What To Expect From Digg (And How to Get On Front Page!)

I don't claim to be an expert on Digg, but I have managed to get on the front page the last couple of times I've tried.

First let's start with how to get there:

1 - Good content is the first thing you need. Without it, even a front page link will get buried without remorse. This means that only interesting unique content should be submitted. Stop with the crappy articles that only exist to sell something- they won't make it past the upcoming page.

2 - Get friends. Get a lot of them. And use the "share" feature after you digg your article. This will make sure that everyone on your friends list gets a link to your article. If you have a couple of hundred friends, it won't be uncommon to get out of the "upcoming" section in no time. (Provided you have good content). To get friends, commenting on upcoming stories is a good idea.

3 - Respond to as many comments as you can without making it look like spam. Users sometimes go for stories with high comment counts. Also, some choose to view stories by how many comments they have.

4 - Don't give up until 24 hours is over. After 24 hours is over, you won't be able to get on the front page. Ever. When you do get on the front page, you need to keep getting diggs to get on the top 10. This is where your content quality comes in. If it sticks, your story can stay on the front page for up to 12 hours straight!

5 - Take the advice of those who digg you. If they mention something wrong in your article, fix it as soon as possible before a hold stream of digg users echo the same remark, and flood your story with negative comments.

What to Expect

1 - Expect to get 30,000 uniques, depending on how good your content is, and how long it stays on the front page. You better get that bandwidth ready, you'll be needing it. I generally go through 4-8 gigabytes worth of bandwidth just on a few images and text.

2 - Don't expect a good CTR on your ads. Digg users don't like clicking ads, and that's a fact. Don't be surprised if your CTR is 0.1%. I generally get up to $50 per front page I get.

3 - Expect a bunch of back links! This is where you get most of your benefit. You can literally get hundreds of backlinks from people who blog it, and from other social networking sites that seem to get the same story after digg does- even if you don't submit it.

4 - Expect your stumbleupon and Delcious bookmarks soar into the sky. This is a great effect of the digg effect- you get tons of bookmarks and SU traffic afterwards. This keeps traffic coming even after your story hits the abyss.

5 -Expect your article to be ripped apart by digg users. There are tons of users who would love nothing more than to bash what you have to say, point out small menial errors, and generally bring you down. The best thing to do at this point is to take their opinion with a grain of salt and let it slide, and be sure to click the bury button on their comment . (plenty of times digg users report something isn't true, but they are indeed wrong, correct them to prevent more negative comments)

That' all! Good luck, diggers. And feel free to green me if you thought this was helpful

 

Great Information!

So you have made it on the front page of DIGG? that is amazing.
I am going to have to have a go at it.

 

"All it takes is one to invite a group to be a team." -- Christopher Avery

Seems like, according to what you have suggested here that getting on the front page of Digg is much the same as getting on the front page of any well managed Internet source. Good content, interaction with visiting users, and being responsible to the accuracy of your content.

There is a article on Erratic Wisdom that mentions a few more things (I would link but I'm not one of the beautiful people yet). Search for Getting the Most out of ++Digg on Google, and you'll get the article.

He suggests a few other ideas I found interesting; such as lowering the bounce rate on your web site. Glenn Hefley on his blog suggests that a bounce rate of more than 30% is a real problem. Do you believe that bounce rate has an effect on the acquisition and/or maintenance of a digg article?

 

nice article its very helpful +rep for the information

 

great tips .. truly !
thanks alot

 

Good tips thanks for the info - Digg is a hot topic

 

Thanks for the tips man, I will certaintly try a lot of them out.

+REP =]

 

Great information.