberr buddies. If you want to understand how powerful this traffic source is I recommend you listen to that interview. Saul really knows his stuff.

If you don’t have a StumbleUpon account, get one now because it’s free. Be sure you have a social share button on your posts and as soon as your posts goes live, Stumble it.

What this will do is take you to a page that will ask you if it’s safe for work. Then you get to choose the topics your post falls under and you can add up to five. You can then give it a brief review/description.

If you don’t complete this page then most likely no one else will. If someone happens to be so kind to do this for you, they might put it under who knows what topic which won’t do your post any good for the search engines. Remember, Google is now picking up social searches so the more you share the better chance your post has showing up

Because I’m with Triberr, we all take the time to Stumble each other’s post as long as they have completed the description. Let’s be honest, we can’t do all the work for you.

If you aren’t using StumbleUpon yet I highly recommend you start implementing it here at the first of the year so that your posts can start getting the recognition they deserve. Just head over to StumbleUpon now and sign up. It’s really easy.

What Did We Learn

The next time you are reading a post, be sure to share it on Google+ and StumbleUpon as well as your other favorite sites you enjoy sharing content. When you share the love on the posts you visit, people will start doing the same for you.

Remember my stats up above? I’m being shown the love and you can sure as heck bet I’m doing the same for my readers.

Make it easy for them and have all your social icons set up properly. That means when we tweet your post your Twitter ID needs to already be set up and now your StumbleUpon mini-profile already needs to be completed.

Let’s Get Social Shall We?

Now you understand why these are two traffic sources you cannot do without. In order to be recognized and known for the expert in your niche, you have to be seen and heard and if no one is sharing your information then that’s going to be extremely difficult. Let’s all make this the year that everyone does their part to help their fellow bloggers. I know I will continue to contribute.

Oh, and speaking of that don’t forget to share my post. You know I do the same for you! ♥

Have you been sharing the content when you visit other blogs or just reading, commenting and moving on to the next one? Have you seen a spike in traffic through any of these sources or were you like me and still totally ignored some of them entirely? Have you become a Google+ fan yet or still stuck on Facebook?

I think it’s time we all get on the map so are you ready?

Let me know your thoughts on this and which traffic sources are your top ones? Are they the same as mine?

FYI ~ I have something really exciting to share with you in Monday’s post. I’m almost chomping at the bits but I guess I’ll have to wait. So, stay tuned for that!

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{ 142 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Carolyn | The Wonder of TechTwitter: wonderoftech January 12, 2012 at 8:58 AM

Hi Adrienne, These are two great referral sites. Google is definitely my number one site for referral. But you know which site is a top referral site for me, above LinkedIn and HootSuite? Your site! So I urge all readers of this blog to give some link love to you by Stumbling, Tweeting and Facebooking your posts.

Looking forward to Monday!
Carolyn | The Wonder of Tech recently posted..Facebook: Your Time for Timeline?

2 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 9:06 AM: Hey Carolyn,

My site rates above LinkedIn and Hootsuite? Seriously? That’s fabulous Carolyn! You know I can’t say enough awesome things about you young lady! I LOVE your blog and what you share so I’m happy to hear I’m sending readers your way. I know they will be welcomed over at your place.

I know you share so thanks for the support… Can’t wait until Monday!!!

Reply

3 RustyTwitter: russellpurkiss January 12, 2012 at 9:03 AM

It is alway exciting when I go to find that someone has shared my content on Stumbleupon or through Google plus and FB! I have to admit that I have been pretty slow with getting on Stumbleupon and this time of year has proven to be a challenge for me to say the least to be social! Long hours throughout the Christmas season and little time to be online! Sniff. It is certain that by sharing content that you most certainly increase your own traffic. Give and it shall be given unto you is a big reality indeed! Great post and helpful information! Hope to be seeing you soon!
Rusty recently posted..Travels And Hanging With The “In Crowd”

4 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 9:11 AM: Hi Rusty,

I was just thinking about you yesterday so you must have been reading my mind.

I think we all get use to using certain sites so we don’t think a lot about others. I know that I love sharing information on Twitter and then some posts I’ll share on Facebook. With Google+ coming into the picture it’s taken me some time to remember to head over there. I totally ignored StumbleUpon even though I’ve been told over and over again to include it in my arsenal. So this year I’m including everything I possible can which is why I wanted to be sure and share these two traffic sources that others can’t ignore either.

Hope things are settling down for you Rusty! Are you still headed my way this month?

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5 igor GriffithsTwitter: igorgriffiths January 12, 2012 at 9:06 AM

Hi Adrienne

So that is what a well thought out plan look like, congrats on Google for completing the first stage of making G+ a must have site. I had to login to my gmail account before I could G+ this post which of course means I am able to be presented with more monetization whilst I am logged in.

Thanks for the tip off about Stumbleupon been reviewing my social bookmarking activity and have just added Reddit back into the family, look like Stumbleupon will also have to come back in from the cold.

igor Griffiths
igor Griffiths recently posted..Who Needs Who

6 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 9:45 AM: Hi Igor,

I was slow getting around to using Google+ because I had my little routine down good. Adding too many social media sites to your day can really zap your time but I didn’t want to not do it justice.

Thank you Igor for sharing this post, I appreciate that so now we just need to be sure and add that to our routine shares.

My pleasure and you definitely want to get your content spread to as many places as possible. So speaking of that, I’ll be dropping by your place today for a visit so see you soon.

~Adrienne

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7 Leora WengerTwitter: leoraw January 12, 2012 at 9:21 AM

Adrienne,

It so true that Google+ is growing in importance. Regarding sharing posts, I noticed that if someone shares a post to a limited audience and then I pick re-share, a third person might then have problems sharing the link. That seemed to have happened yesterday. I haven’t done any experiments on this to make sure that is what happened, but it was a clue that re-sharing limited audience links might have issues. It seems one instead should re-post the link, if it says limited when you try sharing.

Sounds like I need to revisit StumbleUpon.

Thanks for all the tips.
Leora Wenger recently posted..Related Posts – CSS Method

8 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 9:48 AM

Hi Leora,

Thanks for that tip, I guess I haven’t run into that particular problem yet. But now that you have made me aware, I’ll be on the lookout, especially if someone else mentions this same issue. I usually go to the post itself and share instead of re-sharing it. I have noticed that I still show up in the re-share group so maybe that will help.

Appreciate your comment Leora and hope you are having a great week.

~Adrienne

9 KevinTwitter: kevinkennethlau January 13, 2012 at 11:10 PM

Yes, this have been an issue for a lot of people on G+.

Social Media has proven itself to be one of the best place to generate traffic. I can’t imagine doing things without the use of social media anymore be it for an online or offline business.

10 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 14, 2012 at 10:28 AM: Hi Kevin,

Welcome to my blog, nice to see you. I appreciate your comment and I always enjoy hearing other opinions.

I’m just so thrilled that social media has been so beneficial for business owners. I’ve always been a social butterfly so just being able to meet so many people from all walks of life and interact with them is truly amazing. Having other people share my content is worth getting up every morning for. I just love what social media brings to the table. Just so thrilled it’s been incorporated into the search engines now.

Thanks Kevin and enjoy your weekend.

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11 JulieTwitter: jmd164 January 12, 2012 at 9:56 AM

Hi Adrienne,

This is the second time in as many days where I’ve read this about StumbleUpon. Andy Nathan being the other actually. I don’t go onto the site much, but intent to visit it more often now and to start stumbling as well as tweeting as I go along.

Thanks MissAdrienne,
Julie
Julie recently posted..Starting the New Year With a Note of Pride

12 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 10:25 AM: Hi Julie.

I can definitely share some posts with you from some blogging friends where they’ve gotten a lot of traffic from just stumbling posts. I ignored it for so long until I heard Saul’s interview and then I thanked him for setting me straight. It’s so confusing a lot of times when I hear different things from different people regarding how to go about sharing content. I’m moving forward though with what they’ve been teaching because they’ve been doing this a lot longer and have the results to prove it.

Thanks Julie!

Have a great day!

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13 Praveen Rajarao from DailyMorningCoffee Twitter: brpraveen January 12, 2012 at 10:02 AM

Adrienne – Thanks for a wonderful post. I am a fan of StumbleUpon, and I am sure you have done right by putting it on your top 2.

I end up having several visitors from all over the world via StumbleUpon, it is simply great when you are looking for referral traffic for your site.

Of course Google+ is also catching up with I think over 40million users in just 6 months, which is awesome stats.
Praveen Rajarao recently posted..What is Google Search Plus?

14 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 10:27 AM: Hi Praveen,

So you’re a fan of StumbleUpon, that’s good to know. I’ve had a few visitors from them as wells so I’m starting to take notice and setting up my posts properly. We can never get our content out to too many sites wouldn’t you agree?

Google+ is doing their best to implement things that will change the way people are able to view our content so I’m kind of glad this all came into place now. We do love social media and sharing.

Thanks Praveen and hope you are enjoying your day!

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15 Sylviane NuccioTwitter: sylviane101 January 12, 2012 at 11:00 AM

Hi Adrienne,

Thanks for sharing this. I really think that anyone who have no Google+ account set up yet, should go there right away right after they leave this post

I am very lucky that both my first name (French) and last name (Italian) together is very unique, meaning I have never seen anyone in the world yet with both the same fist and last name as me So, when people browse my name I am all over the first few pages of Google, but this said, guess what is first of page 1? My Google+ profile of course!

Like you I have neglected StumbleUpon until now, but your post motivates me to use it more from now on.

Thanks for your post, again, Adrienne.
Sylviane Nuccio recently posted..Is Guest Posting Worth It?

16 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 11:41 AM

Hi Sylviane,

Since Google is the main search engine when they released their notice of the new Google+, I had to jump on board. I think it’s a much different platform then things they’ve tried in the past that have failed. When it comes to searching for content though, you can sure bet that Google will be sure that what’s on your Google+ profile and shares will show up first. That’s how you make a name for yourself.

You are very fortunate to have such a unique name. What I think is so funny is that there is also an actress with my same name but guess who beats her when you Google Adrienne Smith? That’s right!!! That’s what I’m talking about.

No time like the present to get on the StumbleUpon bandwagon Sylviane. Welcome aboard.

17 Sylviane NuccioTwitter: sylviane101 January 12, 2012 at 3:26 PM

That’s right, Adrienne! People like us having tons of content online we beat anyone!

I do believe that you beat that actress. Even when I put only “sylviane” on Google I am # 2 LOL I beat the wrife of ex-prime mister of France Sylviane Agacinski who is also a writer and on Wikipeadia! (She is right after me) So, basically, that means that I am the most online Sylviane in the world Gotta love it
Sylviane Nuccio recently posted..How To Never Run Out Of Ideas To Write About And Boost Your Creativity

18 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 6:19 PM: Ah yeah girl, watch out! Those famous people don’t have anything on us.

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19 Sergio FelixTwitter: ITSergioFelix January 12, 2012 at 11:06 AM

Hey Adrienne,

Wow, thanks for the mention my friend, I’m really thrilled and honored by that!

You say you’re late to the party with StumbleUpon, geez… well I’m late to the party with StumbleUpon, LinkedIn, Digg and Delicious.

The worst thing is that I actually do have profiles created on each one of those but I never used them and always kept thinking “I’ll do something with them later…”

Now I’ve heard many times that StumbleUpon rocks at delivering traffic, that it can create traffic peaks and that it can also up our bounce rates %. The cool thing is that some of that percentage (sorry that I don’t know the stats) are readers that actually ARE interested so I guess that having a bit bigger bounce rate in exchange of exposure to new readers is totally worth it.

I definitely need to check out StumbleUpon again and while I’m crossing tasks that are meant to get more traffic, I’m putting this one on my whiteboard right now (thanks for reminding me!).

Thanks for the rocking post as always Adrienne and your amazing mentioning here, stay awesome and have a great day!

Sergio

PS. I think you get that much LUV from my site because your comments always ROCK. So a huge THANK YOU Adrienne, I really appreciate each and every one of your comments with great advice and encouragement words!!
Sergio Felix recently posted..Digital Nomads and Minimalism

20 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 11:47 AM: Hey Sergio,

Yep, your site of all the blogs listed I had the most visits from during that month’s time. So thank you SO much for that my friend. I’m so pleasantly surprised. Happy for sure!

I’ve heard a lot of the same things Sergio and have read so many posts on that. So I took note and “meant” to go back and start implementing what I had read but got off on some other project and just let it slide. I keep hearing what great traffic source it is so I decided to finally perk up and start paying attention. Now I have to tell you that I hardly ever got any traffic from StumbleUpon but now it’s already in the #7 spot! What does that tell you my friend?

Hope you’ll get some visits now from this post Sergio and keep those excellent posts coming as well. I’m really enjoying your journey.

Have a great day!

~Adrienne.

P.S. Ah, my pleasure and I just love commenting. Your posts are worth the time my friend.

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21 Jens P. Berget Twitter: berget January 12, 2012 at 11:11 AM

Hi Adrienne,

I have been using G+ for a while, but not nearly as much as I should be. I’ve also discovered that G+ has impact on the search results on Google, so I’ll have to focus more on understanding how to use G+. So far, I haven’t created a page for my blog / business on G+, but I guess that’s my next step.

I have also been testing StumbleUpon, but I’m not receiving a lot of traffic from it yet, and the traffic I am receiving are not of very high quality. Most of the traffic is from people who are visiting my blog for a 20 – 30 seconds, but that’ll hopefully change when I do some serious networking on StumbleUpon
Jens P. Berget recently posted..How to Name a Business When You Have Absolutely No Ideas Left

22 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 11:51 AM: Hey Jens,

I was slow to the party of actually interacting on Google+ and probably still am. All social media sites can be time consuming so learning how to spend time on them all and still get your work done is difficult. But obviously I must be doing something right because I’m getting the traffic from both these sites even if they are in the #6 and #7 spots. I’ll take what I can get.

We all know that it takes time to build content up and get traffic to our sites so give StumbleUpon more time Jens. Plus if you make people aware to share your posts you’ll start getting more attention. So set that up once it goes live and you’ll make it a lot easier for people to share.

Thanks Jens and hope you’re having a great day!

Reply

23 RaduTwitter: radu_dascalul January 12, 2012 at 11:47 AM

Hey Adrienne,
This is an awesome reminder. I read a while ago about the importance of Google + and Stumble Upon. Both are very simple and yet so many benefits . Although I don’t network so much on Google+ and Stumble Upon I created a habit from using all the sharing buttons when reading a new post. I believe that in each post , even if it comes from a beginner or a marketing expert, you can find things that deserve a sharing or a comment. In the end, this habit of giving and sharing value unconditionally will pay off a lot…in most of the cases when you expect less
I noticed that you mentioned Triberr for a couple of times. The things I head about it are only positive so now I’m a member too..only have to understand how it works
Thanks for sharing these tips Adrienne and also the interview about SU. It’s always great to learn more:)
Radu recently posted..5 steps to speed up your blog

24 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 1:01 PM: Hey Radu,

I’m so glad to hear that you are already sharing the love but I can tell by how many times you share other people’s posts on a lot of your social networking sites, including mine thank you so much. I also believe if their content is worth sharing then by all means we should help it get out there for more people to see. I know that’s how I stumble upon a lot of content myself. You are right Radu, just get in the habit.

So you are a part of Triberr now? Good for you Radu, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Just go to your home page and as the posts come in, approve them. You can share the love to the other sites right there as well. Dino and Dan have made it easy for us all.

My pleasure Radu and thanks for your continued support and your awesome comments. They are greatly appreciated.

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25 Claude NougatTwitter: claudenougat January 12, 2012 at 12:03 PM

Hi Adrienne, you’re very right (since we agree on this, LOL) No, really and seriously, I do believe both sites are on the rise and they are a little different from either Twitter and Facebook (or LinkedIn for that matter) so they all complement each other and it’s a good idea to be present on all of them and share, share, share! Incidentally, I just tweeted your excellent post and shall herewith put it on StumbleUpon and Google+!

One question: can you enlighten me on how Triberr works? Ive’ been kindly invited and I signed in on it but I just don’t understand what I’m supposed to do with it!
Claude Nougat recently posted..Italy, the Land of Wine is Turning to Beer!

26 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 1:13 PM: Hi Claude,

I agree, these sites are different then Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn which is why they are equally important and shouldn’t be ignored. Just like someone will sign up with a bookmarking site like OnlyWire and what do you think that service is doing? Sharing your content all across these different sites. That’s the benefit of sharing your content across these two as well.

Thank you for sharing this post, I really appreciate that! I’ll be sure to do the same when I visit your blog.

Sure, Triberr is a sharing platform so that means which ever tribe you are in right now, those posts will show up on your home page. Hit the big button out to the side to approve those posts to be tweeted. They will be tweeted every 30 minutes. Below that particular post you’ll also see social buttons so that you can Google+ them, Stumble them, etc. as well.

Before anyone will start seeing your posts though you’ll have to go to your settings to implement your account. You’ll find that on the home page over in the left hand side all the way to the bottom. Put in your Twitter ID and your blog’s RSS feed so that the system can automatically grab your posts to be tweeted. Those are your main concerns.

Once you accept to be in a tribe you now have three of your own so you can invited seven people to join whatever tribe you set up. Set up tribes with bloggers that have the same interests so that their readers will be interested in what you have to share as well. Make sense?

Hope that was helpful and thanks for the comment.

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27 Paweł BiałeckiTwitter: eclerstudios January 12, 2012 at 12:44 PM

I have +-100 blogs in my RSS reader. Usually I’m just scanning new articles by headers and leave. This post was the first from a long time which I read carefully, word by word. IT’S AMAZING! I didn’t even think about social sites in this way!

I used to blogging about year ago (in my native language, Polish) and I had something about 150 subscribers. I was doing only some “classic” SEO like adding descriptions to my posts and commenting other blogs in my niche (making money online of course ). Now? New Google alghoritm, +1 in search results, your face in your friends results’… Many things changed through past year I see. BIG THANKS for this article Adrienne, I REALLY learned something today!

And now I’m going +1-do… a LOT +1

Realy, really good material.
Paweł Białecki recently posted..Android Report #0 – what I did, what I have

28 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 1:24 PM

Hey Pawel,

Well, I guess I’m glad this post caught your attention. Oh yeah, things have definitely changed… Your posts that are being shared in the social sites will show up in the search engines as well as your Tweets and Facebook posts. So make it worth your friends, followers and readers time to share content you believe they will enjoy reading. When you share theirs they usually will return the favor and that’s how your content can start gaining more visibility.

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for stopping by. I appreciate the comment as well as the shares!

29 Paweł BiałeckiTwitter: eclerstudios January 12, 2012 at 1:30 PM

Your welcome

P.S. Why my Twitter link is broken? Did I something wrong?
Paweł Białecki recently posted..How to make your own 2D platform game for Android.

30 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 1:34 PM: Did you put the @ sign in? That would be the only reason it’s not working. I just tested it through my other link and it worked fine for me.

Reply

31 DeeoneTwitter: Deeone_Higgs January 12, 2012 at 12:49 PM

Hi Adrienne,

I have definitely seen a spike in my numbers over on my spot, and I think that sharing other’s post has had a lot to do with that. I’m also pretty heavy in the social scene and circles. I’m on every platform I know that brings in traffic, and while I could definitely be more active in some; I try to have a real presence in other’s.

Google+ has had to grow on me a bit, but I think the trick there is in getting people into your circle. The more people you get to see your post and your friends post, and the more you post to there as well; the greater the chance of becoming known for uploading good, quality content. That’s the trick…. being known for what you are mostly going to submit.

I definitely submit most of the blogs and websites to StumbleUpon as well. That’s actually one of the sites that I could get better at using. I post stuff there, but I don’t really get around to stumbling. That will definitely change in the near future.

I’m literally all over though. Someday’s I don’t know how I manage to do it all. However, if I’m going to reach my goal it’s a must! And I’m very much determined to reach my goal!

Awesome share, my friend. And of course… you already know that I will be sharing yours.

Have a great day!!
Deeone recently posted..Releasing My Mindset

32 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 1:28 PM: Hi Deeone,

That’s what did it for me too Deeone. Commenting and sharing the most and people appreciate it for sure. There is just so much great content out there with so many different people viewing it that if they are like me, I get so excited when I see a post that grabs my attention. Heck, that happened just this morning so I was eager to share away.

Thanks for sharing what you’re doing Deeone, your advice and because it’s working, will be helpful for others as well.

I definitely know you’ll be sharing my post Deeone and you already know I’ve shared yours! That’s what good blogging friends are for right! Especially when we know the content is awesome and we want everyone to read it. They can’t say we didn’t put it out there in front of their eyes.

Have a great day Deeone!

Reply

33 Claude NougatTwitter: claudenougat January 12, 2012 at 1:46 PM

Thanks for the explanation! Very clear – I thin that I finally understand how it works!!
Claude Nougat recently posted..Italy, the Land of Wine is Turning to Beer!

34 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 6:09 PM: That’s great Claude, if you have any other questions give me a shout.

Reply

35 JackTwitter: thejackb January 12, 2012 at 2:26 PM

Hi Adrienne,

StumbleUpon has been great for me. I have many posts that continue to send me traffic from StumbleUpon for months after my initial “run” there. I still need to get better at it, but I very much like it.
Jack recently posted..What Happens To Your Facebook Account When You Die

36 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 6:10 PM: Hey Jack,

Oh that’s great to hear Jack and I’ll be sure to continue Stumbling your posts as well. I definitely need to get better at it but at least I’m finally doing it more now. Love sharing good content.

Reply

37 Bryce ChristiansenTwitter: bwlcompany January 12, 2012 at 2:54 PM

I found this after Deeone posted it on Google+ so there’s some proof in the pudding there.

Stumbleupon ROCKS!!! I’ve gotten a few of my posts to have over a thousand visits a day through it…but it’s tough to be consistent. Somethimes I get just one, or it gets posted another site and their version gets a thousand hits while mine still sat at 2.

I will have to listen to the webcast you mentioned, maybe they know the answer.

However, I would LOVE to get involved in a group like yours where people are happy to share eachother’s content on StumbleUpon. That’s the one aspect I haven’t been good at, which I’m sure is key to getting consistent hits.

Would love to talk more about it.

Bryce
Bryce Christiansen recently posted..Life Lessons Learned From Interns (I See Young People!)

38 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 6:14 PM: See!!! There is and I find posts on Facebook I enjoy reading and then Twitter from friends of mine posting on a topic I want to know more about. It definitely works so for those not using these services, I hope they’ll start now.

Wow, over a thousand visits in a day. Nice Bryce… That hasn’t happened for me yet I’m afraid but my time is coming.

If you have any questions you can send Saul a message. Andy has learned a lot from Saul and you can find them both on Twitter too.

That’s what’s great about Triberr or even a blog commenting group. Get people to comment on each other’s post as well as share them on the social platforms. The more that share, the more visibility your posts will get. It’s a fabulous solution Bryce.

I’m always here!

Hope you’ve had a wonderful day!

Reply

39 MarkTwitter: mark_harai January 12, 2012 at 3:30 PM

Hi Adrienne – Google+ just can’t be ignored!

They’re the largest search engine in the world responsible for the majority of profits made online. That should be enough to at least motivate business owners and professionals to initiate a presence and start exploring the platform.

Thanks for the reminder!
Mark recently posted..Life is Black, White, or Gray, Which Are You Experiencing?

40 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 6:26 PM

Hey Mark,

I remember when they first launched Google+ a lot of people bulked about it thinking that they were only trying to compete with Facebook. Maybe, maybe not but either way you have to admit that if they are creating a social platform then you know that the share features would soon follow and sure enough, they did. With that in mind and Google being the number one search engine wouldn’t it make sense to have those results show up there too? I mean come on, the writing was on the wall from the beginning. I guess some people just want to be left behind. That’s okay, more room for us.

Thanks Mark! Always a pleasure to see you. How are things on your side of the world? Warm and cozy I hope.

41 MarkTwitter: mark_harai January 12, 2012 at 8:09 PM

Well, it’s dry season here now (summer) and the weather is beautiful!

In the mornings, I sit out on my deck and listen to thousands of different birds, including toucans and parrots and monkeys howling away and those dang roosters!

They wake up everyday at 4:30 AM!

Have a wonderful evening Adrienne : )
Mark recently posted..Life is Black, White, or Gray, Which Are You Experiencing?

42 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 9:20 PM: It’s summer there now? Wow, we are having our first freeze tonight and it’s COLD!!! Yep, I’m a wimp…

Paradise for sure Mark, wow. I can only imagine but I think it would be safe to say you’re living in heaven.

Thank you Mark, I’m fixing to get off the computer right after I answer your comment. I’m beat!

Enjoy your weekend.

Reply

43 Peggy BaronTwitter: pegbaron January 12, 2012 at 3:54 PM

Hi Adrienne,

I confess when I’m busy creating products I just don’t put in as much time with the social traffic methods. I just can’t do it all, even though I love to be social and I like the traffic-getting aspects of it. I’m on Google+ but haven’t gotten over there lately.

Some day, there will be more than 24 hours in a day. I’d like one of those time-changer thingies Hermoine Granger had in Harry Potter.

Thanks,
Peggy
Peggy Baron recently posted..Take Advantage Of Your Entrepreneurial ADD to Create New Streams Of Income in 2012

44 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 6:28 PM: Hey Peggy,

I understand what you mean Peggy because my days turn into nights and I’m always playing catch up it seems. I know that creating products is great and you already have a real good following so getting your information out for the world to see probably doesn’t take much time for you at all. But for those still trying to make a name for themselves they need to get on the ball. I don’t really spend a lot of time on the social sites myself but I do share the content and I spend more time reading posts.

Ah, the time changer… Oh yeah, if only!

Thanks Peggy and hope you’ve had a really great day!

Reply

45 Bill DormanTwitter: bdorman264 January 12, 2012 at 4:02 PM

Your man Sergio? Hold on now, what happened to your man Bill?…………..:)

Interesting stuff; I think I actually have a StumbleUpon button. I’ll have to go look though, I’m not sure and if I do, I’ll bet I haven’t put anything in it………yikes, huh? I might not have one since I’m Mr Free though…….

As always, you are certainly on top of your game; thanks for sharing.

I hope you are doing fabulous today.
Bill Dorman recently posted..If this were my last blog post

46 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 6:33 PM

Oh yeah, Sergio to the rescue Bill. Imagine my surprise and delight. I guess no one who visits your blog is curious enough so see, that just proves that I visit you cause I like you and not to steel your traffic.

You do have a StumbleUpon button Bill so you need to start setting up each post after it’s published. That will really help make it easy for your readers to share your content and we do love to share.

Well, I’m sure I’m not on top as some people but I do my best.

Thanks Bill, my day has been pretty darn good. Hope yours was too and you’re looking forward to the weekend. I’ll be spending mine working I’m afraid. Big project to finish up.

47 Bill DormanTwitter: bdorman264 January 12, 2012 at 7:18 PM

What do you mean, ‘setting it up’?
Bill Dorman recently posted..If this were my last blog post

48 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 9:17 PM: Did you see in my post where I said you need to Stumble the post and it will ask you for the Title, Topics and Review? You’ll need to put that in for each post so that way you’ll make sure that when people Stumble your posts, it will be sent to the right categories. Otay!!!

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49 Barry OverstreetTwitter: b_overstreet32 January 12, 2012 at 5:17 PM

Hi Adrienne,

Wow, every time I read one of your posts, I realize I have more work to do! That’s a good thing, as that kind of work will result in more traffic, but it is something else to have to squeeze in. Ugh!

I have a StumbleUpon account that I’ve done basically nothing with. I’m not sure if I actually got a Google+ account set up or not, but I do know I have a Google circle account. It all makes me dizzy sometimes. I will definitely make sure that all of that stuff is up and running. Not only is traffic important, but so is diversity of traffic. It’s always nice to have a multitude of sources feeding your site!

Thanks again and have a great day!

~Barry
Barry Overstreet recently posted..Success Is A Race, But It’s A Marathon Not A Sprint

50 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 6:37 PM

Hey Barry,

Kind of mind boggling at times isn’t it? Just be sure and add those two to your traffic methods. You know, like when you are here commenting on my post and after you are finished reading you can then share the content through the various social methods that I have on my site. Do that for everyone you visit and trust me, they’re going to love you Barry.

Google+ has the circles so you have an account. You put friends in different circles like you put friends on lists in Facebook. Be sure and just take some time and complete your profile because if someone Google’s your name, your Google profile will be the first thing they see and you want all your site information and links set up. You’ve already got your smiling face so that’s done.

Now, get to work! lol… But seriously, glad it was helpful and hope you’ve enjoyed your day!

51 Barry OverstreetTwitter: b_overstreet32 January 12, 2012 at 6:44 PM

Quick question–I’ve tried to submit (or setup) two of my posts for StumbleUpon. The interests drop down box is empty with no choices. But, when I try to submit the post, it tells me I have to select an interest. It’s kinda hard with no choices in there. Any suggestions?

I have interests already set up in my profile, so I don’t know where it’s drawing the blank from……

~Barry
Barry Overstreet recently posted..Success Is A Race, But It’s A Marathon Not A Sprint

52 Barry OverstreetTwitter: b_overstreet32 January 12, 2012 at 6:55 PM

Adrienne,

You can disregard my last….I finally figured it out. Now I understand what you mean by having to set the page up first. I was trying to upload it from my blog and it wasn’t letting me. I went to my profile page and added it that way and it worked just fine.

Learning curves don’t make this game any easier, that’s for sure.

Chat with you soon!

~Barry
Barry Overstreet recently posted..Success Is A Race, But It’s A Marathon Not A Sprint

53 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 9:16 PM: Oh hey, well that’s great! Glad you figured that one out because I wasn’t any help to you on that one my friend. See, I don’t claim to be an expert in everything.. lol…

Reply

54 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 9:15 PM

I’ll be honest with you Barry, I’m no StumbleUpon pro but I just happened to run into one today on Twitter and he shot me a video that will help us understand how to get around in there a little better. I haven’t watched it yet but if you’d like to check it out, here’s the link:

http://vimeo.com/25770166

I’m not sure why that’s happening but I was able to Stumble your last post. Man, can’t anything ever go smoothly!

Sorry I’m not much help with this.

55 valentine belonwuTwitter: bizyolk January 12, 2012 at 5:54 PM

Hi,
Thanks for writing such free tips of main traffic sources. I like Google+ a lot because since I started using it, I have seen quite growth on my site and another site you should try again is JustRetweet.com which I have been using since last month when the site was launched and I have gotten quite a good traffic there.

Thanks.

56 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 12, 2012 at 9:23 PM: Hi Valentine,

You are so welcome and glad you found this post helpful. Google+ is great and I hope everyone is utilizing it to their ability. Glad to hear it’s really helped with traffic to your site.

I had JustRetweet notify me today on Twitter about their service but it’s been a long day and I haven’t had time to look into that. We’ll see but thanks for the heads up.

Appreciate the comment and have a great weekend.

Reply

57 Jamella Biegel Twitter: mel8730 January 12, 2012 at 9:54 PM

Hi Adrienne,

Great post as usual. When I visit blogs, at a minimum I tweet the post. It’s such a simple thing to do. I didn’t have Google+ before today, but I do now. I have a stumble button on my blog, but haven’t stumbled many others. I’m sure your readers will heed your call and start sharing the love! I really like your feature image. How did you get you create that?
Jamella Biegel recently posted..Break Limiting Beliefs For Good

58 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 13, 2012 at 9:48 AM: Hi Jamella,

I use to do the same thing Jamella because I didn’t think anything of it. I was sharing their content in the social arena that I like the most not even realizing that I needed to be sharing it where other people might be. See, lessons learned right!

Glad you included the Google+ button now so we can like your content there too. It’s definitely going to help your content as well as stumbling them too.

Are you talking about the photo at the top? Well, I created that using Pixlr… I love to play with things and I’ve found that program pretty easy to use. I just pasted those icons on the photo! Pretty good huh! Glad you like it!

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59 Sonia Twitter: LogAllot January 12, 2012 at 10:27 PM

I was late getting around to StumbleUpon myself, but now I am trying to get use to just using it more often. Sharing content is the best way to get new traffic to your site. One thing I make it a point to do is comment and than share. I know some people don’ t have time to comment on everything, but it sure leaves an impact when you tweet their content and left some kind words. Great post Adrienne!
Sonia recently posted..12 Smart Tips to Attend Your First Blog Conference

60 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 13, 2012 at 9:50 AM: Welcome to the club Sonia, me too!

I know what you mean… If I know I’ll be back to comment I don’t mind going ahead and sharing then but I think it really helps if you’ve left a good comment and then shared their content. I know that I definitely appreciate it and will be more inclined to return the favor.

Thanks for dropping by and I hope you enjoy your day!

Reply

61 Colleen Kelly Twitter: ColleenFKelly January 13, 2012 at 2:38 AM

Hey Adrienne!
Great post ! I was excited to read this one. I thought about it at the gym today. I exercise and think “Blog” lol.. Sometimes, it’s the good looking guy in front of me on the treadmill though haha –Seriously, I did think about it because I’ve been trying to learn more and more about blogging. I will be checking these sources out!-Thanks. It looks like you did a lot of work for this blog post! That always impresses me, research and work . I like to do that with my own blog. I always learn new things and I feel I’ve helped more people by providing more information than just my own voice.. Great post! –I am printing it out now! c’ ya
Hey, Thank you! –Colleen
Colleen Kelly recently posted..Part 2:The right tools: Foods that helped me lose weight.. and keep it off!.

62 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 13, 2012 at 9:54 AM: Hi Colleen,

Well you know you can be thinking about your blog while on the treadmill but looking at the great looking guy standing right in front of you. How can you not right!

If you’re going to post about a topic that you know will help others it helps to get as much information on it as possible. I may not be an expert in every area that I report but as I’ve shared with my readers before, I learn and then I report to you all what I learned. It might take me awhile longer to actually understand how things work eventually but at the same time, sometimes it’s not important how they work, they just do. Glad you are learning more about getting traffic to your blog. Your experience of losing that much weight and being able to help others is fabulous. Those are the kinds of posts I enjoy reading the most. Learning from experience.

Have a great day Colleen…

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63 EllieTwitter: elliepowell1912 January 13, 2012 at 5:13 AM

Hi Adrienne. You state: “This past Tuesday, CNN reported that Google merged their default search to include Google+ which means your social shares will now show up in the search engines.” This is HUGE. Anyone interested in traffic simply must incorporate Google+ in their traffic resources.

Great Discussion.

Ellie
Stop SOPA

64 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 13, 2012 at 9:57 AM: Hi Ellie,

Well we knew it was just a matter of time and everyone speculated but of course, didn’t know for sure. With the official announcement that Google+ is now going to be in the search engines, hopefully more people will start sharing more.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Have a great day!

Reply

65 Kirsten LodgeTwitter: WriteRTW January 13, 2012 at 5:46 AM

Hi Adrienne

I’ve been trying to work out StumbleUpon so thanks for your tips! I just listened to Saul’s interview and that’s definitely helped too. I must admit that I have stayed away from Triberr because the feedback hasn’t been all that positive. And it was mainly around bloggers becoming less human in their Twitter feeds because their tweets are, more often than not, automated. I’d be interested on your thoughts on that…? I guess there’s a balance to be found there.

I’ve been on Google+ for a little while and have wondered whether it was worthwhile. Now it all makes sense!

Thanks again for your help, Adrienne… have just spotted another post of yours I must read!
Kirsten
Kirsten Lodge recently posted..Love is… goose bumps

66 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 13, 2012 at 10:03 AM

Hi Kirsten,

Glad this post and Saul’s interview were helpful.

I know that everyone has their own opinions of automated shares especially when it comes to Twitter. But if you’ll notice from my tweets, they are ALL automated. Want to know why? First off I am a part of Triberr and I love that community so I don’t care what anyone says, I’m sticking with them. Second, my Twitter followers are only on Twitter certain times of the day. I comment on blogs every morning and guess what! The majority of my Twitter followers aren’t on in the mornings so I automate my tweets so that they see them when they’re on. Did you happen to notice that Twitter is my #3 traffic source and if my tweets are automated then obviously my followers aren’t too concerned about that. They know good content when the see it. Another reason why is because I do get on Twitter and I do have conversations with my followers. So with that combined I think it’s a winning combination. Hope that explanation was helpful.

Thanks Kirsten and glad this was helpful. I always appreciate your feedback.

Have a wonderful day!

67 Kirsten LodgeTwitter: WriteRTW January 13, 2012 at 4:12 PM

That’s actually really interesting, Adrienne. Thanks for your honesty. I’m going to look into it. I can always bow out of it if it doesn’t suit me… that’s the beauty of social media.
Kirsten Lodge recently posted..Love is… goose bumps

68 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 13, 2012 at 5:27 PM: That’s right, there’s no harm in trying it out cause you’ll never know if it’s personal fit for you or not!

Thanks Kirsten..

Reply

69 Harleena Singh Twitter: harleenas January 13, 2012 at 6:57 AM

Loved the info Adrienne!

While I have been on Google+ for quite sometime but to be very honest- I have been really taken in more by the awesome photographers and the pictures they come up with and have been sharing those more than the posts! But now that you said what CNN has come out with, I guess I better start sharing the posts as well You never loose anything with sharing, do you?

I do use Stumbleupon as well but that too is something I never know too much about- till I read about it here. Likewise, I too am surprised that its the second highest traffic source online! But I still don’t really know how to use it to the best- guess would need to read more about it now

Thanks so much for such wonderful information, and for starters, I am going to share your post on Google+ right away and similarly do so with the other posts I visit

Have a wonderful weekend, and I can’t wait to read the Monday post as you got our mind running now
Harleena Singh recently posted..The Power of Prayer in a Family

70 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 13, 2012 at 10:10 AM: Ah thanks Harleena, glad you found this helpful.

If you enjoy looking at the awesome photographers and the pictures, that’s great. When you read someone’s post, just be sure to hit the Google+ button after you’re finished. That will tell the owner of the post that you liked their post. It won’t actually post it to your wall like it does with Facebook. But the more “likes” a post has, the more chance it will show up in the search engines and all the photos of the people who liked it will be right there with the post.

I was on Twitter yesterday and had a guy tweet me letting me know that he’s an expert on StumbleUpon. I told him is there something he can share with me that will explain in a little better then their site because their information is helpful to me at all. He sent me this link to a video. I haven’t watched it yet but I have a feeling it’s going to help explain it better:

http://vimeo.com/25770166

Thank you Harleena, I appreciate it and you know I definitely will return the favor. I appreciate your continued support.

Have a wonderful day and a fabulous weekend. I’m excited about Monday’s post so stay tuned.

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71 Jason FoncecaTwitter: ryzeonline January 13, 2012 at 9:50 AM

I love this

Adrienne, as usual you deliver gold. Google+ is a rising phenomenon and a powerful player in (for now) facebook’s arena. I’ve been a huge Stumbler for a many years, and I’d like to add an interesting perspective.

Some critics suggest that Stumbleupon’s traffic is generally ‘poor quality’, ‘tiny-attention-span’, and ‘mainly apathetic’ traffic.

Now that’s a bit of a harsh judgment, but there’s a valuable point hidden in there.

Don’t just jump on StumbleUpon because it is “big traffic”. (well you can if you want…)

Know WHY you’re using it. Is it the Right Traffic For You? Will it have Good Results For Your Business. There are certain types of content that shine on stumbleupon, or maybe you just feel that ANY traffic is good traffic.

There are times when a powerful stumble can shutdown a website’s bandwidth and not deliver even .005% qualified converts / leads (at least directly).

So I encourage people to understand what they’re doing and why they’re doing it.
Jason Fonceca recently posted..The Difference Between Love, Romance, And Sexual Attraction

72 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 13, 2012 at 10:37 AM

Thanks Jason, music to my ears!!

Appreciate you sharing that with us about SumbleUpon. I don’t know enough about it to make such a bold statement so having your thoughts since you’ve been using it for awhile is helpful. I think people will just have to use it and see what type of results they are able to get from it. If the traffic is low quality then it’s not in their best interests but if it is, glad they jumped on board.

Thanks again and enjoy your day!

73 Jason FoncecaTwitter: ryzeonline January 14, 2012 at 12:35 AM: Yep, I always encourage people not to take my word for anything, and I was noting that some critics judge StumbleUpon, but just like you, I encourage people to try it and see if it works for them!

Either way, this is a really great look at some really powerful traffic, thank you Adrienne
Jason Fonceca recently posted..The Difference Between Love, Romance, And Sexual Attraction

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74 Rick ByrdTwitter: rick_byrd January 13, 2012 at 10:22 AM

Hey Adreinne:

I have been using StumbleUpon for years and I usually get a fair amount of traffic from there. Now when it comes to G+ I am definitely behind. It only makes sense to get on board, especially since it is a product of Google. I have been reading a little bit more about G+ and creating shared circles. I guess I seem to be behind the times as usual.

Take care!

- Rick
Rick Byrd recently posted..Sennheiser HD Headphones (Burl Wood Accents) 598

75 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 13, 2012 at 10:25 AM: Hey Rick,

Well, you’ve been busy building your business my friend so I can see where you might not be up on some of what’s going on right now. I hope business is going well for you and glad to hear you’ve been using StumbleUpon for awhile and getting some traffic. Hey, it’s traffic you didn’t have before right!

Hope you’re doing well… Great to see you again.

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76 Dan Sumner Twitter: danielsumner January 13, 2012 at 11:10 AM

Hey Adrienne, First off thanks for the plugin tip last week, it’s on and working a treat. Cheers.

Where do we actually stop, sharing, stumbling, tweeting, liking, it’s becoming a full time job just being social these days.

All I have on my blog are tweet and like, but I must admin on looking around some more blogs they have a lot more. It made me realize, that I should have more variety on my blog as I don’t have to be working the same networking circles in all of these just some of them i.e. Twitter and Facebook.

What is your take on this Adrienne, would you or do you work every social networking site? Does is soak your time?

Great post and thanks.
Dan Sumner recently posted..10 Ways to Stay Focused

77 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 13, 2012 at 1:09 PM: Hey Dan,

My pleasure, I love that plug-in and feel it’s a must for all blogs. Glad it’s up and running.

Boy, you’ve got that right. Being social can end up being like a full-time job but look at all the traffic and connections it can bring you. That’s the kind of job I’d like to have.

We may have our preference for social sites we are on the most while people who read your posts may have others. So let them share your content on the sites they enjoy. Just be sure and give them that option. You definitely need a wider variety of social buttons on your site and I hope you’ll be sure and include both of these.

I admit that I don’t work every social site. I am definitely on Twitter and Facebook everyday. I get on Twitter several times a day but just for a few minutes. I post to Facebook around five times a day but am notified by email when I receive a reply. I’m sure to answer that because people want to know that you are there. That’s how you stay connected. I do go on Google+ maybe once a day, trying to remind myself it’s important but it’s a newer site so I’m not yet a habit for me. I did get on LinkedIn for a bit there but I soon found that people just aren’t very social on that site. I don’t spend like hours on each of them but you definitely want to have a presence. That’s how you connect with people and build relationships. Hope that helped.

Thanks Dan and glad you enjoyed the post. Have a great day and a wonderful weekend.

~Adrienne

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78 KariTwitter: healthy_start_ January 13, 2012 at 12:18 PM

Oh sure! Leave us in suspense for Monday’s post!

I’ve got to admit that I just recently jumped on the social sharing part of being online – besides facebook and twitter. I didn’t really understand the benefits of it or how it worked, and I just never took the time to learn. Now I’m glad I took the time!

Treat people the way you want to be treated – share the way you want to be shared. Good rule of thumb.
Kari recently posted..Foot and Hand Reflexology

79 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 13, 2012 at 1:16 PM: Well, at least that will give you something to look forward to right! Oh yeah…

Oh girl, people love being social. They love connecting with others and reading good content or watching videos wouldn’t you agree? So when you have people sharing your posts with their friends because they thought it would be something they would enjoy, that’s just bringing that much more attention to your blog and that’s exactly what you want. Be sure that you have all the social sharing buttons on your site and I know you have the sexy bookmark plug-in. Give them enough options to share your content and you definitely need to have the Google+ button there as well.

Absolutely, treat people the way you want to be treated. That should be everyone’s mantra…

Thanks Kari and enjoy your weekend.

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80 Dee Ann Rice Twitter: deeannrice January 13, 2012 at 1:04 PM

Adrienne,

Those are two really good sources of traffic. I use both of them.

I am with you, I knew when Google came out with Google+ there was more to it than just competition for Facebook. I figured they would start including making more things searchable.

I love Stumble Upon and have used it for a long time but only recently put the button on my blog. Do not know why that is.

Great Post.

Dee Ann
Dee Ann Rice recently posted..Is Your Blog Backed Up?

81 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 13, 2012 at 1:18 PM: Hey Dee Ann,

I know a lot of us saw the writing on the wall. Let’s face it, they already own YouTube and they are the #1 search engine so although I’m not sure if they are really in direct competition with Facebook or not but they sure wanted their sites to show up in the search engines too so why not create a social one as well.

I think I only added StumbleUpon to my blog several months ago myself. See, I told you I’m late to the party a lot of times.

Hope the hubby is doing well today!

Thanks Dee Ann and have a great weekend.

~Adrienne

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82 Sherryl PerryTwitter: keepupweb January 13, 2012 at 3:08 PM

Great recap on the importance of sharing. As always, you’ve done an excellent job and I’m off to share.
Sherryl Perry recently posted..3 Steps to Develop a Branding Strategy for Social Media

83 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 13, 2012 at 5:26 PM: Thanks Sherry,

I think if we all do our part then we all win… Appreciate you commenting and sharing. As you already know, I’m more than happy to do the same.

Reply

84 Linda Twitter: IMarketerLinda January 13, 2012 at 7:17 PM

I have had a stumble upon account for quite some time

I don’t always remember to share people’s posts – if I remember, I will go back, but there are times when some people don’t have the sharing options, it can be quite frustrating, but that is their problem not mine..lol.

Excellent post, Adrienne.

Linda

85 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 13, 2012 at 7:42 PM: Girl, that’s why people will share your posts because you do the same for them. Make yourself a note when you’re commenting on posts to share them from now on. It’s makes a big difference. Of course for those that have their share buttons set up properly. I understand the frustration sometimes when they aren’t. I’ll usually send them an email letting them know that they aren’t set up right. The majority of the time they aren’t even aware and they are also missing out on a lot of traffic.

Thanks Linda and hope you enjoy your weekend.

Adrienne

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86 Dia January 13, 2012 at 9:08 PM

Hi Adrienne,

Excellent post my friend. Yep Google+ is the “thing” now when it comes to google. When it comes to stumbleupon, I don’t use it to be honest, but I know some people who have stumbled some of my posts and I got so many views. My only concern is that it is not targeted traffic, that is one of the main reasons why I stopped focusing on it. Thanks for sharing Adrienne, always love to come to your site and read what you have to say.
Dia recently posted..How to have a stress free life

87 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 14, 2012 at 10:23 AM: Hi Dia,

With StumbleUpon being more of a social bookmarking site there are a wide variety of people who visit and share information. Sometimes you won’t get targeted traffic but those numbers can help you move up somewhat in the search engines. As long as you make sure that whoever comments, their links are targeted.

I appreciate that Dia, it’s always a pleasure to have you and I always enjoy reading what you have to say. I appreciate everyone’s opinions and it helps me to learn too. I know I learn a lot from your blog as well. You keep me on the right track!

Have a wonderful weekend Dia.

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88 Annie Andre Twitter: annieandrehacks January 14, 2012 at 1:25 AM

Adrienne,
I have been mulling this issue since Google + has been taking over the scene. Resisting to get on the Google + bus as long as possible and slowly filling out my profile.
Do you find that Google + is good for a certain audience? i.e. you’re area is internet marketing. Naturally, you your readers and customers are on twitter, as well as google + and facebook but probably not myspace. But my true customers are not on twitter. Most are on facebook and none are on Google +. My customers have their name associate with a google + account maybe but nothing is filled out in their profile. I know this because, when people send me private emails asking questions about moving abroad ( kind of my niche) i take their email address and look it up just to see.

I think it’s may still a good idea to take the time to invest in Google + even if your customers are not on there. Because of one thing. a fellow blogger, marketer may share your content with their followers and your potential customer might be following them? Does this make sense? I’m speaking out loud and it sounds like it makes sense but does it to you?
Thanks,
I sure hope no one comes out with another social media sharing site that we need to join. I’m just petered out.
Annie Andre recently posted..How I Put My Adventurous Goals on Autopilot + Free Goal Setting Worksheet

89 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 14, 2012 at 10:43 AM: Hey Annie,

Well, I think you answered your own question girl.

When I first got on Google+ it was more targeted of course. I think the online business owners were smart enough to realize the potential of this becoming a fabulous social site that would soon move their content into the search engines. Not everyone jumped on the bandwagon but I think with the recent announcement you’ll now find more people flocking to it now.

Your current customers may not be on Google+ but that doesn’t mean potential customer aren’t. You definitely want people to share your posts on Google+ though because your post might catch someone’s eye that is thinking about moving abroad and your information is exactly what they were searching for. Make sense? Plus, since Google owns Google+ which posts do you think will show up in the search engines now above some of the rest? When your target audience is searching for what you share, don’t you want your content showing up first? Oh yeah, it can only help you in the long run.

Thanks Annie and have a wonderful weekend.

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90 Jeffrey MorganTwitter: jeffreymorganme January 14, 2012 at 9:58 AM

I do actually work for a living, ya know. You’re just two days in front of me at all times. I’m over there singing the praises of Google+ on Twitter this morning while you’re already informing the world last week!

Don’t you have a dog to walk or something ……. man!!!

I should have been a dog groomer ………. Kayla? Kayla?
Jeffrey Morgan recently posted..Getting It Right … With Your Post

91 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 14, 2012 at 10:49 AM: I saw your tweets and responded as well. You’ve been awfully quiet lately but oh yeah that’s right, you work for a living. Maybe the rest of us are just able to organize our time better. Ya think!

Well Kayla wouldn’t be one of your customers because she never needs a hair cut and my sister-in-law clips her nails for me. Mom gives her a bath so she’s good to go and she happens to need one today. Want to help?

Hey, relax a little and enjoy the weekend. You work too much!

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92 HajraTwitter: hajraks January 14, 2012 at 11:50 AM

Hey Adrienne,

Another of your blogging secrets

For me, Facebook has been the most helpful. Maybe because I am a part of two blogging groups of Facebook and we make sure we check out each others posts as published; so that helps me most.

I recently had come across Stumble Upon and I would agree with everything you have to say about it. It is a great recommend! Also, the variety of stuff it can expose you to is awesome! And what is to argue with Google!

Though I haven’t been an active user of Stumble; hoping to do it more often

Thanks! Hope you have a nice day!
Hajra recently posted..Will they call you over for a bloggers party?

93 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 14, 2012 at 12:15 PM: Hi Hajra,

Well, not really a secret. I did share in my blogging secrets post that you would share your content on bookmarking sites. I think that a lot of people ignore them and I would have to say that StumbleUpon is one of the largest that shouldn’t be ignored.

Google+ can benefit us in so many ways so it’s fast approaching as one of the big men on the scene.

I agree that Facebook is extremely helpful in that you can form groups and support each other. That’s extremely helpful in sharing each others content.

Thanks for the comment Hajra and I do hope you have a really wonderful weekend. Always enjoy seeing you and good luck with the contest.

~Adrienne

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94 Cathy | Treatment Talk Twitter: treatmenttalk January 14, 2012 at 12:39 PM

Hi Adrienne,

Another great post. I have been mainly using twitter and Facebook, so need to expand. I have accounts on all those sites you mentioned, so it is extremely helpful to have your input on where to put my efforts. I having a bit of trouble with StumbleUpon as when I’ve tried to stumble posts, it does not seem to take me to the page you showed. So will check it out and find out what the problem is. Thanks as always for the information. Looking forward to Monday. Take care.
Cathy | Treatment Talk recently posted..Purple Drank: A Deadly Cocktail in the Hip Hop Community

95 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 14, 2012 at 1:47 PM: Hi Cathy,

Thank you, glad you found this one helpful.

Twitter and Facebook were the ones I was mainly using as well. I would get so many requests to join new platforms all the time but they are time consuming wouldn’t you agree? I guess it’s learning how to manager your time so you can be effective on all these sites is the real key.

As far as StumpleUpon goes, when you Stumble a post and it doesn’t take you to the page I showed that’s probably because they already set it up which is good. The page I showed is where you will go to set your post up so that others won’t do it for you. If you’re given the option to “like” the page when you Stumble the post then that’s what you want to do. Hope that helped.

Oh goodie, I’m SO excited about my news on Monday! Thank you Cathy and hope you’re enjoying your weekend.

~Adrienne

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96 Ruth - The Freelance Writing BlogTwitter: rzive January 14, 2012 at 3:06 PM

I Stumble. But it confuses me. Some posts will bring 100′s of visitors through StumbleUpon and others just a handful. It seems so random to me. I definitely have to get more aggressive with Google+. Especially now that it’s going to be included in search information.

Thanks Adrienne for bringing me up to speed!
Ruth – The Freelance Writing Blog recently posted..Apparently, I’m a Business Troll – and I’m Damn Proud!

97 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 14, 2012 at 4:13 PM: I’m not quite sure why that works that way either Ruth… Maybe we need to hang around in more circles like we do on the other social networks. If and when I finally get this place figure out, I’ll be sure to update everyone with what I learn. There’s got to be a method to this madness!

Oh yeah, Google+ is a must for everyone. Hope everyone who hasn’t been on there yet will now.

My pleasure Ruth, glad this one helped.

Hope you’re enjoying your weekend.

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98 Lynn BrownTwitter: learnit2earnit January 14, 2012 at 6:39 PM

Adrienne I have to say that I got onto Stumbleupon last year through a referral from a mutual social marketing colleague. He explained the importance of Stumbleupon and pretty much shared what you talk about here. So I will Stumble everything that I can, that is of good quality content.

Another site that I find to be another growing in popularity is Tumblr. You might want to check that out as well. Both Stumbleupon and Tumblr are easy to add your blog posts, articles and videos to bring more visibility you you, your business and industry.

BTW …. I found this article on BlogInteract.com — a recommendation from Melanie Kissell … so I am a member now as well.
Lynn Brown recently posted..Is Follow Friday Hurting Your Online Marketing Efforts

99 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 14, 2012 at 7:43 PM: Hey Lynn,

Well good for you Lynn, that’s wonderful. You are way ahead of the rest of us.

I thought Tumblr was just a blogging platform or am I thinking of another site? Huh, I’ll have to look into that so thanks for the heads up.

That’s great news Lynn and so glad Melanie shared it. I didn’t think Brian was ever going to get that site back up. So glad he got everything back in order over there now. Glad to here you are over there too. The other one I would recommend is Blokube, are you over there yet? That site is owned by Devesh and he’s done a wonderful job with it. Check it out if you haven’t already. Great for sharing content.

Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend Lynn and thanks again.

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100 Janet CallawayTwitter: janetcallaway January 14, 2012 at 7:21 PM

Adrienne, aloha. My top sources are similar to yours. The Google + button makes a big difference. Quite honestly, I love doing searches and seeing my posts or a freind’s psot come up with the picture.

As you know, I too was a bit late to the party with Stumble Upon. However, the important thing is that we are there now and taking action. It’s such a simple thing to do and returns such benefits. Despite the fact that I have let Triberr friends know I will Stumble posts where the descriptions are complete, an amazingly high number of them do not complete the information.

Aside from the fact that while I am happy to Stumble, I am not happy to have to take the time to complete the description, Saul wrote an excellent post on why each of us should complete the description. As he said, if we do it ourselves, we can select the words/tags that we want to use. Makes sense to me.

Adrienne, I hope as a result of your post that more people start taking advantage of these two EZ sources of traffic.

Can’t wait to see what you have for us on Monday. Enjoy a terrific weekend knowing we are all eagerly anticipating whatever it is you will reveal on Monday. Until then, aloha. Janet
Janet Callaway recently posted..3 Questions Answered by Sir Richard Branson

101 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 14, 2012 at 7:49 PM: That is pretty cool isn’t it Janet? To see our shining faces underneath posts we’ve help share. I love that feature to be honest with you.

I’m really glad Saul did that interview with Andy because I had always been told not to Stumble your own posts which of course meant not completing the description. I actually thanked him for clearing that up and also let my tribe members know that they need to start implementing this on their own posts as well. Just like the TweetMe button, if you don’t have your Twitter ID set up I won’t be sharing your content. Same goes with StumbleUpon. You need to make this as easy for your readers as possible.

I hope so too Janet and anyone who asked me I’ll just divert them to this post. You can’t say I didn’t tell you that’s for sure.

I’m all set, the post has been written and just ready to cue. I’m so excited about what I have to share and I hope everyone else will be as well. I’m probably making it sound like some secret special something but I am excited to share this with everyone. So, Monday will be here soon enough.

Hope you’re enjoying your weekend as well. See you then!

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102 Paige Burkes - simple mindfulnessTwitter: paigeburkes January 14, 2012 at 8:51 PM

Hey Adrienne!

I just found you through Ruth’s site (http://www.freelancewritingblog.com/). I love it!

While I have all my social buttons in place and have since I started my blog a year ago and I share my own posts on FB, Twitter & LinkedIn, I’ll admit that I haven’t done much past that. I hadn’t heard much (nothing positive) about it up to now so I never bothered. Thanks to this post, things are changing. I just set up Stumble account and Stumbled your post and some others.

I set up my G+ account a little while ago and put the G+ share button on my posts but haven’t done anything past that. I’ve been putting that off thinking it’s yet another social site to figure out. I know I’ll need to move forward in this arena as I see some of the huge blogs leaving FB for G+.

Currently my readership is small and growing. As of today, all of my top referring sites are the sites where I regularly comment. I almost gave up on commenting until I saw that stat.

Thanks for all the great advice!!
Paige Burkes – simple mindfulness recently posted..The Free Guide You Need to Make This Year Your Best

103 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 15, 2012 at 11:27 AM: Hey Paige,

Ah, the lovely Ruth… So glad you decided to stop by for a visit. Welcome to my place.

I know what you mean Paige, I thought the same thing. Oh great, yet another social site I have to take the time to learn and spend time on it too. Oh sure, I jumped on early because people kept sending me invitations back when that’s the only way you could set up a profile. But I kept forgetting to pop in to see what everyone was doing. I had to actually remind myself to do that so now I share my blog posts over there too and like everyone’s posts that I visit and of course, like.

I was slow to the party with StumbleUpon as well. But better late than never right! Just as long as we finally jump on the bandwagon then all is well.

Oh Paige, blog commenting is SO powerful. What you need to do is venture out and find other blogs to comment on as well. Since this is your first visit to my blog, be sure to go back and read my post “My Secret To Blogging Success“. I started implementing what I learned at the beginning of last year and my blog went from nothing to what it is today. I shared everything I did to get it there in that post. I’m sure you’ll find that post very helpful.

Whatever you do, just keep up the work. It’s so rewarding, trust me.

Thank you again and have a wonderful day!

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104 Franziska San PedroTwitter: FranziskaSP January 14, 2012 at 9:47 PM

Hi Adrienne,
happy 2012!
I love sharing and I always get excited when I see my stuff shared on all these fabulous social media sites, platforms and search engines, too. I am still mostly on fb and twitter but I opened up to g+ and I try to use it more often. Also, I think I should do more on the other places, I think I just need to get more comfortable using them and get some routine and practice.

Thanks for the tips, great summary,

Franziska San Pedro
Flavor Designs
Renewable Lifestyle
Franziska San Pedro recently posted..What to Make With an Old Window Frame

105 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 15, 2012 at 11:32 AM

Hello to the lovely Ms. Franziska.. How are you my dear? Wonderful to see you and Happy New Year to you as well. Are you loving this weather Texas is having? Hasn’t it been nice? I hope you didn’t get the heavy rains we did at the beginning of last week. We were under water. But, we sure needed the rain.

Isn’t it fun to see that people like your content enough to share it with others? What a fabulous feeling and I guess that’s just one more reason I always have those big smiles on my face. It makes me so happy!

I know implementing new social platforms into our already busy daily routines is time consuming but it’s worth the time, even if you can only spend a few minutes a day on each one. You know people love to interact and see you around so it can only benefit us.

Appreciate the visit today and hope you’ve been enjoying your weekend. Have a beautiful day my friend.

106 Franziska San PedroTwitter: FranziskaSP January 16, 2012 at 10:32 PM: Thanks Adrienne!
I wish we had more rain up here, all the lakes are empty But I love the weather, it’s really mild and that means I can work inside the garage with open doors!!
Franziska San Pedro recently posted..How to Use an Art Project to Find Solutions

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107 dave friantTwitter: dvfriant January 15, 2012 at 12:41 AM

Adrienne, Adrienne, Adrienne,
How did I ever manage before coming to your blog? I always take away something of value. And I find myself with yet another thing for me to start doing. Your killing me girl, but thanks. It is because of people like you that I’m able to learn so much.
dave friant recently posted..How I Survived My 1st Week As A Stay At Home Dad

108 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 15, 2012 at 11:40 AM: Ah Dave, you are too funny!

Hey, I’m here to help all my fellow bloggers learn and grow so we can all get ourselves out there for all the world to see. I’m just so happy to hear that you continue to find value in what I post. I appreciate you sharing that with me Dave. It continues to reinforce that I’m on the right track.

Thanks Dave and have a wonderful Sunday!

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109 Sandy January 15, 2012 at 6:11 AM

Hi Adrienne,

i visit your site for few weeks, read your posts here and your comments on other sites.
Thanks a lot for sharing your tips and informations. i`m glad to find you and your site.
Your tips are very interesting for learning more about “online business.”

I start last year learning with a blogspot blog. Reading many sites, became tips, test things and methods. Please let me say: Thank you all for your “Hilfsbereitschaft” , sorry i can`t say it in english. On the sites, i visit, there is a great and helpful community.

in Germany, we say: “mach weiter so”

Wish you all a nice weekend and much success with your projects.

with greetings from good old Germany. Sandy

110 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 15, 2012 at 11:44 AM: Hi Sandy,

Glad you find my posts helpful and have seen a few of my comments on other sites. I enjoy helping others learn how to get their content out there for all to see.

I really appreciate all the kind words so thank you for stopping by and sharing that with me. It’s greatly appreciated.

Enjoy your weekend and have a fabulous week.

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111 Diane AkstenTwitter: fromthe925 January 15, 2012 at 8:14 AM

Adrienne: You and Ilka Flood have become my “go to gals” for social media tools and tips; I learn SO much from both of you!!

I have to admit that I haven’t embraced Google+ yet even though I’ve got an account; same for StumbleUpon–looks like I need to expand my horizons beyond FB and Twitter for 2012!!

Thanks for the awesome content you continue to provide,
Diane

112 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 15, 2012 at 11:48 AM: Hey Diane,

Ah, the lovely Ilka.. Glad you are able to learn from the both of us, that’s always good to hear.

Oh yeah, you definitely need to expand or you’ll be left behind. Thank goodness it’s still very early into the new year so start implementing these other traffic sources into your regular routine and I have no doubt you’ll be thrilled that you did.

You are so very welcome and hope you’ve been enjoying your weekend. Have a great week!

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113 FabrizioTwitter: vanmarciano January 15, 2012 at 11:00 AM

Very good insight Adrienne and thank you for sharing your 10 traffic sources; I also do quite well with StumbleUpon, twitter but still struggle with Facebook. I have not yet paid great attention to Google+ either but will certainly do more in the coming months with this social platform, I will also try and share the sharing love a little more too. I always love reading something new and educational from your blog, so thank you and btw happy New Year
Fabrizio recently posted..How Does Google Panda Change the Page Ranking Scenario?

114 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 15, 2012 at 11:52 AM: Hi Fabrizio,

My pleasure to share with you my top ten traffic sources. In the beginning I use to get more shared from other blogs but these traffic sources are definitely moving up now. Which is good news actually although I still get some great traffic from other blogs as well. That’s what I love about blog commenting so much.

If you ever need any help, give me a shout. I might be able to shed some light on these other social platforms that you are having difficulty with.

Glad you found this helpful and Happy New Year to you as well. Hope you are enjoying your weekend and have a really great week!

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115 Cat Alexandra from InternetMarketingSuccess Twitter: alexandra_cath January 15, 2012 at 4:55 PM

Hey Adrienne,

I love the theme of this post. One thing this big ol’ world could certainly do with more of is SHARING! I know it’s cliche, but cliches are cliche for a reason; they’re generally truisms! So the cliche I’m speaking of is this one: sharing is indeed caring. – It’s also a great way to build some camaraderie with peers, as you said.

I’m still getting the hang of Google+. This was yet another mystifying “do I really need to be doing this” kind of thing that I saw some people raving about or complaining about. I have found that I don’t get as many +1s as I’d like to see just yet, but I have also found that the more I am willing to +1 for others, the more willing they are to reciprocate in the same suit. This is generally the case with everything blogwise, or so I have found.

Thanks for the great information and for linking up Sergio’s blog. Looks like a fantastic place to be visiting!

Hope you had an awesome weekend!

Cat
Cat Alexandra recently posted..Grow your business by including an internet marketing success strategy

116 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 15, 2012 at 5:54 PM

Hey Cat,

Ah yes, we all need to be doing a lot more sharing and some have even admitted to just commenting and running off. Hopefully this post will be a reminder that we’ll share yours if you share ours. There are some posts that I share a lot of but never see them reciprocating so my thoughts on that will be from this day forward, don’t be shocked when you don’t see me sharing your content anymore. I can only spread the love so much you know!

I know there are so many new platforms cropping up but Google is one we just can’t ignore. They are the main one so we have to pay attention to what they are bringing to the table so if we aren’t sharing the love on Google+, we are all really missing out.

Sergio is truly a really great guy. Honest and genuine to the bone. If you haven’t visited his blog before you might enjoy it. He’s been pretty busy lately so hopefully he’ll have a new post up for us soon.

I did have a wonderful weekend, thank you for asking and I hope you did as well. Looking forward to a very productive week now.

Thanks Cat!

P.S. I’m scratching my head wondering why your comment always goes into the ones I have to approve. I have it set that the first two need my approval but from there it’s a go. Are you using a lot of different emails maybe? Can’t figure out why this keeps happening.

117 Cat Alexandra from Internet Twitter: alexandra_cath January 15, 2012 at 7:10 PM

Oh absolutely, Adrienne! I think it’s a timely reminder! I think it’s also just good manners for the newcomer to learn about.

I will admit that I’m still a little new to the whole experience here online and that some of these things just eluded me at first…but the more I do it, the more I see that “real world” habits/niceties truly do apply.

I agree with what you’re saying about Google+ too. I was just reading Praveen’s new blog about the way results are showing up in Google+. I was completely unaware of how this all worked. I think that it’s always important to learn how things work so they’re not so scary or offputting; much in the same spirit of keeping abreast of facebook timeline changes.

Glad to know you had a nice weekend. I had a good one too despite some worrysome family stuff that ended up working out okay!

Cat

PS – I’m not sure why my comments go into your SPAM folder. That’s pretty bizarre. I use the same info religiously, same email and all that. Let me know if you figure out what it is!
Cat Alexandra recently posted..Grow your business by including an internet marketing success strategy

118 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 15, 2012 at 8:57 PM: Praveen wrote a good piece about Google+ too so glad he was able to help you out there as well.

Also happy to hear that the family matter was straightened out. Good news.

They don’t go into spam but they are set that I have to approve them. It’s driving me crazy but I’ll figure this out one way or the other.

Thanks Cat… Have a great week.

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119 Viola Tam January 15, 2012 at 8:55 PM

Hi, Adrienne,

I appreciate your sharing with us. There are so many channels for us to get free traffic.
I shall have to invest more time in Blogging and get to get involved with more social sites such as Google Plus and StumbleUpon.

By the way, have you tips about PAID traffic. It is an area that I am to explore too. Heard of TribePro? What about The United Tribe?

I am hoping to get insights from you or other readers of your blog

Happy Blogging & Sharing in 2012!

Viola
Viola Tam recently posted..Network Marketing Success Tips: Brian Tracy (6)

120 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 16, 2012 at 8:27 AM: Hi Viola,

Your blog is your voice, it’s how people get to learn more about you and connect. You need to be sure and share your posts on the social networking sites but at the same time, share the people’s content that you comment on as well. That’s how you start building up more readers to your blog. You definitely want to be sharing and these two sites are a must.

I’m not a part of TribePro or the United Tribe so I can’t really say. I am a part of Triberr and that’s a free service but invitation only. I’m not much help with those two sites I’m afraid. Hopefully some of my other readers can shed some light for you there.

Thanks for the comment and have a wonderful day and week Viola! Happy Blogging to you as well.

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121 richardTwitter: richescornercom January 15, 2012 at 9:39 PM

Google and stumbleupon are my two biggest traffic drivers as well. Google is by far the more consistent, while stumbleupon gives me traffic in spurts. One thing with stumbleupon is that it helps a lot to use their su.pr shortener. That way when people share your links in other social media sites like twitter, you will also get a stumbleupon referral. Beyond that, I find that writing consistently is the best thing to do to get search engine traffic. I’m frankly behind the curve on my social media interactions, but I get traffic from Google just because I post consistently.
richard recently posted..Free Premium Services To Help You Save and Earn Money

122 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 16, 2012 at 8:30 AM: Thanks for sharing that with me Richard and it’s great to hear that these two are your biggest sources of traffic. That’s wonderful news and I’m happy to hear that. Appreciate the tip about their link shortener preference. That’s always good to know.

I’m sure you’ll catch up with the social networking sites. You’ve got the consistency part down on writing blog posts so that’s a huge plus.

Have a great week and thanks again!

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123 LeniaTwitter: YLifeYChoices January 16, 2012 at 8:51 AM

Hi Adreinne,
Very nice explanation about Google+. I have read about that in another post too but I find you present us the importance of sharing in Google+ in a clear way.
As far as Stumble upon, I have read many articles about the benefits of this network and there are many bloggers that present this network as the one that brings more traffic to their site. To tell you the truth I haven’t seen much difference in my traffic but maybe that is because I do not use it correctly. I have to learn more about how stumble upon works. I have already a profile and of course I just shared you post
I find you are right when you say that we should not only comment but also share the posts of the blogs we like and follow. It is a nice habit to develop and it is strategic because as you mention you give the motivation to others who comment on our site to do the same with our posts…
It is a benefit for everyone!
Thank you for sharing.
Lenia
Lenia recently posted..Blogging and Multitasking: Liberate Your Spirit

124 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 16, 2012 at 9:24 AM

Hi Lenia,

Glad I could explain the benefit to using Google+ a little clearer. I know what you mean, I’ve read so many posts but I guess was never really given the best explanation.

So do you use StumbleUpon because you don’t have that social icon on your blog. Which means people can’t share your content on that site. You want people sharing your content, that’s how it gets spread around the web. Be sure to set up these social icons on your posts because having them in the sidebar does no one any good. They aren’t going to go searching for them. You have to make it simple for them.

When you share other people’s content, they will see you as someone who is giving. It might take them a little bit of time to come around but they’ll eventually drop by your place to see what you’ve got going. That’s how connections are made and faithful readers are born. Welcome to blogging Lenia!

Thanks so much for your comment and hope this explanation has helped.

Have a beautiful day and a really great week!

125 LeniaTwitter: YLifeYChoices January 16, 2012 at 10:55 AM

Yes Adrienne,
It is true I don’t have the icon because I want to migrate my site on WP and then put it. It will be much easier. And of course you are right about make things easy for people to share my posts.
But I do have an account and I submit links manually! I know…it is not efficient that way. Unfortunately that happens when you start and you don’t know where to start and what is important at the beginning.
You explanation helps a lot.
Thank you.
Good day for you too!
Lenia recently posted..Blogging and Multitasking: Liberate Your Spirit

126 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 16, 2012 at 11:20 AM: Oh, you have a Weebly blog right now so are you moving over to WordPress soon? You also can just hit the social icons you have on your blog to share your own posts, you don’t have to submit them manually! That will help a lot.

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127 LeniaTwitter: YLifeYChoices January 16, 2012 at 9:32 AM

I am sorry, I wanted to write Adrienne. I am sorry!

128 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 16, 2012 at 9:39 AM: Oh, no need to say you’re sorry Lenia!

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129 SteveTwitter: stevescott1 January 17, 2012 at 8:31 AM

Adrienne,

I find both of these to be hugely important sites. Google + is even going to be a bigger piece of the pie since Google announced that it would tailor results based upon G+ friends visits. I am positive that Googe will keep pouring benefits into their system, and it will become more and more important to have a strong presence there.

Like you I get a lot of traffic from SU. I absolutely agree that it is worthwhile to pursue. I would say that the traffic from there also seems to come with a pretty high bounce rate, so perhaps it is not AS valuable as some traffic from sources that bring a little less…but bring traffic that sticks.

Still though… traffic is traffic and SU brings it!
Steve recently posted..How to Get 1 Million Website Visitors in ONE Year [Traffic and Conversion #4]

130 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 17, 2012 at 9:14 AM: Hi Steve,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on these two traffic sources. I mean how can you really go wrong with Google right! I actually love that they will now see the value of what we like through the sharing with our friends. Hope not too many people are missing the boat with this one.

I have a feeling that since I now have been using StumbleUpon more now that it will start moving up in the ranks as a good traffic source. I’ve heard conflicting things about it but as long as people check out my site, I’m happy. Really glad to hear that you feel pretty much the same way.

Hope you have a great week Steve and thanks for the visit today.

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131 ShonaTwitter: RishonaN January 20, 2012 at 6:52 AM

Hi Adrienne!

Great post; thanks for bringing StumbleUpon back to the forefront. It is one of those sites that gets buried underneath all of the other buzz sites (i.e. Facebook, Google +, etc.). I’ve neglected my own account on StumbleUpon far too long. Curiously, I went to “stumble” my latest blog post on there (after reading your post of course), and I got some sort of site error. It could have just been my buggy browser…but who knows.

Thanks again for the advice — it’s great to hear from other successful bloggers in regards to what works and what doesn’t!
Shona recently posted..4 Crucial Tools for Networking In Your Online MBA Program

132 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 20, 2012 at 10:22 AM: Hi Shona,

Glad you enjoyed this one and I was guilty of ignoring it myself. I don’t usually participate with sites I don’t understand or know enough about. I still don’t really understand everything about StumbleUpon but I know I should be using it. lol…

Those darn site errors. I can’t tell you how many times a day that type of thing happens to me. Seems like I’ll click on something and it won’t work. I’ll wait a couple seconds and click on it again and it does. I guess it was just having a moment.

You are welcome and glad you found this helpful.

Enjoy your day and have a really wonderful weekend.

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133 ben January 20, 2012 at 1:12 PM

When you Plus 1 a site does your gravatar show up in the search results for everyone, or just in your searches?

134 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 20, 2012 at 6:18 PM: It shows up for everyone Ben, that’s why this is so powerful.

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135 Tom Pinit from choromusicprojectTwitter: tompinit January 21, 2012 at 9:10 PM

Hi Adrienne, the proof, as they say, is in the puddin’. Since I started actively Stumbling Upon only about a week ago, my top traffic sources are now:

1. Direct
2. Facebook
3. StumbleUpon
4. Twitter
5. Feedburner

That’s impressive, considering I’ve been using Twitter since starting my blog in November. I have had a StumbleUpon account for years but it fell dormant. Now I see how powerful it can be, thanks to you!

136 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 22, 2012 at 1:56 PM: Hey Tom,

Thanks for sharing that with me and wow… I know what you mean, I had my account for years too but just totally ignored it. I love seeing that list of traffic sources for you, that’s awesome.

Glad I could bring this to your attention and you are now back on the StumbleUpon train so to speak. I have no doubt it will continue to creep up that list. I wish you the very best with that.

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137 mike from web January 29, 2012 at 9:45 PM

Thanks Adrienne some great info and tips. We’ve been blogging but more of it has been just to create content, and with the time, energy, effort and weekends it takes this years goal is to create more traffic..
mike recently posted..Developing Transparency in a Digital Age

138 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 January 30, 2012 at 8:33 AM: Hi Mike and welcome to my blog. I’m glad you found this post helpful.

Blogging is great to create content but you want to get to know people in your niche so that they will become more interested in what you have to offer. Theses are just two sources that you need to consider putting in your traffic arsenal. I have no doubt you’ll accomplish what you set out to do this year.

Thanks for stopping by and for your comment Mike. I hope you have a great week!

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139 LathaTwitter: estellalist February 27, 2012 at 8:52 AM

What is triberr? I need to get on stumbleupon more.
Latha recently posted..Local Business Marketing Online – What are you selling?

140 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 February 27, 2012 at 10:06 AM: Triberr is a community where you are part of a “tribe” that consists of seven people and you all share each other’s content on Twitter. It use to be by invitation only but they’ve now opened it up to anyone. I love it!

StumbleUpon is for people who really just love to search for all sorts of things but why not have them find your content right!

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141 Luis April 5, 2012 at 4:41 PM

Adrienne, I’m so confused, I’m new in internet and I’m looking for the best source to bring traffic to my website. There are so many roads, many sources and I would like your advice as I start

142 Adrienne Smith Twitter: adriennesmith40 April 5, 2012 at 5:22 PM: Luis,

The tips I provide are mostly for driving traffic to your blog. A blog is a way for people to connect with each other before they ever even learn about what you do. So I have several posts regarding this but not necessarily for just driving traffic to your website. The best way for you to accomplish that would be paid traffic because people are specifically looking for what you offer.

Here are a couple of posts for driving traffic to your blog that may help if you have a blog:

http://adriennesmith.net/30-ways-to-promote-your-blog-for-free/
http://adriennesmith.net/my-secret-to-blogging-success/

Hope you find them helpful.

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