Social bookmarking and SEO

I have asked a similar question before, but I didn't really get any response, so I am going to rephrase it and make it a little more specific, which hopefully will entice some of you to throw me some pearls of wisdom (*hint hint*).

I am aware how powerful social bookmarking is for building links and traffic, and I accept that it really has become almost indispensable, so I am not asking whether it is a good idea or not.

Rather I am asking how best to implement it in vBulletin. There are really a few options that I can see, and each has their own advantage. If there are more, please take the time to share your wisdom with the rest of us.

1) Follow the route that vBSEO.com has taken and have a small link for a number of social bookmarking sites in the footer of each post.

2) Use the vBulletin standard of a collection of links in the footer of the thread.

3) Both 1 and 2.

4) Just use the "linkbacks" dropdown in vBSEO which contains the links, but isn't very visible to users.

5) Use a JS based system like LinkThis or AddThis. I am not entirely sure how this would effect the content to code ratio though.

6) Use a few larger links of the more popular SB sites (e.g. Digg and del.icio.us) in the footer of each post. I know some bloggers have reported this achieving better linking, but I am not sure how well that would apply to something like vBulletin.


Right now I am using option 1 above, but I am seriously considering 5 and 6 as alternatives.

Let the education of John begin!

1 & 2 are good starting methods.

If you really want to promote it, I think 6 is probably the best way to go.

Joe, wouldn't it also make sense to try something like 2-3 larger icons for the most popular SB sites and the JS link for something like ShareThis so that people still have the possibility of adding others?

On that note, how would I add the JS code to be included among the links that are there already?

I have tried to insert the code into the template, but it always seems to be either above or below the existing links.

I already have a 'digg this' button in the top right of the first post of every thread on my forums. It is the small, compact version though. I may make it so you see the larger icon in the bottom right only if the post has been dugg at least once. I've seen similar things on blogs.

This is the if code I used to include the current 'digg this' button:

Code:

                <if condition="THIS_SCRIPT == 'showthread' AND  $post[postid] == $GLOBALS['qrfirstpostid']"> 
                <td align="right">
                        <script type="text/javascript">
                        digg_bgcolor = '#F1F1F1';
                        digg_skin = 'compact';
                        </script>
                        <script src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
                </td>
                </if>

I think they are all a waste of time on most sites.

Unless you run a tech/pc site, odds are 99% of your membership doesn't have a dig account, know what delicious is, nor understands the term social bookmarking.

Originally Posted by briansol

I think they are all a waste of time on most sites.

Unless you run a tech/pc site, odds are 99% of your membership doesn't have a dig account, know what delicious is, nor understands the term social bookmarking.

Yes, but if those 1% actually use the bookmarking, it makes a big difference to inbound links and gives some free traffic

At least that is the hope....

Don't mean to resurrect such an old thread but I had the exact same question as the OP. We have noticed that EVERY major hit our site has gotten has been due to a social bookmark of some type, primarily reddit, stumbleupon, and of course Twitter. Currently we only have the default vB social bookmarks implemented (down at the bottom of the page, where virtually no one ever sees them). I like the way vbSEO implements the icons but would like to see something like addthis (with a popup of more icons at the end of the list) in addition to this.

Additionally, I like the style of links vbSEO uses for its "threads and posts" social boomark linking but HATE the idea of members linking to individual posts. We have set vbSEO so there aren't really individual posts anymore, just anchors for post placement and I wouldn't want anyone to bookmark a post anchor within a thread...

It has been two year since this thread was posted. Are there any additional thoughts on where best to add social boomark links?

I saw this plugin on vb.org

Addthis Bookmark Integration - vBulletin.org Forum

but I feel you should have 4 or 5 primary links on the actual page and THEN a button for additional links.

Thoughts?

Hey Art,

We are planning a redesign of the social bookmarks for 3.5.2/3.5.3 that may be similar to what you are describing, the actual decision hasn't been made internally yet of exactly how to get it working though. As for linking to the specific post anchor or bookmarking that anchor to that post, many users actually like this feature as if you imagine in a 100+ reply thread it isn't always the thread or even that page which they want to link to it is the post that they are reading at the time.

Honestly it is what best suits your customers and you the best that matters but I personally recommend that you do use the vBSEO social bookmarking, especially once we do the updates in the next version or two of vBSEO.

Ceri

Ceri, thanks for the response. I have implemented the VBSEO bookmarks, and am looking forward to the next reveision!