The Low Down on Article Marketing

Article Marketing Really Does Work, Really!

Article marketing is an effective way to broaden the online presence of any small business. By distributing articles to various article directories on the Internet, your business can reap the benefits ranging from an increase in web traffic, lead generation, new customers and a solid reputation. It’s a simple concept that has the potential to take your business to the next level and higher.

The foundation of article marketing has evolved from a well-known strategy called Search Engine Optimization, or SEO; a practice where web pages are optimized with keywords and published online in an effort to increase search engine rankings. There are three steps to article marketing; research, writing the article and distribution.

Research

The first step is keyword research. It is vital to inundate your article with keywords that you want to rank well for in the search engines. For example, assume you sell used DVDs online. You should research what keywords people are searching for relative to the term DVD (i.e. rent DVD, DVD rentals, DVD, or buy DVD). Then, you would make a list of approximately 10 or so of these keywords and sprinkle them throughout my article. This step is relatively simple and only takes about 30 or so minutes; unless of course you are still using dial up Internet.

Writing the article

You cannot just put together a glob of information and call it an article, as many marketers do today. The article needs to be well written and provide value to its readers. If you are a good writer, you can do it yourself or hire someone to do it for you. The goal is to write an objective article related to the topic of your expertise; and naturally placing the keywords within the content of the article. The article should not be a sales pitch or an advertisement. In fact, many article directories will not even accept articles written with a “sales type” approach. The article should be written with the intention to educate your target consumer group about some aspect of your industry. It’s always helpful to have a catchy title for your article.