If you haven't been using social bookmarking sites like, Digg.com and Digg-like sites, to generate traffic you are missing out on a large consumer potential. As the net becomes more interactive and users gain more decisiveness on what is and isn't "quality content," Digg-like sites continue to pop up to serve virtually every known online niche.

Digg is still a leading website when it comes to user generated and voted content. However, the site still does not cater to every niche. It is mostly a playground for techies and gadget geeks which leave those who write for other niches off the front page, and in some cases, off the website in general. Thus, more and more people are starting Digg-style sites that are niche specific.

These sites do pretty much the same thing that most social bookmarking sites do, which is to help people get their social news, while helping authors get their work exposed.

For Emarketing related content people are finding places like PlugIM.com and MarkTD.com are sending them more traffic than Digg ever has. Many websites, including Digg, are anti marketing which means that small business related topics rarely make it to the front page. However, finding and using a Digg-like site that pertains to your niche can greatly increase your traffic.

Some of theses sites offer a Digg It button to place on your site and if so, use it. The easy way for publishers to hasten their entry into the Digg and Digg-like ecosystem is to add this button or link to pages on their sites.

Surprisingly, considering the importance of social bookmarking, few publishers have done this. Having a Digg It button on your website encourages user participation, which increases your article exposure, traffic, and, ultimately, your sales.

Before publishing on Digg, look for "vertical" Digg-style sites to publish on because you will most likely receive more traffic from these sites because, even though they are much smaller, they are more closely related to your niche.

There are several lists online that you can use to find Digg-like sites that work for you. Simply Google your niche and the terms "Digg-like", "Digg-style" or "Digg clones."

Keep in mind however, that these are all communities that you have to be active in to gain the real benefits. That means submitting content frequently, voting early and voting often. Many webmasters admit to getting traffic from leaving comments on other users' content almost as much as they get traffic from their own content.

As it gets harder and harder to reach Digg's front page, people will be looking elsewhere for their social news. Web masters should consider trying all the Digg-like sites out there that relate to their niche to see what does well for your site's content. And if worse comes to worse and you can't find your niche in any category create your own Digg-clone.