SEO Trends for Industrial Business - The Digg Effect

What is Digg?

Digg is a community-powered news and content website with a strong focus on science and technology. Huh? What that means is that all content is submitted by everyday users such as you and me.

How does Digg work?

After submitting content such as news, videos and humor, other users browse and read your submission and Digg what they like best. If your content receives enough Diggs, it is pushed to the front page for over one million users to see and comment on.

Definition: Power to the people Web 2.0 style.

What is "The Digg Effect"?

Digg is a global 100 site currently ranked as the 86th most popular website in the world according to Alexa.com. This means one thing; if your site hits the front page of Digg, prepare for a quick surge in traffic that reaches into the thousands.

Defined by Wikipedia.com, "The Digg Effect" is the phenomenon of a popular website linking to a smaller site, causing the smaller site to slow down or even temporarily close due to the increased traffic.

A close friend of mine works as a Web Analytics Manager for a company that has had content hit the front page of Digg on multiple occasions. According to him, you should expect at least 10,000 visitors when on the front page, and approximately 3,000 - 5,000 over the next 5 days.

That sounds manageable, right? Well that is just half of "The Digg Effect." Since making the front page of Digg most likely means that you have provided some sort of unique and interesting content; there are people that are willing and ready to share the content with the world.

And how do they share it with the world?

They share it through their blogs, social bookmarking, and even through some of Digg's competitors. My Web Analytics buddy said that they receive just as much traffic from the "sharing" on sites such as del.icio.us, reddit.com, and online blogs.

Will it help my Industrial Business?

This is the big question. And the answer is… maybe! Before attempting to hit Digg, research and answer the following questions:

1. Are people within my industry users of Digg?

2. Is content related to my industry popular on Digg?

If not, answer the following questions:

1. Is there something within my industry that will or has had an affect the mainstream?

2. Is there anything within my industry that people may find humorous?

3. Is there anything controversial within my industry that may have a mass appeal?

Remember, reaching the front page of Digg can't hurt your Industrial Search Engine Optimization.

The importance of incoming links to your SEO strategy is something to keep in mind when it comes to "The Digg Effect." If you in fact want your website to succeed with the chief search engines, a key component of your SEO strategy must focus on the importance of incoming links. Assuming that Digg users find your content unique and interesting, you will receive incoming links from a variety of sites around the web. Link building can be one of the most difficult aspects to any SEO strategy, which in my opinion, makes "The Digg Effect" a sweet deal!

Digg Competitors

Reddit.com

Slashdot.com

Netscape.com

Note: Your primary focus should be offering unique and valuable content to Digg users. The hits and links you receive in return are just gravy. If you do attempt to Spam Digg, users will recognize it and immediately "Digg Down" your submission.

Ecreativeworks is a Minnesota Web Design Firm offering SEO Services.