StumbleUpon is a social bookmarking site that allows you to bookmark all of your favorite websites. This also includes your own links, to help you generate free traffic to your website. However, as with any other social site, there are pros and cons to using the site.
The professionals
Free traffic. Stumbleupon, when used correctly, can generate large amounts of traffic almost immediately. This traffic shuts down in a few days, but it is continuous traffic nonetheless.
Build a network of friends. StumbleUpon also allows you to create a network of friends who will help you stumble across your content, and in return, you will do the same for them. This not only helps increase your views, but theirs as well. One of the best ways to make sure your friends stumble upon your content is by sharing your sites with them. This way, when your stumbling sessions start, your pages will be the first they come across.
Rate and leave comments. StumbleUpon also makes it extremely easy to rate and leave comments. You can comment on the StumbleUpon site, or you can leave your comments on the stumbling page if there is a comment box. Not only does this help you establish your credibility online, but when you leave a comment, others are more likely to do the same for you.
Build subsequent links. StumbleUpon allows you to customize your settings so that you can stumble upon a specific set of websites. This helps you find new websites where you can leave comments and re-link to your website. So it actually helps you kill 2 birds with one stone, so to speak.
The cons
Waste of time. Believe it or not, StumbleUpon can be time consuming. No, I’m not talking about when you upload a link, but with StumbleUpon you basically get back what you give. So if you want to be able to get a lot of views of your content, then you need to take time out of your day to stumble upon other people’s pages as well. The more you stumble over other people’s pages, the more you stumble over their pages.
Undirected traffic. I find that even though I get a lot of traffic coming from StumbleUpon, the traffic is not targeted and does not convert well. However, whatever traffic you can get is better than no traffic, as it will help give you a boost in search engines.
So really, Stumbleupon is a great website to help you spread the word about your website as the traffic it can generate is well worth it.