I’ll say that writing industry guides has been the #1 source of solid targeted traffic year after year, followed by answering natural questions. All have shown success but those 2 have stood apart as the most solid (for both rankings and traffic).

I have to admit I love UGC because it makes my life so much easier, I really should be focusing on automating that process more.

“Contribute” is probably better then “Community”

To be honest, I haven’t played too much with UGC, as I’m much more inclined to write it myself than hand over the keys. My first step would be to reach out the community elders. Every community has its hierarchy. If you can get those most vocal and respected members of your site writing UGC posts, commenting on them, maybe even helping out with the moderation, than you’re going to throw a lot more eyeballs and credibility that way. It won’t just become a *throwaway* section of your site. You’re also going to make those elders more invested in seeing it do well — so they’ll be more likely to promote it.

SEOmoz has a strong UGC section and they’ve gotten people involved with the lure that the best pieces will make it to the main blog. It’s about getting people invested and then playing on their desire for validation. :)

Was wondering if you had any advice on how to promote it more effectively?