SEO beginners and experts alike can learn pretty quickly what constitutes good and bad SEO tactics and strategies. For example, black-hat SEO practices like keyword stuffing are universally regarded as scam-like, second rate ways to get noticed on the Internet. However, one aspect of search engine optimization that is a bit newer — and therefore, has fewer rules — is social bookmarking.

From an SEO perspective, the goal of social bookmarking is to generate one-way links back to your Web site. These links should increase traffic and ultimately conversion ratios. If your site is placed on a social bookmarking outlet like Digg or del.icio.us, you are virtually guaranteed to get at least a few one-way links back into your site.

However, if you’re going to perform social bookmarking to enhance your on-page SEO efforts, you must never forget that this activity is first and foremost a social networking activity. Do not treat it as a spamming effort to get more traffic. This attitude and approach will work against you.

Do not create multiple social bookmarking accounts. Social bookmarking sites are too smart for this trick. They will ban you. Remember: you are performing an SEO activity that also serves as a social networking tool.

The next mistake a lot of people make is writing blatantly promotional blurbs about their businesses. If you write a social bookmark is if it were a press release or a PR statement, it will do you little good. You must create a blurb that is informative, funny, or witty. Remember: Every Internet legend starts with one good idea. Sites that are heavily trafficked acquired popularity because millions of Internet users found them to be valuable.

Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist Blog is a great example of a site that is successfully trafficked. Trunk was able to create a network of career bloggers as her site grew in popularity, because thousands of users liked her advice and bookmarked her blog. Be like Trunk: Give your readers a tip or a service, and they’ll bookmark you because they think you are original, savvy, and smart.

As is the case with other SEO efforts, social bookmarking is dependent upon key words. Use a smart, keyword-rich description for your anchor text, and more people will flock to your entry. Focus on key words that are specific to your industry, and combine them with a hot buzz word or commonly searched synonym.

Make friends on the Internet. This is the biggest aim of social bookmarking — remember, it’s all about social networking — and one aspect that so many people forget. Read other blogs in your industry. Leave comments. Bookmark your friends. Join online groups, chat forums, and blog rolls. When you’re marketing your business online, your competitors can number in the millions. There is no such thing as too much SEO -oriented, positive social networking. Just remember: keep it ethical.

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