With Twitter being one of the top social communities on the internet, it just stands to reason that you need to advertise your presence there in as many places as possible.
Let’s face it; generally people are lazy. You have to give them the easiest way to find you as possible. And one-click Twitter widgets are an excellent way to share your latest micro-blog posts as well as allowing visitors to start following you on the Twitter site.
Places To Add Twitter Widgets
Of course you will want to add a Twitter widget that shows your latest posts to your website, preferably on every page and toward the top to make it attention-getting and easy to find. On your blog, a Twitter widget is appropriate to include in the blog sidebar since this is a static element but the widget will update continuously.
But don’t forget about other places where you have an internet presence. Add the widget to your Squidoo lens and any social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace. Any site that allows you to add HTML code of Javascript will support the Twitter widget. Major platforms such as WordPress or Blogger make it easy to add the appropriate script.
Types Of Twitter Widgets And Badges
A Twitter widget can be as simple as an image of the iconic little blue bird that visitors easily recognise along with a message that says “Follow me on Twitter” and connects to your profile. There are also many designers out there who offer customised buttons, or badges, with your user name, as well as graphics that are a bit out of the ordinary. Which you choose relies solely upon your personal preferences and how you want to incorporate it into your overall website design.
More commonly, it is a widget placed in the sidebar of your blog that lists the latest micro-blog posts of one user (your personal or business account) so visitors can see what you are talking about. Some sites providing Twitter widgets also include Javascript code that you can manipulate with colors and design that matches your page design. Generally, listing three or four posts is recommended (although you can change this number in some widgets); as too much becomes information overload.
Newer widgets can be much more specific, pulling posts that relate to a certain keyword. These posts are extracted from all users, so you will provide content that is not just yours, but all that is particularly relevant to the subject matter of your blog. This provides a service to your blog’s visitors – an advantage in gaining new blog subscribers.
The best way to use Twitter as a marketing tool is to reach the largest number of interested or qualified followers. And the best way to gain followers is to use Twitter widgets that make it quick and easy for people to click and add your updates to their home page.
See you at the top of Google!
Sean Rasmussen
SEO Australia Pacific
AussieSEO.com © 2007 - 2010
Thanks for the great post about twitter widget!
Where did you get this really nice button for “Follow me on Twitter”?
Be well
Volker
There are many free Twitter button images available Volker. Try searching Google for “twitter buttons” and you are bound to find more than you can poke a stick at
I love those little sayings that we all use. Call me crazy but I’m a bit cheeky and sometimes will “challenge” the person by asking something like “hmmm, so exactly how many can you poke a stick at? I’m asking because I was wondering just how many there actually are. ”
[Note to Sean: I am not really needing a number]
I have a friend for whom English is not his first language and whenever he hears saying like “more than you can poke a stick at” he gets really confused.
What I have always wondered is if there are any stats on what type, colour, etc of widget has greater click rates?
I have changed the position and sizing of my widgets to make the site look a little better, but this may adversely impact on the CTR. I guess I will have to keep an eye on it over-time and go from there.
.-= Cemil´s last blog ..Affili@syd – Affiliate Marketing Conference =-.
Never looked into that Cemil, it’s good to see you are thinking about the split testing side of things
I saw a post recently but can’t locate the URL but from memory it was about where on a page was the best place for an AdSense block for the highest click-through. They found that it was a triangular area just under the heading. If you can imagine the apex of the triangle being just under the header on the left hand side of the page and one side of the triangle extending down the left of the page to about 5 to 10 cm and then up to a point about 80% of the screen width to the right side of the header. The “hottest” point being just above the centre of that triangular area. I wish I could find that URL
Google Adsense provides a heat map for ad locations Ray. Not sure if this is the one you are referring to: https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?answer=17954
It was similar to that but not the one I was thinking about.
Thanks for the tips for using twitter widgets. There seems to be so much science involved in even the type of colour and size and where it is placed makes a difference to people clicking on it or not.
.-= Jackie Stenhouse´s last blog ..Falling Pregnant =-.
Hi Sean,
Thanks for the great information on Twitter widgets. I have been using just a standard widget but I’ve been thinking of adding the Twitter widget where people can add their own Twitter profile.
I just thought it might make my blog a little more interactive and it gives people a tiny piece of turf.
.-= Jazz Salinger´s last blog ..Learn and Earn – It’s a Marathon Not a Sprint =-.
Hi Sean,
Twitter is a great tool and using twitter widgets on your website is a great way to connect both media. I am using a Twitter Button, but not a widget to show my Twitter messages or anything. I agree that a more interactive page is better, so I will have a look into it.
.-= Renee´s last blog ..Self Improvement Books – What Are Your Favourites =-.
Hi Renee,
I thought a widget to show Twitter messages would make my page more interactive. But, I don’t really look at them when I go to a site that has that widget. I was wondering if you do?
.-= Jazz Salinger´s last blog ..Finding Your Passion =-.
I am a bit the same Jazz – perhaps it’s information overload that we subconsciously are trying to avoid? Which isn’t a bad thing.
I hope though that it does help others see more of my materials etc.
Another thing for my to-do list! I love the idea of having a twitter widget on facebook.