Social networking sites nowadays have gone beyond their original purpose. Today, it not only helps individuals build and develop personal relationships with other people, but it can also help businesses market their products and services as well as generate traffic for their website.A User-Friendly Guide to Using Social Networking Sites to Generate Website Traffic,Although there are many social networking sites in the Internet today, all of them are basically founded on the same principles. You can certainly use the following steps for any social networking site you decide to join.

Step 1

Create an account in a social networking site. To do this, you’ll need a valid email address. Make sure that you use an email address containing the domain name of your website like social_networking@myshop.com. If you are allowed to customize the domain name of your social networking account, use your website title or name if possible. You’re after exposure and brand recognition here so the more times you display the name and link of your website, the better!

Step 2

Start working on your profile. Most social networking sites will allow you to talk more about yourself and you should take advantage of this. Talk about your shop and encourage visitors to drop by your website. Provide as much contact details as possible to build a credible and trustworthy reputation for your online business.

Step 3

Start designing your profile page. Just as it is with other websites, HTML is also ideal for designing your social networking account. This makes it easier for search engine spiders to index your page. Design your profile page according to the preferences of your target market. As most social networking sites are populated by teenagers and young adults, you’d have to work on giving your profile page a ‘hip’ look if that’s the market segment you’re targeting. Start adding accounts. To expand the size of your network, you’ll have to add two types of accounts: individual members who could be your future customers and members like you, promoting your website, and who could be your future suppliers, retailers, distributors, affiliates, or joint venture partners.You could add them directly or if that’s not possible, issue an invitation to check out your account and give them a brief explanation about what they could expect to enjoy when they visit your account and consequently, your website.

Step 4

Host RSS buttons and links to your website on your social networking profile page. This will serve as a constant reminder of what else you have to offer.

Step 5

Many social networking sites today offer ways for users to post blog entries or any other content on their profile page. Take advantage of this and use the same content from your website. Don’t post everything; leave a little to the imagination and encourage them to visit your website if they want more.

Step 6

Take advantage of the other features of websites. Friendster, MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, and other well-known social networking websites all have their own unique features that could generate traffic for their website.

Step 7

Take the initiative to periodically update members through the various communication methods offered by the social networking sites.These seven steps will get people to visit your website but you still have other things to do to convince people to stay long enough at your website to avail of your products and services.