Article Marketing - Does it Really Work? For Real?

Topics covered in this White Paper:

1. Articles as an Alternative Marketing Method
2. How Article Marketing Works
3. Articles and SEO
4. Elements of Effective Articles
5. Using Article Marketing Providers
6. Distributing Your Articles
7. Conclusion
8. Interact Media Solutions

Article marketing involves developing and distributing high-quality, search engine optimized content that provides readers with valuable information they can use to make purchasing decisions and solve problems.  When utilized as part of a long-term content marketing strategy, it can drive traffic, increase conversion rates and establish businesses as authorities in their fields.

This paper will examine article marketing as an online marketing technique, and demonstrate how it can be used as a cost-effective alternative to other forms of marketing.

Articles- An Alternative Marketing Method

Article marketing has been used as a method of online marketing for many years.  It has become more relevant in recent years, however, as marketing departments are looking for more cost-effective methods of promoting their businesses.  Traditional marketing, such as cold calling, direct mail and print ads, are becoming less effective as consumers find ways around them.

A recent study by Forrester Research found that 60% of marketers surveyed are increasing their online marketing budgets by shifting funds from traditional media (Forrester Research. (2008). Among marketers facing lower budgets, 19% are reducing direct mail spending because it delivers the lowest ROI (Forrester Research. (2008).

Emails and cold calls can be blocked, print ads are often ignored and direct mail is often thrown out.  The growth of online advertising, and in particular search engine optimized content, has given consumers more options for finding the information that helps them make purchasing decisions.  As a result, today's Internet consumer no longer needs to be subjected to these interruptive methods of selling.

Article marketing is a method of marketing that allows the consumer to find the specific information they need using online search.  A consumer can type in keywords that are relevant to his search, and find articles that pertain to that subject.  This gives the consumer specific information that directs him to a source for what he needs.  In this way, articles are an effective alternative to traditional marketing tools, which are aimed at a broad, non-targeted audience.

Articles are also cost-effective for companies.  They require only a working knowledge of the topic, a basic knowledge of SEO and good writing skills.  They can be written either by the business owner or employees, or by professional copywriters for a fraction of what traditional methods cost.

Thus, article marketing has three distinct advantages over traditional marketing:

1. Non-interruptive- Article marketing offers information that the consumer actively seeks out.  Therefore, the consumer is not interrupted.
2. Targeted- Articles target specific markets.  By writing and distributing information about a specific topic, and optimizing that information with relevantkeywords, articles reach only the people who businesses want to reach.
3. Cost-Effective- The cost of writing articles is minimal, and distribution techniques are often entirely free.

How Article Marketing Works

The process of article marketing can be described as follows:

• Identify the target market
• Develop keywords that are relevant to the target market
• Create informative content that incorporates the keywords
• Create a compelling title that also incorporates the keywords
• Create a resource box that contains the keywords and links to your site
• Distribute articles across the web

Each of these steps in the process of article marketing is critical to its effectiveness as an online marketing strategy.  However, keywords are the foundation of successful articles.  This is because, in order for articles to be used for marketing they must be search engine optimized.  SEO makes articles visible to search engines, which allow Internet consumers to find them.  Optimizing articles involves utilizing SEO techniques.

Articles and SEO       

Search engine optimized articles contain keywords that consumers can use to find the particular information in the article.  So, once the target market has been identified, keywords that are relevant to the topics covered in the articles must be developed.  This can most easily be done using keyword research programs and tools such as Google AdWords and Word Tracker.  Companies can also use a consultant or create their own keywords.

The advantage to using a research tool to determine keywords is the fact that these tools can also tell you how competitive these keywords are, and how likely you are to rank for them.  Thus, the best keywords can be chosen without wasting resources on ones that are too competitive.

Keywords can be combinations of likely search words, such as "Mexico vacations", "travel in Mexico" or "couples resorts in Mexico".  The more specific the keywords, the more targeted the traffic will be.

Keyword Density

Once keywords are chosen, they must be incorporated into the content.  For SEO purposes, the proper keyword density is crucial.  Search engines penalize content that has a keyword density that is too high.  Conversely, a low density could cause the search engines to miss the article entirely, because they don't know what the article is about and therefore won't connect it to the search keywords.  A density of 1% is ideal, which means that a keyword is inserted once every 100 words.

In addition to primary keywords, effective articles also contain other, related terms that will help them gain greater search engine visibility.  These terms often occur naturally in the writing of the article and should not occur as often as the primary keywords.

Elements of Effective Articles

Articles that are keyword optimized are attractive to search engines.  This is an important aspect of effective article marketing.  However, the articles need to appeal to the people reading them or they won't produce results.  In order for articles to be attractive to humans, they must be:

1. Well-written: Articles must contain good grammar and spelling.
2. Content-rich:  They must offer information that readers will find valuable. Articles that help consumers to solve problems, get answers and make decisions are the most successful.
3. Clear, concise and compelling:  Since the average reader tends to skim for useful information, the most effective articles say more with fewer words. They also use language that is easy to understand and not too formal.  When content adheres to these guidelines, it naturally compels the reader to action.

Titles

Titles are an important part of any article, as they are the author's opportunity to get the attention of the reader.  Thus, a good title for article marketing purposes will be descriptive and interesting.  It should contain the primary keyword at the beginning, followed by a more specific description of the content.  For example, "Mexico Vacations- How to Find the Best Resort Values" would be better for SEO than "Finding Good Hotels for Mexico Vacations".

Why?  Both people and search engines will see the first words first.  Therefore, positioning the keywords there makes the article easier to find by consumers looking for information as well as search engines that need to index it.

Body of the Article

Article marketing relies on the fact that people need information in order to make purchasing decisions, solve problems and answer questions.  Therefore, the most important component of any article is quality content.  Well-written, valuable content that is clear, concise and compelling will produce the best results.  This kind of content is designed to appeal specifically to Internet readers, who like to skim through and rarely spend more than a few seconds on pages that do not interest them.

Another important factor to consider when article marketing is that the content should avoid "salesy" language.  The purpose of articles is not to directly sell a product or service, but to inform readers about the topic; therefore, no mention of a specific product or service should be made in the body of the text.  The opportunity to sell comes when you include a resource box containing links to the site (see "Resource Box").

Other factors to consider:

Length- Although there is no hard and fast rule, in general, an article should be between 400 and 600 words in length. An average of 500 words is ideal for search engines as well as the people reading it.

Formatting- Articles should contain at least two bolded subheadings that contain the keywords.  Bullet points and numbered lists are good ways to help organize the content and help readers more easily see important points.

Links- Some article directories will allow links within the body of the article.

However, if the article is being written for mass distribution, links may cause it to be rejected by some sites. This is because some directories consider links to be too "salesy".

Resource Box

Articles generate website traffic through use of the resource box. The resource box is an area, usually located beneath the article, that may contain information about the author, the company who commissioned the article and links to any applicable sites.  The resource box allows the reader to make direct contact with the company that wrote the article (or had it written). 

The resource box is a powerful tool that allows authors to make a call to action.  Without it, the reader would not know who is providing the information contained in the article, and thus would not be able to make contact in order to purchase.  Most article directories will allow a certain amount of links within a resource box, but there are restrictions that vary from site to site.

Article Marketing Providers

Articles can be written by anyone who has good writing skills, working knowledge of the topic and the time to continuously write and update material.  For those who can't write their own articles, there is the option to outsource the job to professional services.  This can be accomplished in a couple of ways.

Professional copywriters with knowledge of SEO techniques can write articles on a regular schedule, to ensure that new content is being continuously submitted on the web.  This is a good idea if a company cannot dedicate itself to this task. 

Another option for businesses interested in article marketing is to hire an SEO company to handle the entire process.  A company experienced in implementing content marketing strategies will take care of writing, distributing and tracking articles, and can provide new content on a regular basis.

Article Distribution

Distribution is key to the success of any article marketing strategy.  However, there are varying opinions as to the best way to go about it.

Some say that the more sites you distribute each article to, the better. Sites like articlemarketer.com will take your article and submit it to thousands of sites.

Aside from the question of the quality of each of these sites, the real issue is what the search engines think of this form of distribution. While they may not penalize you for doing it, few SEO experts actually think there is much real value in having the same article posted to thousands of the same site. The search engines will only give credit to the FIRST website it finds the article on. The article will never rank on all those sites, and the links from all those sites will not be counted since it is just duplicate content.

It is often recommended that people submit ONE article to ONE site. A reputable site, such as ezinearticles.com, will give these articles the best chance of ranking in the search engines, as well as being picked up by other websites who may promote them and link to them on their sites as well.

A conservative approach is most likely to keep the search engines happy while avoiding duplicate content penalties.

Article Directories

Article directories are sites where articles can be submitted in order to increase their visibility on the web.  Submitting articles to directories allows articles and resource boxes to get wide and deep distribution across the Internet, thus ensuring that they're seen by more potential visitors than when they are simply placed on a site.

Reputable article directories, like ezinearticles.com, goarticles.com, and a handful of others, have their own set of rules and restrictions about article content, resource boxes, length of article, links allowed and keyword density.  These rules are in place in order to ensure that the articles accepted are high quality as well as SEO-friendly.  Accepting only articles that adhere to the rules allows the directories to maintain their reputations as sources for high-quality content.  They also ensure that readers are not subjected to low-value or salesy content.

After they are submitted to directories, articles go through an editorial review.  Once approved, they become live on the site and/or distributed to other directories on the web automatically. 

Conclusion

When used as part of a content marketing strategy, article marketing can be a powerful tool to increase a business' online visibility and drive traffic to its site.  Through the use of high quality content and wide distribution, article marketing allows companies to share their knowledge with consumers who are looking for information.  Over time, this establishes the company as an authority and a trusted source for the product or service desired.

As a non-interruptive, targeted and cost-effective method of marketing, article marketing offers a viable alternative to traditional marketing methods.  It allows businesses to fully utilize the power of a more interactive, social web to attract customers and increase conversion rates.

 

Interact Media Solutions     

Implementing a content marketing strategy that leverages the power of article marketing is simpler than you may think.  A professional SEO content marketing company is often the best solution.  Interact Media offers article marketing services that make it easy for businesses to gain greater online visibility.  Our team of SEO specialists, editors and copywriters work together to produce and distribute high-quality articles that will give you maximum online visibility.

 

Put the power of article marketing to work for you.  Contact Interact Media at (888) 864-8398 or http://www.interactmedia.com/