Article Marketing Success

Where do consumers seek credible information from today? Online. Millions of people type a single word, or phrase, into their favorite search engine seeking answers, opinions, reviews and information about a particular topic, product or organization. Among the thousands or pages that pop up for their review, most consumers only get to the second or third search engine page, even if they go beyond the first.

As you may know, article marketing is an effective way to gain credibility and establish yourself as an expert in your field. By writing articles about topics of interest to your readers, and distributing them on article directories, you can give your content the kind of exposure that would be hard to get anywhere else. But, what many people don't realize is that article marketing isn't just for directories anymore.

Article marketing is, essentially, the writing of articles to help promote your business on the web. Articles are just one form of content marketing; however, they are one of the most effective. Well-written, content-rich industry articles show potential customers that you’re knowledgeable about your topic. They help convince others that you are a trusted source for what they want.

I have a soft spot for article marketing- and not just because it’s cheap, easy, effective, fun… well, yes, actually, that is why.  Not since the invention of social media has any one marketing tool made such an impact on the way we do business online.  Anyone from the head of marketing at a Fortune 500 company to a stay-at-home mom freelancing on the side can do it and get results.

Strategies for article marketing content can vary depending on where you get your advice, your target audience, your keywords and many other factors. But while the camps may disagree on the exact details, it is almost universally admitted that good article marketing is one of the best ways to draw quality traffic to your website.

That's because quality traffic comes from quality links.

Therefore, the thing to remember is that you must write article marketing content with, more than anything, the goal of gaining quality links to your site.

Five Tips for Getting Quality Links:

• Create content that will be syndicated
• Write informational, instructional content
• Choose keywords that maximize search engine visibility
• Remember "content farms"
• Provide quality backlinks for other sites

Creating Content That Will Be Syndicated

This is arguably the easiest concept but it also may be the most important. The gist of it is, you absolutely must write content that is so good that other webmasters will want to reference it and provide backlinks to it.

You want your content to find its way to quality sites that have an established audience interested in your topic. The people on sites with topics similar to yours are more likely to be quality traffic than traffic coming from search engines or other types of links. Also, they probably trust the site where they found your content so they are more likely to follow the links to your site. 

Write Informational and Instructional Content, Not Advertisements

This ties in with the tip above. Webmasters and most users are not going to pay attention to article marketing content if it is an obvious advertisement. You only want to use articles to get quality traffic to your site, inform them about the products and give them the opportunity to easily find the product if they are interested.

If your content is written as an advertisement, the potential customers are far less likely to pay attention. 

Choose Keywords That Maximize Search Engine Visibility

The best way I can explain this is to offer an example I recently used.

Earlier this week I was asked to compose an original article about the debt ceiling vote in Congress for a news organization. The first thing I did was to begin researching the keyword. I quickly found that "debt ceiling vote" was the keyword that was trending more than any other phrase so my initial reaction was to choose that as my keyword. However, I also saw that the second most popular phrase was simply "debt ceiling," with "debt ceiling deal" and "history of debt ceiling" also being in the top six. I had a decision to make.

I ignored the term "history of the debt ceiling" and decided to make the simplest version, "debt ceiling" my primary keyword. I then composed the piece with "debt ceiling vote" and "debt ceiling deal" at a rate of about one-and-a-half percent each. Once this was done, the original keyword "debt ceiling" was at a three percent density so the article was visible for three different, but related search terms.   

This is, of course, a very specific example but the point is, understand your keywords. You have to take a moment to think critically but it is a necessary step.

Remember "Content Farms"

Google's Panda Algorithm is severely decreasing the effectiveness of content farms like EHow and EzineArticles. As a result, many article marketing content strategists are forgetting these sites completely. That may not be wise.

Sure, content farms have their drawbacks but, as they move down SEO results, they may also become more valuable for webmasters looking for quality content that has not been seen by everyone. These webmasters may still use content farms to find good content and they can still use it to provide you with high-quality backlinks.

Provide Quality Backlinks for Other Sites

Your article marketing content strategy needs to include outgoing backlinks to content you consider to be of high quality. Search engines reward highly-rated sites that both give and receive traffic to and from other high quality sites. While it may not be "better" to give than receive in this virtual world, it is certainly "as good" to give.

The human aspect comes into play here as well. Webmasters will be more likely to backlink to you if you backlink to them.

Unfortunately, there is no magic formula to follow but, if you keep all these things in mind and commit to writing quality article marketing content, it is one of the best ways to get quality traffic to your site.   

If you've realized that the Internet is a great place to market your products, services and business, then there's a good chance you've started to think about creating an article marketing plan.

You've probably also realized that a lot goes into a good article marketing plan, but here are are five tips for creating a great one:

1. Do your keyword research. Great articles are as much about great content as they are about increasing your online visibility. That means finding the right keywords to use in your content is one of the very first, and most important, steps in creating your article marketing plan. Use tools like the Google Adwords keyword generator, and find some great keywords and phrases for your articles.

"All of us learned to write in the second grade. Most of us go on to greater things."

That quote is from former basketball coach Bobby Knight who is renowned for his disdain for sports reporters. Many website owners may agree, thinking that the look of the website and quality of the product will suffice. But, just as positive press helped Knight recruit talented players, article marketing can help you recruit quality traffic to your website. 

First, let's start by defining "quality traffic." While the exact definition will naturally differ depending on your type of website and products, there are a few terms that every site owner needs to know:

• Bounce Rate - the percentage of times a person visits a web page and then leaves the site without visiting any other pages

Obtaining and converting traffic on your website is what Internet business is all about. And to succeed, you must get those high rankings in the search engines. That takes some finesse, but it isn’t that difficult. In fact, play your cards right and you can outdo your competition easily.

Article marketing is a fast-growing online marketing strategy.  Articles are written by business owners and submitted to niche blogs or article directories for further syndication.  Article marketing is a great tool for online businesses and site owners which combines SEO, quality content, name recognition, and branding. 

If you have above average writing skills and have expertise in a field of study, you can utilize this craft as an integral part of your overall marketing strategy.  Publications, both online and in print, are always looking for well-written, high quality content. 

An article marketing strategy that includes the frequent submission of articles for publication to pre-identified online and traditional media outlets can go a long way towards giving you and your company added credibility.  This credibility can lead to higher visibility, which can then lead to sales, both in the long term and short term.  Tips on developing an unbeatable article marketing strategy are available at Tips & Tricks HQ.

An article marketing strategy is a more subtle approach than is direct marketing but, for that very reason, it can be more effective than some direct marketing campaigns.  Consumers are bombarded with thousands of marketing messages every day from a variety of sources, most of which they quickly tune out.

When they read an article that includes valuable information, by an industry expert like you, consumers tend to trust you precisely because you are not trying to sell them something.  In other words, you are giving them something, rather than taking something away.

Another direct benefit of your article marketing strategy will be additional traffic to your web site or blog.  The inclusion of targeted keywords and phrases within your article will ensure that the traffic you receive is highly motivated and that their interest is piqued by the article subject matter.  Marketing strategist, Luis Sarmiento, provides excellent information on how article marketing can increase traffic for your web site.

In most cases, you will not receive direct compensation from the entity which publishes your article.  Rather, your compensation will ensue from the new clients, media interviews and speaking engagements you receive as a result of your elevated profile.

Here are five ways to develop an effective article marketing strategy:

• Stay abreast of current events and trends.  Publications like to be relevant; that's how they retain their reading audience.  Tying your expertise into a recent current event adds to the timeliness of your piece and increases the likelihood it will be published.  For example, if a recent hurricane has occurred and you have expertise in home repairs resulting from water damage, an article along these lines, submitted within a week or two of the actual natural disaster, would be very likely to be approved for publication.