Studio Eleven 11: +2,000 Visits in One Day with Stumble Upon!

So, way back when, StumbleUpon ("SU") was all the rage. People didn't think about putting content on the Internet without "stumbling" it. Then, other *new* shiny sites (like Twitter) surfaced and stole some (or almost all) of StumbleUpon's glory.

Well, I'm happy to say StumbleUpon is back and boy is it kicking! As a web marketer by career, I have the advantage of being on the leading edge of new trends. And when I saw a very large client of mine receiving tons of traffic to their site from SU, I immediately thought of using it for my Etsy shop.

So, let me tell you, the results are in and the results are good! Below is a snapshot of my Etsy traffic this month. Notice the tremendous spike? One of my items when viral! (Click image to enlarge.)

Stumble Upon Traffic Spike

This spike meant 2,200 visits in one day. That's huge!

Some may say the traffic isn't all that qualified and that's true. Visits from SU trend to bounce more and view less pages. But I think the intrinsic value of SU is its ability to touch a croud that may not have ever heard of Etsy, let alone you.

Case in point: I stumbled this patina anchor necklace. 3 hours later someone posted in on their Tumblr. Minutes later someone bought my anchor necklace. Pow! Gotta love it.

Here are the Pros' and Cons of Stumble Upon.

Pro's
1. EASY to use. Install the toolbar and you're off.
2. You can Stumble your own stuff.
3. You can pick categories to surf. I do this sometimes to get inspired.
4. Other people (bloggers, buyers, etc.) also surf categories for cool content. Stumbling your own stuff puts it in front of people to blog, buy, & love!
5. HUGE traffic if things go viral.

Cons
1. Traffic can be unqualified at times.
2. You can only Stumble something once.
3. Planning must go in to when you stumble something. If you stumble your item during slow times, not enough sharing will happen and your item will get "buried".
4. Traffic not sustainable. Without regular stumbling of new things, traffic tends to taper off.

Overall, for a minimal investment of time, Stumble Upon is great! And although it's not a sustainable traffic solution, it will help get your pieces out there to people who are interested. And who knows, maybe they will link or write about you and help you build traffic that way.

To learn more about StubmleUpon, checkout this video.