1. Viral. Using StumbleUpon, you can produce rapid exposure for a website, blog, brand or a specific product. If you write a great article, posted eye-popping photos or an entertaining video, people can come pouring in in a matter of minutes.

2. Highly targeted. People who sign up to StumbleUpon choose the specific topics they want to see. Assuming you tag your submissions well, your audience will be an eager bunch who will be receptive as to what you have to say.

3. Long lasting. Unlike Digg which is more of a one time, big time deal, StumbleUpon traffic is normally more gradual. The effect can last for days or even weeks, and can even resurface months after you first submitted it.

4. Marketing tool. StumbleUpon ads can be good alternative to Google Adwords. For only $0.05 per impression, your page can be shown to StumbleUpon users like it’s just a normal part of the rotation when they click the toolbar. Be sure to package your page in a way that doesn’t come off too strong, to keep your audience interested. Look at the popular stumbled sites for ideas.

5. Backlinks. Once a user stumbles your site, the link becomes part of his or page. If many people do this, you’ll have a lot of instant backlinks which may help your PR.

6. Convenient. With the Stumble Upon toolbar, webpage submission has become incredibly easy. Also, since the pages you stumble become part of your personal StumbleUpon page, it can be used as a form of social bookmarking. It’s a great way to keep track and share them with others.

7. Fun. It’s not always about building traffic. Browsing around the StumbleUpon community, you’re likely to find cool sites you’d never have found otherwise. And, hey, use that toolbar. Click the “Stumble” button once and you’ll get hooked - guaranteed.

1. Register. Become a StumbleUpon member and install their toolbar. This will allow you to stumble sites effortlessly. Just click on the thumbs up icon if you like a site, or thumbs up if you don’t. This is also the simplest way to submit your pages. If it’s the first time a page has been stumbled, a window will appear asking for a short review of the page content, among other things. Fill ‘em up and you’re good to go.

2. Tag ‘em. Make sure that you tag your submissions with relevant keywords. Specific tags are the key to bringing you targeted StumbleUpon traffic. This also increases your chances of people clicking the thumbs up button, since you’re sure users who’ll see it signed up to view your kind of content. However, be careful about being too specific that your post can only reach a handful of audience. In the absence of a hard and fast rule, it’s best to experiment.

3. Pimp your profile. When you submit a page, sometimes other Stumblers check out your profile before deciding whether to give their thumbs up approval. A blank profile won’t look right, as you might be thought of as a spammer. So fill up all the things you need to and give yourself instant street credibility.

4. Make friends. Once you start submitting, try to see who stumbled your pages, and then thank them. It’s a great way to make friends, and you do owe them that much for helping to send you traffic. Better yet, stumble the pages they’re submitted as well. You can also look for profiles with interests similar to you, add them as friends. Within StumbleUpon, you can have up to 200.

5. Socialize. To have a wider reach within the StumbleUpon community, try to join user groups, especially those that are related to your niche and interests. Group members usually look up each other’s stumbled pages. Another thing is that StumbleUpon rewards the most active group members by placing their clickable icons on the group’s front page.

6. Give back some love. Submitting only pages from your site will eventually get noticed. This will put another blemish on your reputation. It’s a give and take process. Stumble other pages frequently. If the pages you’ve stumbled and submitted are well-received by other people, you’ll be highly regarded within the community, and they’ll be likely to follow your lead.