Here is the next in my series on link building. I don’t want to go to mad in this post as I am aware that my previous posts were a bit text heavy. I promise I am going to keep this post fairly simple, short and to the point.

Ok, social bookmarking and networking what’s all the fuss about?

With the introduction of Web 2.0, the social aspect of the web has exploded. Websites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and Digg have taken hold of the internet world and people now flock to them in their millions.

So much so you would be absolutely stupid not to take advantage of this market. Most social bookmarking and networking sites immediately "No-Follow" any links on their sites, so you may be wondering what benefit to your SEO campaign you can achieve by spending the time adding a link on one of these sites. It’s quite simple, the main aim of social networking is to do just that, network and interact with like minded people.

The beauty of social networking is that you are opening yourself up to a highly targeted audience. There are many like minded people out there, so if you take the time to explore the networking sites you will find fan pages in your niche area. By taking part in conversations, posting status updates, posting articles etc on these pages, people will begin to get to know and trust you.

Why is this important I hear you scream? The more you take part, the more confidence and trust you will gain from the other users. As they are all like minded to you and are also participating on a fan page in your niche, they are more likely to click on your links....Ah ha the penny has dropped.

So, going back to my original question i.e. how can social bookmarking and networking benefit my SEO? Well it’s not in terms of higher rankings, but in more click throughs to your website, which ultimately is what we all aim for.

It doesn’t end there with social bookmarking though. There is also a plus side in building quality followed links. By participating you will be conversing with other people who may have websites that are directly related to yours. By making friends with them they will be more open to adding a link on their sites to yours. Bingo.

To summarise, social networking is the way forward. The golden rule is to genuinely take part and not use it as a portal solely to gain links. By taking part properly you will reap better rewards and build valuable relationships for current and future projects.