Title: Harnessing The Power Of Social Networks Word Count: 529 Summary: Okay, you have a social network account like Myspace and Friendster. Now how do you turn it into a marketing tool to increase traffic to your website? Well turning a website into a marketing hub is not as easy as just putting a link on the front page of your profile. It involves a very meticulous process which involves a lot of building groups and joining communities, as well as getting waves of online users to become interested in what your profile can offer. Here are som... Keywords: improve search engine rank, improve search engine ranking, search engine optimization Article Body: Okay, you have a social network account like Myspace and Friendster. Now how do you turn it into a marketing tool to increase traffic to your website? Well turning a website into a marketing hub is not as easy as just putting a link on the front page of your profile. It involves a very meticulous process which involves a lot of building groups and joining communities, as well as getting waves of online users to become interested in what your profile can offer. Here are some things for you to consider, to help you build a thriving social network. a.)A social network is about people who are trying to build groups and communities and who want to share a common interest. Overtly promoting your website or products on your profile may have detrimental results, not only to your start-up network, but also to your website. b.)Building a network doesn’t happen in a short period of time. It takes a lot of effort to ask different users to become your friend, or to become a member of your network. There’s no easy way to this. If you want quality, and targeted users from a specific region or city then you would have to make a lot of effort to share some common interest or meet a lot of people from that location. c.)Social networks usually organize their users or members into varying categories, based on age, gender, location, nationality or interests. It’s very easy to search for communities or groups of individuals who share a particular interest and to bank on them to build your social network. Investing your time to know more about these people in your category, can lead to a lot of benefits. Most likely, these users also have friends that are not related to you in any way, which they can tap and introduce your marketing concept to. As the ripple effect of social discussions take place, you will certainly notice your community getting bigger and bigger. d.)Once you have already formed a large following in your social community, maybe it’s about time you started sharing your marketing ideas to your members. Let them have a little peak at your products and services. Put a small banner on your profile telling people to visit your website or check out your services. Chances are, if you’ve got a large network full of interested people, you’ll be pushing in a lot of traffic to your website. If you generate enough fan-base, you will surely be able to create a snowball effect and drive BIG traffic to your website. e.) The next stage of the campaign involves maintaining your network. When you’ve already started driving people to your website(s), it doesn’t mean that your task is over there. That’s merely the beginning of your social campaign. Make sure to keep up the momentum and maintain a steady flow of users to your website. Slowing down on your social networking can really bring negative impact to your marketing campaign. Following these tips properly can drive traffic and help improve search engine placement for your website.