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Does your website need more attention? With a growing number of people searching for businesses online, the difference between getting and losing sales, clients, and contracts is becoming ever more thin. From online service businesses to local industry, the internet is rapidly becoming the world’s most popular business resource.

Yet so many businesses just don’t know how to be found. Whether you’re offering a boutique online service, tailored and delivered apparel, or simply a local service for customers in your neighborhood, the internet is without a doubt the best way to get noticed by your clientele. These ten social websites will help you raise awareness, boost online exposure, and boost sales.

1. Facebook

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If social websites had a leader, it would be Facebook. This giant social networking website has amassed a bigger membership base than any other online property – over 400 million users spread across almost every country on earth.

While Facebook is slightly more private than social news, bookmarking, and community websites, it’s an essential tool in any marketer’s arsenal. Whether you’re posting updates about your company or building a fan page to create buzz, put Facebook at the top of your priority list.

2. Yahoo Buzz

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Buzz is Yahoo’s primary community website, attracting millions of users from the ultra-popular search engine’s homepage. Built to share news, events, and local interest stories, Buzz is the perfect outlet for marketers and journalists looking to shake things up and attract attention.

If your company uses press releases, targeted news stories, and a blog to build attention, Yahoo Buzz could be the ultimate outlet. Sign up to the website – or simply use your existing Yahoo ID – and get busy contributing with votes, comments, and your own news stories.

3. Digg

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The granddaddy of social news websites, Digg was built as an experiment in web design by Kevin Rose in 2004. Since then the website has undergone numerous revisions and design expansions, each adding more functionality for social marketers looking to find an audience for their stories, press releases, and blog posts.

Despite the occasional rumor about the website’s profitability – or lack of it – Digg has remained a strong force on the web since 2004. New websites are routinely brought down by the ‘Digg effect’ – the potentially disastrous effect of Digg’s own web traffic to smaller submitted websites.

4. SlashDot

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Billed as ‘news for nerds,’ Slashdot is one of the internet’s oldest social bookmarking and publishing websites. An epicenter for all things tech-related, the website attracts the opinions, ire, and rants of thousands of geeks daily. From technological rants to code-related community projects, Slashdot has been responsible for some of the web’s most impressive community coding efforts.

However, it’s also been home to some disastrous predictions and half-researched stories. Marketers have had trouble cracking into SlashDot, largely due to the website’s tech-savvy crowd. However, if you’re in the business of processors, gadgets, or software, this is the place to be.

5. StumbleUpon

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Calling StumbleUpon a mere ‘social website’ isn’t quite right. Unlike its social bookmarking competitors – websites built on links, community response, and interfaces – StumbleUpon works as an independent function of most browsers. Users click the ‘stumble’ button in their browser, and are automatically brought to a content page that could interest them.

If your website is pumped full of rich content, useful advice, and engaging information, it’s perfect for StumbleUpon. Despite the platform’s slight focus on deep content and engaging social media, many short-term marketers and direct response advertisers have been able to turn StumbleUpon into a highly profitable media outlet.

6. Twitter

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If StumbleUpon is the engagement center of the internet, Twitter is an online refuge for those with ultra-short attention spans. The micro-blogging service has quickly become one of the most popular websites on the internet, attracting millions of active users from a truly huge span of countries.

However, it’s not the marketing goldmine that many believe it is. From low engagement levels to poor customer interest, a number of businesspeople and marketers have had trouble cracking into Twitter for anything more than web traffic. While some very public successes have been built using the micro-blogging website as a base, few long-term marketers have embraced Twitter.

7. Reddit

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A popular social news website with a love of all things sensational, Reddit is the ideal place to gain buzz for your timely, relevant, and potentially revolutionary business. While marketers occasionally trade stories of the platform’s limited attention span and penchant for all things instant, Reddit can be a powerful resource for businesspeople with a clear plan of action.

The beauty of Reddit lies in its depth. Unlike Digg’s rigid structure and limited categories, Reddit is home to thousands of different directories and category options, each more interesting than the last.

8. Del.icio.us

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Built by Joshua Schachter in 2003 and acquired by search giant Yahoo! two years later, Delicious is one of the most popular social bookmarking tools on the web. A truly giant directory of peoples’ favorite websites and online resources, Delicious is the ideal tool for marketers and businesspeople to monitor how effective – and how popular – their online properties are.

It’s also a highly convenient tool for keeping track of your own bookmarks. Sign up for a Del.icio.us account and you’ll gain access to an entire new network of rewarding content and cool resources, each ready to be shared with your friends, colleagues, and family.

9. Technorati

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The Google of the blogging world, Technorati is one of the world’s most popular social directories and an all-out goldmine for anything blogging-related. While currently limited to English language content, the overwhelming majority of global bloggers use Technorati as a reference for their blog’s popularity and influence.

If your company is invested in blogging as a social media marketing strategy, a dedicated effort towards Technorati’s many users could be worth its while. Search engine optimization extends beyond Yahoo and Google – often all the way to Technorati’s results page.

10. Newsvine

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A social resource for all things journalism-related, Newsvine is one of the most popular reference websites on the internet. Owned and operated by MSNBC, the website keeps no editorial agenda or news opinion, merely acting as a platform for users to distribute their own news online.

For many of those users, Newsvine has been hugely successful. The website promises 90% of advertising revenue for its users, dishing out the remaining 10 percent in referral fees and website maintenance. If you’re made the news, be sure to check out Newsvine for accurate, valuable, and inspiring community responses.

Content marketing is one of the oldest and most effective forms of marketing around. A mainstay of 20^th century newspaper marketing, content marketing has since developed into complex online marketing blogs, press releases, and ultra-specialized trade marketing materials.

At the top of the viral marketing food chain is the linkbait – a highly targeted, reader-friendly article designed to achieve massive online exposure. For businesses, there’s no better tool for gaining search authority and valuable online marketing power. If you want to make linkbaits a part of your online marketing strategy, read on to find out exactly how they can help you.

1. Linkbaits go viral quickly.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewfield/2306001896/

You’re the owner of a successful performance car parts store. After just a few months of operation, your business is already profitable, with a stream of returning customers and loyal service clients coming back week after week. However, your business needs an extra push – a new wave of marketing power and customer exposure.

After briefly studying online marketing, one platform seems to appeal above all others: article and content marketing. This is where the divide begins, between boring how-to or specialized articles, and potentially explosive link bait articles. While both provide long-term online exposure and growth, its delivered in a different fashion, and at a different speed.

As a marketer, you’ve got to put yourself in your audience’s shoes when marketing online. An article entitled “The fundamentals of a performance engine” isn’t going to attract attention outside of car enthusiasts and mechanical circles. However, a linkbait article entitled “10 Amazing Performance Car Accessories” will do just that – attract attention.

2. Linkbaits are cheaper than ultra-specific articles.

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There are two ways to gauge expense: through time, or through spending. While specialized articles – how-to guides, detailed case studies, and technical content – require serious expenses, most linkbaits can be created relatively quickly and inexpensively. Rather than hiring a professional mechanic or engineer to craft an article on car parts, most businesses can simply hire a motoring journalist or marketing firm at a lower per-article cost.

3. Linkbaits appeal to a wide audience.

Measuring the effectiveness of any online article always comes down to the goals and intentions of the marketer behind it. Some writers post their work to gain attention, others for SEO power and inbound links, while others do it to build their online credibility. Linkbaits, as their name suggests, are all about inbound links.

Inbound links require one thing: mass appeal. The greater the amount of readers, the higher the chance of valuable inbound links. By moving away from ultra-specialized content and focusing on wide, reader-friendly, and marketable linkbaits, your business could receive the online SEO boost that you need.

4. Linkbaits can be consumed quickly, but leave a lasting impression.

Speed readers will know how wildly a piece of writing can control reading speed. Light fiction texts lend themselves to quick and easy consumption, while dense academic studies and papers require constant analysis and revision. These analytical requirements share one more difference – a change in the level of involvement and connection.

While complex texts and difficult pieces require intense concentration, they typically fail to involve the reader or present any long-term recognition. A faceless academic study requires work for consumption, while a light piece of fiction or a magazine article can be quickly glossed over in minutes.

Linkbaits follow the second principle: simplicity and connection. While frequently dealing with topics that just aren’t that personal, most linkbaits tend to connect with readers more effectively than in-depth articles and complex guides. Accessibility counts for a lot, especially online, and many businesses are better off using simple and effective linkbaits instead of difficult, complex, and intimidating studies.

5. Linkbaits are favorites for aggregators and communities.

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Traditional articles act as a funnel for content. Effort goes in one end, and is subsequently diluted to the point where it’s almost completely ineffective in amassing an audience. Rather than maximizing the promotional value of their content, most articles deal with topics so irrelevant and ineffective that businesses end up limiting their promotional audience right from the start.

Linkbait articles are a magnet for content. By employing a list structure instead of a typical article, writers no longer conclude the conversation with their content, but start it. Top-10 lists empower readers to comment on their own personal favorites, while how-to lists invite readers to chime in with advice and information. This involvement aspect, one that’s so often missing from traditional articles, is what makes linkbaits such a hit with news aggregators and online communities.

6. Linkbaits are thin on connection, but deep on branding.

It’s not difficult to tie “The Best Moto GP Crashes” to your motorcycle business. While most articles appeal to an audience that’s already invested in your niche or industry, linkbaits give businesses an avenue to attract new customers to their niche. While most linkbaits provide little in the way of personal connection or tailored advice, they provide a lot for businesses looking to brand themselves.

7. Linkbaits are fun!

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Product manuals are boring. Traditional marketing materials are headache-inducing. Advertisements can be fun, but they’re mostly useless as an SEO resource. Few online marketing materials are fun, especially outside of the entertainment industry.

Linkbaits give marketers an avenue to entertain and engage their audiences. The reason for the popularity of list and “how-to” style articles is clear – people enjoy reading them. When your business promotes itself with content that prospective customers enjoy, then you’re already a step ahead of your competition and certainly a step closer to becoming the online leader in your niche.

8. Linkbaits are short, punchy, and social-media friendly.

Pay-per-click advertisers are constantly complaining about social media platforms. Engagement is low, click-through rates are abysmal, and overall ROI can be disastrous, especially for eCommerce and affiliate products. The human element of social media takes away marketing power, especially for companies that have built their success on marketing to audiences that want to buy.

Linkbaits, however, are different. There’s no direct marketing goal for a linkbait article, only an indirect SEO goal. Their short structure, punchy and quick content delivery, and perfect topic choice for conversation makes linkbaits one of the most effective resources for marketing on social media. By bypassing the purchasing aspect of marketing altogether, linkbaits have moved social media from an unmarketable platform into one of the most valuable marketing resources available.

Linkbait articles are one of the most effective tools in any online entrepreneur’s arsenal. While many businesses prefer to outsource and subcontract their online promotion, an ever-growing wave of online businesses are taking promotion into their own hands. Whether you want to write a linkbait article from scratch or simply edit one that’s been written for you, these eight must-have features will help you create something that generates attention, discussion, and – if required – controversy.

1. Style your headlines on the New York Post.

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When it comes to bizarre, attention-grabbing headlines, no tabloid newspaper comes close to comparing to the New York Post. From sex scandals to mundane daily events, every possible news story was reported as if it was a play-by-play disaster recap, complete with ludicrous claims and sensational photos.

Online content is all about competition. When there are millions of articles out there for viewers to read, what’s going to drive them towards yours? Use a tabloid-style headline and get attention right from the beginning, then drive it home with content that lives up to the hype.

2. More than one image.

The blogger standard seems to be a single image at the top of every post, but a great linkbait article requires much more than just one image. Structure your article so that images can weave between paragraphs and major talking points, giving you an opportunity to clarify in the caption. If you need a fool-proof guide for adding images to your linkbaits, try keeping a 1:200 images to words ratio.

3. A list, comparison, or how-to guide.

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Look at the front page of any social bookmarking website and you’ll see an awful lot of one thing: lists. Online readers, particularly those that consume a lot of media per day, prefer lists and how-to articles for their simplicity and reader-friendliness. Lists attract attention online, even if the subject is somewhat dull and uninteresting. The next time you find yourself stuck promoting a dull niche or business, use a list or how-to article to make your writing more marketable.

4. A casual, reader-friendly tone.

Finding the perfect balance of simplicity and readability can be difficult, especially when you’re writing for a mass audience. While it’s tempting to go “newspaper-style” and write a piece that wouldn’t be out of place in a tabloid, many marketers and writers find that this type of content simply doesn’t gain that much attention.

Instead, write as if you were speaking to a friend or acquaintance. There’s no need to be too formal, but at the same time it’s best to keep things reasonably clean. Keep sentences relatively short and don’t let your article become something that it’s not. It’s never worth sacrificing readability for complexity, especially if your article is aimed at a wide audience. Leave the academic terms for a thesis and keep things simple.

5. A resource box.

The point of a linkbait article is, not surprisingly, to generate links and online attention. As noble as it may be to put a piece out to raise attention and awareness, most marketers want to make sure that the online exposure is directed in their direction. When it comes to linkbait articles, this attention and exposure is channeled through a resource box.

Whenever you publish an article externally, for example on a directory or a niche-related blog, use a resource box to make sure you get due credit. Include links to your business website, a short writer profile, and any other information that you think is relevant.

6. A valuable blog or publishing platform.

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linkbait articles are typically promoted through social bookmarking link services – Digg, Delicious, or Reddit – and rarely gain attention without a valuable or authoritative publishing platform. A two-post WordPress blog is unlikely to be enough to put your content on the front page, though a leading industry blog could be.

If you don’t have an established blog or website, don’t be afraid to use someone else’s. Most bloggers are very comfortable with guest posts, especially if they come with a chance to hit the front page of Digg. If you’re stuck between publishing on someone else’s blog or creating your own, it’s best to use the external blog and work your way towards your own successful publishing platform.

7. Humor, controversy, or enlightenment.

One of the internet’s greatest strengths is its ability to provide content for everyone. Whether you’re interested in Mongolian wrestling or designer shoes, there’s specialized content out there for the thin, highly interested portion of the online population that you belong to. This niche-based content is great for webmasters and companies that grow through long-term customers, but for linkbait marketers it’s a strategy to avoid.

Don’t provide content that only interests a tiny portion of the internet. Go wide and create articles that everyone is interested in. If you’re having trouble thinking of anything to write, stick with the three topics that have consistently provided results for short-term article marketers: humor, controversy, or enlightening content.

8. Topicality or timelessness.

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Pick one or the other. You can either create an article that will be relevant the moment it hits the social bookmarking and aggregator websites, or an article that will be relevant all the time.

Timeless content includes life and business advice, personal stories or anecdotes, or top-ten lists that aren’t based on current pop culture. It doesn’t generate attention as quickly as current content, and it has a minimal chance of going viral, but it does give you a long-term linking resource.

In contrast, topical content rarely provides long-term traffic or online attention, but it generates extreme short-term exposure. Highly successful in social bookmarking communities, topical content is the best pick for marketers that need rapid exposure and a quick wave of online attention.

Smart marketers don’t stick with one strategy or another – they combine them. Shape your output to resemble both a newspaper and a magazine. Provide sensational short-term articles when required, but back them up with in-depth features and long-term link resources.

There’s no shortage of content on internet marketing, but unfortunately most of it simply isn’t applicable to most or even slightly practical. With the world of online marketing rapidly changing, thousands of businesses are forced to completely change their plans, all at the drop of a hat. Despite being highly effective, when not built on a scalable strategy, internet marketing quickly falls apart.

Luckily, there’s an online alternative to the hustle and bustle of traditional internet marketing. While thousands of businesses engage in an all-out fight for low quality links, smart businesses are giving their fans, customers, and audiences great content, and are picking up valuable exposure naturally. Through some slick and interesting linkbait articles, your business can go from a one-on-one linking strategy to an ultra-powerful, low-maintenance online marketing method.

If your business is getting tired of endless reciprocal linking and low quality writing, check out these four reasons to build your long-term marketing strategy with linkbait articles:

1. Linkbaits are popular, no matter what your niche is.

Some niches are, let’s face it, a little bland. While it’s difficult to craft a brilliant article on stained wood, it’s certainly not impossible. The greatest thing about linkbait articles is that once they’re out there, they quickly become popular. Invest some time into a great linkbait that covers your niche and you’ll end up with some serious online exposure, powerful SEO backlinks, and explosive popularity.

2. You don’t promote linkbait – other people promote it for you.

There’s one rule for online content marketing: write things that are worth reading. Simply put, the majority of press releases and grand advertisements just aren’t effective for connecting with a wide audiences. Instead of sinking thousands of dollars into a media-level press program, create an article that will appeal to your audience. That way, you’ll have thousands of people passively promoting you, all while you sit back and plan your next marketing move.

3. Linkbait doesn’t just generate links, but viral exposure.

Most internet marketing articles are good for one thing only: SEO. Instead of being designed as mindless keyword fodder, link baits are written to appeal to a die-hard audience of fans. As a result, you’re not just generating links when they spread from website to website, but real viral marketing exposure. There’s no need for separate viral marketing and SEO strategies with linkbaits – just create some ultra-fun articles and get your audience busy reading, linking, and talking about you.

4. Linkbaits are linked to 24/7, causing passive SEO power.

Link building is a tedious and often unrewarding task – one that can suck up resources and slow work output to a crawl. Search marketers despise link building, as it’s such a mindless task that even outsourcing it is uninteresting.

So why not crowdsource it? Linkbaits aren’t built using the same template as a standard SEO article – they’re interesting, eye-catching, and above anything else, 100% linkable. Instead of wasting time and money on manual link building, craft some popular linkbaits and enjoy completely crowdsourced link building for your web presence.

Amongst internet marketers, linkbaits are the holy grail of link-worthy content. Designed to attract attention, inspire backlinks, and bring in a wave of social media traffic, linkbait articles are a favorite amongst search marketers and viral marketing experts.

So what exactly is a linkbait article? Put simply, it’s an article that’s designed to attract links and online attention. Rather than the standard, somewhat boring internet article, linkbaits are designed from the ground up to draw readers’ attention, entice people to click through, and finally, encourage people to link back to the article itself.

Unfortunately, not many marketers know how to write great linkbaits. For every truly inspiring article, there are hundreds of imitators and poor copies. These five simple tips will help you get your linkbaits up to scratch, and potentially help you untap a highly lucrative online marketing method.

1. Give it a good headline.

Most headlines are boring. They’re non-descriptive, uninspiring, and patently uninteresting. Online, it’s a constant battle for clicks between you and your competitors. With a boring title, no one is going to click through to your article. Spend an hour or two brainstorming great titles, and don’t settle for something that doesn’t shock, inspire, or entertain you.

2. How-to guides and lists are where the money is.

If you’re writing a quick list of tips on painting, don’t just call it “Painting Tips”. Add some inspiration, and make it clear that it’s a list. “5 Ultra-Useful Painting Tactics” is going to draw attention from painters and art enthusiasts. Lists are gold for click-through rates, especially on ultra-popular social bookmarking websites. Feel free to experiment, but for guaranteed clicks it’s best to stick to the list or how-to format.

3. Keep your sentences short.

People love to skim read, especially online. Long sentences might be great for explaining and expanding on topics, but they’re overkill for link bait articles. Keep sentences short and you’ll find that readers finish your article; bloat them unnecessarily and you’ll lose people halfway through.

4. Bullet-points are either your best friend, or your worst enemy.

When used properly, bullet-points are a great addition to a linkbait article. However, there are a few guidelines to stick through. Before you start your article, get your notepad ready and note them down:

• Keep bullet points short.
• No more than seven words per line.
• Indent them from your paragraphs.

5. Don’t be afraid to use pictures.

They say an image is worth one thousand words, but when it comes to linkbaits it could be more accurately described as ‘one thousand extra views’. Simply put, adding images to your linkbaits gives you an edge that few online articles have. You’re more linkable, more interesting, and significantly more reader-friendly. Spend the extra time and find a great image for each and every article.