How to Quickly Boost Blog Traffic from StumbleUpon, 7 Ways

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By: | April 30, 2017 | Tags: , , |

StumbleUpon helps #Bloggers get massive blog traffic #BloggingTips

Update:

StumbleUpon folded in July of 2018. Mix, another content curation site, replaced StumbleUpon.

More information about Mix:

Alert: Do You Need More Sites Like StumbleUpon?

It’s been 18 months since I started the Mostly Blogging StumbleUpon group.*

I’m happy to report the group is still going strong.

Can the site that was once called “the darling of the industry” still bring massive blog traffic?

Absolutely! Furthermore, this post will explain how I did it in just one day.

This data-driven post, presented in case study format, will show you irrefutable statistics that StumbleUpon works for bloggers to effectively raise their page views.

What is StumbleUpon?

StumbleUpon is a popular content curation site that has the potential to bring massive traffic to your blog. Millions of articles can be found there.

According to Quora, the site boasts over 15 million members.

According to 2017 statistics, StumbleUpon is used by 0.4% of all websites.

The content you’ve already written gets promoted at the site. You have the potential for massive exposure leading to mega traffic for you. However, there is one catch: Other people need to stumble your links in order for you to receive the mass traffic.

Whether there are penalties if you stumble your own links is debatable. Some people say as long as you promote (stumble) other people’s links, you can promote your own there.

I heard the ratio is 30 to 1. For every article of your own you stumble (share to SU), you need to stumble 30 articles written by other people. The LivingForNaptime blog recommends stumbling 10 others for every one of your own you share.

You stumble by clicking the thumb up button. This is equivalent to liking the article. On the contrary, the thumbs down doesn’t mean you necessarily dislike the article. It simply means you don’t want the site to show you articles like this again. You’re not interested.

However, there is evidence (articles I’ve read) that say the site actually penalizes you if you stumble your own links. What’s the penalty? Why a loss of traffic, of course!

Stumble Upon Case Studies

Consider these comments from Barbara, a blogger:

I would like to ask you about StumbleUpon. Is it still worth it to use it for the promotion of a blog? Because in some of your older posts you mentioned it as a good source of traffic to your website. However, after I have signed up recently, I didn’t really get any traffic from there, only spent a lot of time by stumbling and liking lots of posts and articles, without any reciprocation. Do you have any advice on how to use it the right way? Thanks for your help ?

My response:

Thanks for writing me and reaching out. You asked how to get traffic from StumbleUpon.
Step 1. Someone needs to stumble your link. I stumbled your ‘Venice’ link.
Step 2. You need to stumble other people’s links. Please stumble my link for me: https://www.mostlyblogging.com/social-media-attention/

Additional ways you can get traffic from StumbleUpon:
There are Facebook groups designed to stumble your links and like your links already there. They are reciprocation groups, just like the reciprocation I described in Steps 1 and 2. They have very strict rules, so make sure you follow them.
I have had the most success with this group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1078584682183900/
Follow those steps and then let me know if you start seeing traffic!

Notice: I requested Barbara stumble my post 6 Ways to Easily Get More Social Media Attention.

This conversation occurred on November 12.

Look what greeted me on November 13, just one day later:

#Bloggers can get massive blog traffic with StumbleUpon

Let’s see what caused the booming spike in my page views on November 13:

#Bloggers can get high traffic from StumbleUpon

It is not likely that 6 Ways to Easily Get More Social Media Attention would have picked up an additional 93 page views almost 48 hours after publication. I believe the cause is StumbleUpon.

Let’s look and see.
#bloggers can use StumbleUpon to get high blog traffic

17 of the hits were coming from StumbleUpon. That seemed low to me. I explored another theory:

#Bloggers can get high page views with StumbleUpon

The fact that my newest article about evergreen content was included in the total was not surprising. When people give a thumbs up indicating they like an article at StumbleUpon, it kicks off an avalanche of similar topics. Since both were written by the same author, me, it is not surprising that both articles were getting page views.

Look at Barbara’s comments that greeted me on November 17, just five days later:

Thanks, Janice!
Wow, it’s really working, I have never had such high traffic, ?terrific, thank you for your help.
I stumbled your link.
Regards
Barbara

Note: First, when Barbara admitted to stumbling the link to my post, the speculation ended. She explained she stumbled the link to my analytics post which was getting the traffic from StumbleUpon.

Next, and more important, the post started with Barbara concerned she wasn’t receiving traffic from StumbleUpon despite her best efforts. I stumbled her post, and within five days she reported receiving traffic from StumbleUpon to her blog.

I have heard, and my experience supports this, that sometimes it takes years for pins to get visibility after being put on Pinterest. The upside is that Pinterest pins have a long shelf life.

The downside is that people who like to see immediate rewards may have to wait years.

Not so on StumbleUpon. I waited one day to see traffic! Barbara let me know within five days that she had received high traffic. The results were quick.

 

#Bloggers can use StumbleUpon to get massive blog traffic

November 25, as the screenshot shows, I received 108 hits to my blog from StumbleUpon. I’m pleased! These results are routine for me.

how to increase blog traffic

On March 12, I received 55 page views from StumbleUpon to my blog. You may not think this is a huge amount of traffic. It isn’t, but it’s consistent. Consider these comments from the Traffikd blog, “StumbleUpon can send traffic for months and maybe even longer. The initial burst of traffic from SU may not be as big as with some other sites, but it will last much longer.”

Note: If you are a subscriber of MostlyBlogging, I’d be happy to stumble your links like I did Barbara’s. Leave me your link in the comments section of our StumbleUpon group page.

How to Receive Blog Traffic from StumbleUpon

  • You can ask people in my Blogger Collaboration group to stumble your links.
  • My StumbleUpon group exists just so you can ask people to stumble your links.
  • Join Facebook groups with reciprocal threads where you can get your links stumbled. StumbleUpon Blogger Adventures will stumble your links for you if you reciprocate by stumbling the links of everyone in the daily thread.

I’m sure there are many other stumbling groups on Facebook. Just check the Facebook search bar. Type in StumbleUpon + group. According to blogger Anna Nuttall, reciprocal threads are responsible for all the traffic she’s seen.

  • The Post and Share group on Facebook stumbles my links when I ask them. You ask to have your post shared, and you share someone else’s.
  • You can stumble your own links and then stumble 30 other links that are not your own.
  • Have a StumbleUpon sharing button on your site. This will encourage people to stumble your links by making it convenient for them. They can stumble your post link right from your blog instead of copying your URL, going to the site, and manually adding it.
  • Look what Mainy, a blogger, does: StumbleUpon can bring #bloggers mass traffic

Does posting a request at the top of all your blog pages work? Look:

#bloggers can get mass traffic from StumbleUpon

Mainy already received 56 stumbles to this article January facts and figures written just two days before.

How to Use StumbleUpon

I find it’s fun to connect with readers away from the blog. We find each other and follow each other there.

Do you have directions for following people? Apparently, I am not following anyone! GASP!! From Jen, Practicalbydefault

Kesavan offered an explanation as to how people can follow each other on StumbleUpon.

Kesavan advises, “Just ask the user id of the specific stumbler. For example, my id is kchristo7. If you want to search for me, you just have to put this in the search bar– http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/kchristo7 . To search you, I will put http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/janicewald in the URL bar.”

Mostly Blogging StumbleUpon Group Updates

Famed blogger and author Ryan Biddulph joined our StumbleUpon group.

Testimonials

Blogger Matt recommends StumbleUpon so highly, he’s blogged about all the reasons why in his post, StumbleUpon Referrals. Matt calls StumbleUpon easy and important. According to Matt, “I have been very happy with the traffic generated so far.”

Author and blogger Gary Jefferies reports SU is his #1 traffic referrer.

According to the Batches of Beauty blog, “StumbleUpon is definitely an amazing traffic resource. It’s something a lot of bloggers underestimate.”

Tots100 claims, “As a blogger, if your content is being stumbled, then Stumbleupon can be a great source of traffic.”

According to Anna Nuttall, “StumbleUpon has been a brilliant source of blog traffic.”

The Traffikd blog claims receiving traffic from the site isn’t just fast, it’s easy. “With StumbleUpon, you don’t have to have an immensely popular submission to get a few hundred visitors. Just a few users giving you a thumbs up [liking your post] can cause a significant amount of traffic to follow.”

The strongest praise came from MarketingCharts.com when they observed a few years back, “StumbleUpon refers more traffic to publishers [of blogs and websites] than Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Google+ combined.”

SearchEnginePeople agrees that the site not only drives more traffic than Reddit, but provides three times the blog traffic than Reddit provides.

StumbleUpon is a content curation site that can bring #BlogTraffic

Additional Benefits from Using StumbleUpon

In closing, using SU has additional benefits. Bringing traffic to your blog is just one of them.

The additional exposure in front of such a wide audience can establish you as a thought leader in your niche according to blogger Kathleen Maclean.

Also, you can find new blogs to read. If you are a blogger who researches before writing a post, SU is a valuable site to find blogs to cite in your articles. The site is definitely a resource for you for these reasons.

Readers, please share so other bloggers know StumbleUpon is still a viable site for blog traffic and about its other benefits.

What are your experiences with StumbleUpon? Would you recommend the site? Has it generated traffic for you? If not, do you plan on giving the site a try and having other people stumble your links?

Note* I started the StumbleUpon group with Michael Rios‘s help. He promoted my StumbleUpon group while I promoted his Reddit group.

Related Posts

3 Tips That Will Make You See Awesome Blog Traffic from StumbleUpon

This is the Way to Stumble into Wonderful Blog Traffic

This is the Way to See Staggeringly High Blog Traffic: StumbleUpon

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  2. m

    Great info Janice! I’m not that versed on StumbleUpon but you helped me! Heading over to your group and I signed up to your blog

    Reply to this message
  3. John Doe

    Of all the social media choices, I think by using stumbleupon one has the best chance of the post going off the charts

    Reply to this message
  4. Missy

    Thanks. I rarely use StumbleUpon, but I’m going to work on using it more.

    Reply to this message
    • Janice Wald

      Hi Missy,
      If I inspired you to use StumbleUpon more, that’s great if it gets you the results you want. Thanks for writing to let me know.
      Janice

      Reply to this message
  5. Gary Jefferies

    Thanks for the shout out Janice. According to my stats SU is out scoring traffic by 50:1 on a bad day. Last week my peak was 352 from there, which is small compared to some but for me that was huge having only recently started using SU as a promotional tool. One trick I have tried is privately messaging my followers on there with a post I want stumbling and reciprocating with their links. Along with FB groups that is really making a difference.

    Thanks for sharing this and will be onto your author spotlight later this week!

    Reply to this message
    • Janice Wald

      Hi Gary,
      I’m looking forward to the author spotlight. Thanks for all the StumbleUpon help you gave me this week.
      Janice

      Reply to this message
      • Gary Jefferies

        Hi Janice,
        I have one more to do next week which, if you enjoy music, will be a hoot! Then I’ll be onto yours. No problem re SU, although I’m no expert!

        Gary

        Reply to this message
  6. Charles

    Stumble is the worst – It won’t even allow me to change my pic! Hopeless. Totally disappointed, cheers Charles.

    Reply to this message
    • Janice Wald

      Hi Charles,
      I did write back sooner, but there were glitches, and it’s not here, so I’m trying again.
      The fact that you can’t change your picture at StumbleUpon is disappointing but understandable. If you’ve gone in through Facebook, change your Facebook picture, and then your picture should change at StumbleUpon.
      Janice

      Reply to this message
  7. Jitendra Vaswani

    Hey,

    I agree with you. Not only Stumbleupon but also Pinterest is an amzing source to increase your website traffic exponentially. Just a bit research and you can rule these social Media.

    Thanks for the post.

    Reply to this message
    • Janice Wald

      Hi Jitendra,
      It sounds like you’ve had success at both StumbleUpon and Pinterest. Congratulations. Sadly, a lot of the research you speak of takes time. I still work outside the home, so time is not plentiful for me.
      Thanks for writing.
      Janice

      Reply to this message
  8. Barbara

    Hi Janice,
    thank you for the mention and for the whole post explaining why still worth to use StumbleUpon. It helped me to understand better how it all works.
    I really appreciate what you are doing for other bloggers! I have retweeted this post and also stumbled it.
    Today I posted an interesting post about Florida, so you are welcome to Stumbled it if you like it 🙂
    Thanks
    Regards
    Barbara

    Reply to this message
    • Janice Wald

      So sorry I was confused over whether your name was Barbara or Barbaria. I will happily stumble you post. We worked as a good team before to get us both traffic. We can do it again.
      Janice

      Reply to this message
  9. Shalaria LeNoir

    Thanks for the mention and such a detailed update on one of my favorite traffic sources!

    Reply to this message
  10. Hugh Roberts

    I’ve had lots of success with StumbleUpon. One of my posts has received over 3,000 hits from it. That’s the highest to date. I’ll certainly join your SU group, Janice, and, of course, flip this post.

    Reply to this message
    • Janice Wald

      Hi Hugh,
      Thanks for your comments on my StumbleUpon post and all your help with Flipboard this week. Thanks as well for flipping my post.
      Janice

      Reply to this message
  11. Mozie

    Hey Janice,

    Thanks for the great Stumbleupon tutorial. I haven’t tried Stumbleupon in-depth yet, looked a bit weird popping around to random sites, but once in a while to a great one I like. But after seeing your post, there’s definitely more potential there. Thanks again!

    Mozie

    Reply to this message
    • Janice Wald

      Hi Mozie,
      I am glad I could inspire you to use StumbleUpon more with my post. Thanks for writing to tell me. I’m sorry my reply was delayed.
      Janice

      Reply to this message
  12. Barbara Radisavljevic

    I’ve been using StumbleUpon since reading one of your previous posts. It has brought in lots of traffic, but it’s also increased my bounce rate since many people will give you a thumbs up and then immediately stumble again. What is your experience with the bounce rate from StumbleUpon traffic?

    Reply to this message
    • Janice Wald

      Hi Barbara,
      I am sorry about my delayed response. I thought I replied.
      I thought I wrote: I agree StumbleUpon hurts your bounce rate. However, due to my Meet and Greets, the culture of my blog is to leave and go to other people’s blogs. I’ve written other articles about how to improve your bounce rate. This was about how to get traffic from StumbleUpon.
      Janice

      Reply to this message
  13. Rebecca Flansburg

    In all my years of blogging (10 to be exact) I have never considered StumbledUpon. Now in 10 minutes I;ve read @ great articles on how it works to raise traffic. I am ALL.OVER.THIS! Thanks for the heads-up. Stopping by from the Blogger Pit Stop 🙂

    Reply to this message
    • Janice Wald

      Hi Rebecca,
      My apologies on my delayed response. I thought I responded.
      Thanks for clicking my link over at the Blogger’s Pit Stop. Wow! 10 years blogging– congratulations. I am glad I could inspire you to use StumbleUpon. Thanks for writing to tell me.
      Janice

      Reply to this message
  14. Kohram

    Thanks for sharing this stuff. I totally agree with this. Very well mentioned.

    Reply to this message
    • Janice Wald

      Hi Kohram,
      Thanks for writing to tell me you enjoyed my article.
      Janice

      Reply to this message
  16. Alena Sham

    This is one of the most concise pieces of action points that I have ever come across. I guess this one post can sum up the entire content of your blog. I’m going to come back to this post again and again and make sure that I check them off like a bucket list. 🙂

    Reply to this message
  17. Muhammad Tabish

    Hello Janice,
    This is Very nice Article Appreciate For The Share, StumbleUpon is Most Popular Social Network,
    Well Written, Keep Sharing and Keep Up The Good Work,

    Have a Nice Day Ahead,

    Reply to this message
    • Janice Wald

      Hi Muhammad,
      Nice to see you. Thanks for commenting on my StumbleUpon article. I agree it’s a popular site which is why I blog about it every six months.
      Janice

      Reply to this message
  18. Arun Kumar

    These steps are actually working very well, and I have an enormous amount of traffic from stumble upon. As a newbie of blogging im so struggles to get initiative traffic from search results and keyword rankings. But this is the very good alternative way is actually working and I had made my first income from the blog. Please, guys, don’t miss steps to unlimited traffic from stumble upon and earn money from your blog. Just try these steps to be happy with blogging.

    Reply to this message
    • Janice Wald

      Hi Arun,
      Thanks for writing me with this strong testimonial about the value of StumbleUpon for traffic generation. I have a post coming out this month about my StumbleUpon group. If I use your comments in the post, I’ll link to your site. I’m sure you know that will help your SEO.
      May I ask where you found my article? I always wonder.
      Thanks for writing me today.
      Janice

      Reply to this message
      • Arun Kumar

        Hi Janice.
        Im so happy about your reply and I fond this post from facebook. One of my friends is sharing to me to read this post.

        Reply to this message
  19. DEXTER ROONA

    Hey Janice, good work your post is in the top 10 for Generate traffic with stumbleupon 😉

    Reply to this message
  20. Wiola

    Oh, such a great article. I have one question though. What happens if someone click on thumbs down button? Can your blog suffer from that?

    Reply to this message
  21. Janice Wald

    Hi Priya,
    Thanks for writing. I’m glad my StumbleUpon article was helpful for you. Let me know if/when you start seeing blog traffic. I have a StumbleUpon group for my subscribers; it’s a stumbling service. If you’re interested in joining us, let me know.
    Janice

    Reply to this message
  22. Pingback: How To Get More Traffic: 101 Crucial Tips From Top Experts
  23. Shyam Chathuranga

    Thanks for the great ideas. I’ve been using StumbleUpon since 2011-12 and then I stopped using it for some reason. Now I’m back on SU and I’ve got 50-60 pageviews from SU for many of my articles after the comeback, but the last couple didn’t do well.

    Going to try your SU Group idea now.

    Reply to this message
  24. Ramans

    Awesome article! This article contains powerful information on setting up a Stumble profile effectively to increase traffic on website. Thanks for sharing such valuable information.

    Reply to this message
  25. Himadri Saha

    Hi,
    StumbleUpon is dead now and the new successor is Mix. I have written a nice step by step article in my blog about how to drive traffic from Mix. Would you like to add the link in your article so that yours readers get updated information?

    Thanks.

    Reply to this message
  26. Anas Ahmed Siddiqui

    Hey, I was looking for paid traffic on the web saw this post and wanted to let you know that Stumbleupon have now moved to Mix and closed its paid traffic service. All of the links on this post links tot he old url.
    Cheers.

    Reply to this message
  27. Rohani Sharma

    Hello sir
    StumbleUpon is dead now and the new successor is Mix. I have composed a decent well ordered article in my blog about how to drive activity from Mix. Okay get a kick out of the chance to include the connection in your article with the goal that yours perusers get refreshed data?

    Thanks You

    Reply to this message

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