We recently implemented AddToAny for our deal and coupon site CheapStingyBargains.com. We went over many sharing application options, and we felt that AddToAny was the easiest and best solution for our site. Below are some quick tips that will help you implement AddToAny on your site, and get more out of some of its capabilities.

Tip #1: Place AddToAny in a prominent position
If you want people to share your stuff, you have to make sure they can see the button! We chose to use AddToAny for every deal and coupon on our site and place it in the deal navigation bar where visitors are sure to see it.

Tip #2: Choose a good size button
It’s easy for webmasters and other web savvy folks to think that people will understand small buttons that use a simple plus sign, or even an “f” for Facebook, but we’ve found we see the best results when things are clear and easy to understand. Even though AddToAny has options for the minimalist, we preferred going with a larger button with “+ Share / Save” that clearly conveys to the visitor what its functionality is. If you have more room, there are even bigger, more informational options.

Tip #3: Prioritize popular services that appeal to your users
One of the features I really love about AddToAny is the ability to prioritize the services that will work best with your site. When it comes to sharing deals, Twitter and Facebook have proved to be the most popular for our site. With AddToAny, I was able to limit the initial drop down menu choice to our most popular services. The code to do this was simple:

<script type="text/javascript">a2a_num_services = 4;</script>

(Make sure you add this code before the main AddToAny JavaScript if you are customizing it manually.  Editor’s note: Also be sure to read about AddToAny’s new API!)

Tip #4: Consolidate sharing services
Before AddToAny we had an email sharing link, a “Tweet this deal” and a “Subscribe to Comments” function. With AddToAny I was able to consolidate three links into one button. Again, this consolidation helps meet our overall goal, to increase use by offering simplicity to our visitors.

Tip #5: Promote important pages by placing an AddToAny button
At CheapStingyBargains, we consider ourselves experts when it comes to finding computer coupons and deals, so we added the AddToAny button so visitors can share our most popular deals like Dell Coupons and HP Coupons. Consider putting the button on your most popular pages as well.

I hope you found these tips helpful, but remember: never stop testing. Try AddToAny in new locations, try different colors, etc. Find out how your visitors share, and optimize for each way. I would love to hear some of your tips!

What’s new?

Essentially, the new API is just a new syntax for customizing AddToAny, though we have exposed a few new customizations and techniques that you’re welcome to try out.

What’s changed?

Aside from the optional new syntax, most of the changes are under the hood.  Instead of configuring AddToAny using global variables, which in theory could collide with other global variables, you can now configure AddToAny under one self-contained object, a2a_config.  Additionally, the single object method offers a slight speed gain in modern browsers, and occasionally a noticeable difference in older A-Grade browsers on JavaScript-heavy pages.  Speaking of which, AddToAny’s intensive support for all A-Grade browsers (and more) continues with our long held believe that sharing should be quick and easy for as many devices and user-agents as possible, both old and cutting edge.

Transitioning to the new API

While transitioning to the new API is optional at this point, there are some important aspects to note.

• All transitioned properties take the same name as their legacy global counterparts
• Future properties will not have a supported global equivalent
• Be careful with syntax and handling of the a2a_config object
• Definitely check out the thorough examples and documentation, and list of available properties

If you have any questions or run into any problems at all, feel free to get in touch with us directly.  Happy early Valentine’s Day!

See the new AddToAny sharing analytics guide!

Keeping a watchful eye on Google’s analytics offerings, a few months ago we were extra-happy to see Google Analytics officially announce event tracking for everyone.  The ubiquity of Google Analytics event tracking has allowed us to update AddToAny’s Google Analytics integration to track each share as an event and to appropriately bucket all events into actions & labels within a single category.  With this enhancement, AddToAny brings you more useful and intuitive sharing stats within the analytics dashboard you already use.

With AddToAny’s G.A. integration, you could traditionally access detailed reports on:

• Top shared content
  • Which pages are visitors sharing and saving the most?
  • How many shares or saves for each page?
• Top destinations (including e-mail and browser bookmarking)
  • Which services are visitors sharing or saving to?
  • How many shares or saves for each service?

With the new G.A. integration, the above reports are easier to access and you can additionally:

• Drill down by content
  • Which services are used the most for a certain page?
  • How many shares or saves per service for a certain page?
• Drill down by service
  • Which pages are the most shared or saved to a certain service?
  • How many shares or saves per page for a certain service?

For those wondering, the new method indeed replaces the old access method.  So instead of filtering reports by addtoany.com, you can access your social bookmarking stats in two clicks or less from your Google Analytics dashboard.

With no further ado, check out the updated AddToAny Google Analytics guide, and go check out your stats!

As Google Operating System, TechHail, diTii, and other sites pointed out, you can set AddToAny as your primary “Send to” service.  This will allow you to bookmark and share to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Google Bookmarks, Yahoo Bookmarks, Digg, Reddit, Buzz, the moon, and more — including e-mail!

How to?

In Google Reader, go to Settings > Send To > Create a cutom link, then copy and paste the following for each field:

Name: AddToAny

URL: http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=${url}&linkname=${title}

Icon URL: http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/favicon.png

After saving, you’ll be able to share and bookmark to any service by clicking Send To > AddToAny under any post.

Recently I was looking for a way to increase referral traffic to my coupon site Mr. Cheap Stuff.  I noticed many other shopping sites were using social bookmarking widgets to get more viral traffic.  I did some research and finally decided to add AddToAny to my site.

Before using AddToAny I had used other social bookmarking widgets and I wasn’t too impressed with the results.  After a few weeks of use I decided to check my stats and see what effect this little button had on my site.  When I checked my stats I was pleasantly surprised.  I noticed a jump in just about every category of my referring viral traffic.  Now I love checking my stats to see all the viral traffic AddToAny is bringing to my site.

Why AddToAny is my weapon of choice to get viral traffic to my site

• It’s free & no registration
• Google Analytics integration
• Quick & easy installation
• Small size yet power features
• Easy to install WordPress Plugin
• Email uses sender’s own email servers, not your website’s
• With the proper placement it can bring in tons of viral traffic

How to use AddToAny to its full potential

All the viral traffic was great but I wanted to see if I could get even more traffic.  One of the most important things you can do to maximize the potential of AddToAny is to a proper location on your webpage.  I recommend using Google Analytics to help measure your results.  Most people just put the AddToAny button under the main content but I also recommend trying different locations on the page like above the main content, sidebar and even integrating AddToAny within your content.

Testing AddToAny button locations

I decided to do some testing of the AddToAny button on of my Buy.com Coupon page.  First I tested the AddToAny button under the main content.  The results were not extremely impressive; I ended up not receiving much viral traffic.  Next I decided to move it above the main content and I saw a huge improvement.  This got me excited so I tested other locations until I ended up with the current location, which is integrated into the main content.  The current integrated location of the button sends over 400% more viral traffic than having the button under the main content.

If your website doesn’t have an AddToAny button you are missing out on a lot of viral traffic.  Also if you already have an AddToAny button on your site and have not tested and tweaked the location, then you could also be missing out on a lot of viral traffic.

What results have you gotten from tweaking your AddToAny button location?

It’s no secret that a lot of our effort goes into building a better WordPress plugin.  In our last WordPress milestone announcement  (50,000 downloads), we had a call for feedback and many of you responded with several actionable suggestions.  With your help we made some noteworthy improvements:

• Standalone service links (exclusively on WordPress)
• More customization
• Support for older themes and platforms
• Localization/i18

… and a whole lot more.  We’re continuing our call for feedback and invite all WordPress pros to weight in on how to make the plugin perfect before version 1.0 lands.  Please feel free to get in touch directly or post your thoughts on the WP forums.

In other WordPress/Automattic news, we recently had the pleasure of working with IntenseDebate on a sharing plugin for comments (see post) and developing a sharing solution for WordPress.com publishers.

On this page, just fill in a new URL for the button, click Change Button., and grab your inserter bookmarklet.

Get your Share Button Inserter now!

If you would like to use your own hosted button image (see others’ on Flickr), you can upload it to your WordPress.com blog then have the button inserter use that one.  Just go to Settings > Media > Add New. Upload the image, copy the File URL, and replace/paste the URL into the Button URL box on our Wordpress.com inserter page.

Let us know what you think!

The AddToAny Share Button for Posts plugin lets any IntenseDebate-enabled blog install AddToAny’s sharing widget in a single click.

The AddToAny Share Button for Comments plugin enables comment sharing within IntenseDebate comments.

Enable the AddToAny plugins on IntenseDebate!

The latter plugin above comes with a cool, unique twist.  Instead of helping visitors share just web pages as they’ve been accustomed to, visitors can now share comments!  Comments are uncharted territory for sharing buttons, but it’s our official opinion that they deserve some love.  Some of the best content comes from comments and comment threads, and with this plugin sharing those comments using any service (email, social bookmarking, etc.) is a breeze.  This should lead to even better conversations.

Both plugins were created using IntenseDebate’s new plugin authoring API, which totally rocks by the way.  We’re very tight with WordPress/Automattic products, so when the opportunity arose to develop for a comment system based on the WordPress Plugin API we were all over it.  How was the process?  Wonderful; highly recommended for other developers and services out there.  Jon, co-founder of ID and fellow JavaScript wizard, reached out to offer some advice and polishing.  The idea for the Posts plugin?  All him.  (Thank you, Jon!)

To enable either plugin (or both) simply go to your IntenseDebate plugins page and click Activate alongside the plugin listings.

Now let the IntenseDebate page/comment sharing and saving begin!

Get your Share Button Inserter bookmarklet now!

With Share button integration, your readers and visitors have access to every relevant sharing and bookmarking service (including email) and you never have to worry about maintenance, upgrades, etc.  Here’s an example share button that was actually inserted into this post with the WP.com Share Button inserter!:

Doing this yourself is a breeze.  If you happen to have the WordPress “Press It” button, you’ll feel right on home installing your inserter.  In most browsers (sans Internet Explorer), you’ll simply drag the “bookmarklet” (so it’s called) onto your browser’s link toolbar. (Internet Explorer’s just a little different though directions are available.) From there, the process is simple. You’ll publish a post, press the WP.com Share Button you installed and bam — Share button is inserted and you have successfully enabled social bookmarking on your post!  Save changes and you’re done.

Get your AddToAny inserter here.

WordPressers, we hope you like this.  Please do let us know what you think!

Update: Choose your own WordPress.com share button! Thanks to everyone for the request!

In profiling the latest sharing widget drop-down, tests yielded speeds of 70-80% faster than before in Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Firefox 3.0 displays the drop-down 70% faster than the previous smart menu release.

Internet Explorer 8 clocks in at 80% faster than before.

Good ol’ Internet Explorer 6 receives the biggest benefit of the bunch.  Speed tests were again about 80% faster on paper, but it truly feels about fivefold faster after eliminating one peculiar IE6 bottleneck that was affecting the intentional order of functions and thus performance.

Not exactly to our surprise, the latest versions of Google Chrome, Apple Safari and Opera were seemingly untouched by the new changes.  By that we mean the original AddToAny widgets hardly phased these browser to begin with; users continue to enjoy instant functionality!

Venturing into technical jargon territory, this uncanny swiftness can no doubt be attributed to each browser’s high-performance JavaScript engines, Google’s V8, Apple’s Nitro (aka SquirrelFish Extreme), and Opera’s Carackan.  Unlike the other currently available browsers, these browsers feature native code generation and JIT compilation, which makes JavaScript blazing fast.  To be fair, the upcoming Firefox 3.1 wasn’t tested, but from trialing the 3.1 nightlies we’re confident that Mozilla’s TraceMonkey is going to contend nicely.

AddToAny is looking forward to the future of superfast web browsers, but in the meantime we’ll continue our ongoing support and improvement for these A-Grade browsers, and more, for as long as they are relevant.