As far as Internet marketing is concerned, times have really changed. Before, online marketers were obsessed with learning any tips and tricks available in order to get favorable listings in the search engines. But now, the trend seems to veer towards unconventional Internet marketing strategies.

Instead of being trapped in the complicated mechanics of search engine optimization (SEO), the wave is now flowing towards the more accurate and humanized features of user-driven indexing systems.

Right now, you may be thinking: Huh? What do you mean 'humanized'? Worry not. Let us now analyze how Internet marketing has evolved.

Search engine optimization - the beginning of the end

Search engine optimization, or SEO, has dominated the Internet marketing industry for many years. It is widely accepted that more than 80% of your website traffic will come from the search engines. Although not many online marketers have come forward to back that claim, getting a good position in the search engines is still the way to go.

But search engines are not 100% perfect. They rely on robotic spiders to crawl through every single webpage on the Internet. These spiders will then index the pages according to the algorithms prescribed by the respective search engines.

There is nothing wrong with the process here. But the problem is that everything is automated. The robotic spiders cannot think like a human, therefore everything is either black or white to them; there is nothing in between. They might even list your web pages in the wrong category without your knowledge!

Humanized features of user-driven indexing system

User-driven indexing systems are totally different from the algorithms of SEO. Since the features are humanized, the users are able to classify websites under appropriate categories, or more commonly known as tags. This feature is so much more reliable than the approach of the spiders, because these websites are seen by actual human eyes.

Exit SEO, enter social bookmarking websites

Social bookmarking websites are the most popular kinds of user-driven indexing systems. There are a lot of these websites available on the Internet today, and they are very widely visited websites, if their Alexa rankings are anything to go by. Some of the more popular and hot Social bookmarking websites are Technorati, Furl and Feedmarker.

So what exactly are social bookmarking websites?

While surfing the net, when you see a website that catches your attention, you will add the URL of that site to your favorites under your 'My Favorites' folder on your web browser. With a click of your mouse, the URL is saved on your hard drive. This whole process is known as bookmarking.

Social bookmarking websites work pretty much the same way. But instead of saving a URL on your hard drive, you will be able to save it on a web server, under an appropriate tag. For example, if you come across an interesting dating website, you can save the website address under the tag 'dating'.

Another interesting feature of social bookmarking websites is that you can share your list of 'tagged' websites with other users. If some of them are looking for dating websites, you can do your bit to help them by sharing your list with them. How cool is that?

How can Social Bookmarking benefit Internet marketers?

This exciting new technique can benefit fellow Internet marketing professionals in the following ways:

1. It will soon replace the search engines

This is a frightening prospect. Some experts are predicting that social bookmarking will soon replace the search engines as the information finding process of choice by most Internet users. The best way to take advantage of this growing phenomenon is to start using its features as early as today. Google and Yahoo!, you have been warned.

2. It can easily be manipulated

Social bookmarking is so much easier to manipulate. You have all the freedom in the world to place all your favorite websites in any desired tags without going through the sickening algorithms of the search engines.

3. The potential of tags

Tags are widely considered as the 'keywords for the new Internet age'. They are now beginning to establish an interconnectivity that will soon cover many platforms and channels. If you want to dominate certain specific tags, then social bookmarking websites can be your launching platform.

Social bookmarking is destined to be the next big thing in Internet marketing. The current phenomenon that has taken the Internet by storm is blogging, and those who have taken early advantage are now reaping handsome rewards.

If you do not want to miss out on the next big thing, then now is the time for you to embark on the bookmarking adventure so that you are one step ahead of your competitors.