Tech Tip: Creating an Add This Button

There are plenty of websites that preach the benefits of having your blog posts being stumbled upon, shared on twitter, delicious, etc. for increasing your search engine optimization (SEO) and increasing visitor traffic to your site.

To make it easier for your visitors, there is a free tool that I've found called Add This that can be installed in Blogger or Wordpress.

Here are the step-by-step instructions for installing it in Blogger as it worked for me.

1. Go to the website http://www.addthis.com/.
(To learn how to create external links that open into a new page, click for my other tutorial.)

2. Select the Blogger service, what type of button style you'd like, if you would like the analytics tracked and then the final button of Get the Button.

3. Create an account with your contact information.

4. If you'd like the new button to be in your column, select the top option to add it directly to Blogger. I choose the more complicated step of actually copying the code to install in the HTML section under settings.

5. Open the HTML editor in Blogger and select the box above the code that says "Expand Widget Template." I recommend saving a copy of your template at this point in case you run into problems.
Do a Find (CTRL+F) for tag and paste the code (CTRL+V).

6. Save the template.

7. View your blog to see that it's appearing correctly. It worked out for Suzy at Hollywood: Where Hot Comes to Die.

8. Now, please share this on StumbleUpon or another option in this button by clicking below.

If you still have the blogspot.com in your Blogger address and would like to learn how to get a custom domain name for $10 a year, click here.