We have all been online and saved a site to our favorites tab. In essence, this is all that social bookmarking is. The only real difference is that this bookmarking is being done in a public setting where the site is being "shared" with their friends that are on the same network. There are numerous benefits in using this tool to help increase the rank of a website.

Social networking sites have literally changed the way the entire industry approaches search engine optimization (SEO). What was once merely a vehicle for staying in touch with friends has quickly changed into one of the most powerful SEO tools available to anyone promoting a website. When used effectively, social bookmarking can create hundreds and even thousands of top tier links back to a person's main website.

For the sake of this example, Facebook is where we will bookmark the site. Bookmarking can actually be done one of two ways. Some sites or articles will offer the ability to mark the site with a plug in or "share" button, while others will actually require the reader to cut and paste the link onto their personal page.

The first method is by using the plug in that is featured on many sites. Usually, there will be a "share" button at the top or bottom of the article. When the reader clicks on this, different sites will pop up where the reader can share the page. If they were to click on Facebook, the link would be put up on their wall where they can then share it with their friends on the site.

A second method of cutting and pasting may have to be used if the site in question does not have the plug in or share feature available. To do this, just sign into the Facebook account and then cut and paste the link onto the link attachment feature on the Facebook wall. It is best to put some type of quick blurb about it in the "share" so friends will know what the link is. Ideally, they will repost the link on their wall and every time this is done, another link is created back the main site.

It is easy to see and understand how this can cause a site to go viral rather quickly. It is also easy to understand why this tool is so important to the success of a site. Each time a friend marks a site and shares it, there is the chance to have it featured on every friend's page that they have in their network. Social networking may be looked down upon in some circles, but rest assured that the social bookmarking aspect of this is vital to any site and something that should be exploited to its fullest in order to increase the Google rank of any site.