For as long as article marketing has been around, there have been heavily contradictory views about the topic from so-called “SEO Experts”. Some argue that article marketing is their greatest contributor to SEO and internet marketing success, whilst others write if off altogether. Before we dig into this topic, let’s look at what article marketing is...

Article marketing is, at its core, the process of writing relatively short (usually 400 – 600 words) articles on a specific niche topic, and then submitting them to as many article directories as possible. This in itself presents us with two possible outcomes:

1. The publishing of your articles could potentially drive large amounts of natural traffic to our website via the “author resource box” as many of the popular article directories have a good readership.
2. The publishing of your articles could result in purely generating backlinks to our website through the resource box.

Therefore, the first decision you need to make when starting out in article marketing is which route you want to go – if you just want to build backlinks to your website, you don’t really need to create articles that generate interest from readers. They just need to be good enough to be accepted by the article directories (whose standards are usually not particularly high) and include your desired keywords.

If, on the other hand, you want to actually get people to read your articles (from start to end), and thus get them to click through to your website, it would be wise to invest some more time and energy in actually writing high quality, readable and enjoyable articles. Apart from receiving the natural traffic, you will obviously also enjoy the SEO benefit of generating backlinks.

Whichever route you decide to go, the “Article Marketing Essentials” remain the same.

Outsource the Writing

You need to focus on what you’re good at, and apply yourself wherever you are most productive. Unless you find yourself with a lot of time and nothing else to do, you would probably be better off outsourcing the writing of your articles to an article writer. Keep in mind that if you want to encourage readership and click through, you should invest a bit more in a quality article writer, who can actually write for a “real” audience. A poorly written article, no matter how interesting it is, will not encourage click through. Outsourcing the article writing function will ensure a consistent growth of backlinks and natural traffic to your website, regardless of your personal schedule. Consistency, after all, is key.

Distribute Smart, Not Hard

Whilst there are hundreds upon hundreds of article directories available on the internet (and hundreds of tools that submit to them “automatically”, most of these directories either have no readership or poor Google PR, or both. Rather spend your time wisely submitting to five or ten popular article directories that have earned respect from their visitors for their level of editorial quality. If you are going to use a distribution service, look for one that distributes to a quality database of directories. It’s better to have your article featured in five good directories than five hundred shoddy ones.

Pay Attention to the Resource Box

What you wish to achieve using article marketing will dictate which route you need to follow for this point:

If you want to build backlinks purely for SEO purposes, be sure to switch and swap your anchor text in your resource box when submitting. If your backlink pops up in a hundred article directories with exactly the same anchor text, Google and company are likely to spot you out.

If, on the other hand, you wish to generate click-through from readers, it would be a good idea to split-test your resource box copy. You may want to use two or three variations and test which of them results in the best click-through rate (CTR). Continuous split testing will ensure that you enjoy the best possible CTR over time.

To recap on all of this, you need to ensure that you follow these three article marketing fundamentals:

1. Outsource your writing (unless you have the time and talent).
2. Distribute your articles to a select few quality article directories.
3. Use your resource box correctly.

Keep this in mind when approaching article marketing and you’re sure to reap the rewards. Article marketing certainly does work, and can work for you, provided that you get the basics right. To learn more about article marketing, download this free SEO course.