For those of you don’t know, StumbleUpon is not a drinking game. It’s also not a card game or a yoga move, but we supposed it could describe what happens if you walk in on your parents.
StumbleUpon is a discovery engine that can help you target a new generation of users who spend a lot of time on their computers. If you target them properly, they’re likely to “stumble upon” your website and add it to their favorite online activities list.
Contrary to common belief, middle-aged men with nagging wives and a passion for risk-prone games are not the only group who likes online gaming. (Check out our infographic if you don’t believe us!) Over the past few years, we’ve found strong evidence that affiliates might also run into 16-year-old Scandinavian girls winning thousands of dollars at online poker tournaments (shoutout to Annette Obrestrand), and they should not be surprised when they find plenty of introverted, my-voice-is-still-changing professional poker players winning the top prizes at the World Series of Poker (what’s up Tom Dwan and Peter Eastgate?).
A new generation of online gamblers has emerged, and affiliates should be prepared to welcome them as their new demographics.
How Exactly Do I Find This Audience And Get Them To Stumble Upon My Website?
This is the question running through your head right now, and the answer is a lot simpler than you may expect. Use Social Media channels—where this group is spending a lot of their time. Forget Facebook and Twitter, though.
StumbleUpon is a website where (mostly) young web surfers spend several hours searching websites related to their interests, such as sports, fashion and engaging online games. The way that StumbleUpon works is that users give ratings to recommend highly-qualified websites to other users based on their interests. This video might give you a better idea of how the website works:
Now, let’s get down to business.
There are several things you can do to get your website featured on Stumble Upon and we narrowed them down to a short list to make it easy for you.
- Get a StumbleUpon account. StumbleUpon allows users to recommend websites that they find interesting and then shares them with like-minded users while they stumble, so you could be the first one to recommend your site or you could give it an extra like to gain relevance.
- Get recommendations from current users. You may not be aware that some of your existing website visitors already like StumbleUpon. You can mention StumbleUpon on your discussion panels (providing free propaganda doesn’t suck) and encourage your users to either recommend you and/or like your website when they stumble upon it. You might want to go as far as encouraging your visitors to create an account there.
- Make your site friendly to younger demographics. You can do some research on what younger online gamblers like and add a thing or two that will seem welcoming to them on your site. In that way, when they stumble upon your website they will recommend it for more users to see it. We are not saying that you should add links to the next Lady Gaga concert, but something that fits your site’s style and existing online gambling culture.
- SEO Skills. You need to be on top of your SEO skills because this gives you, as an affiliate, maximized control over getting your website to be seen by potential users. The same keyword principle applies whether it is on Stumble Upon or Google.
Do you like Stumble Upon? Do you think attracting younger demographics is worth the effort for your site? Share your opinion with other users at our StumbleUpon forum!