Web Content Editor

By Debbie Allen

The basic idea behind Article marketing is the use of articles as a means of promotion. This method can be used by almost anyone regardless of what it is that they are promoting.

The key is to write an article that discusses the topic your product or service falls under. It is ideal if the article talks about a problem related to the topic being discussed and then leads to a resolution, which of course, is your product! The resource box will tell the readers where they can find this wonderful key to resolving their problems.

Internet marketers have successfully used articles to promote practically anything imaginable. The fact is that Articles marketing provides not only the advantage of increased traffic and sales but there are also less obvious benefits.

For one thing the writer is building credibility by writer the articles. He truly does become an expert in the subject matter via the research required to write a quality article. This establishes him as an authority in the area that he writes about.

Additionally, because the resource box will have a link to a website that website will gain backlinks. There really is a snowball effect then. That results in more traffic. It also means that the search engine will come to recognize the website. That leads to a higher ranking and the website will come up more often in search results. That in turn results in even more traffic. And we all know that more traffic means more sales!

Article marketing can be used to promote affiliate products as well as your own. Simply follow the same procedure that you would if the product was your own. Be careful about using affiliate links though. Some article directories frown on that so it may be best if you create a blog or a landing page of your own for the product.

That also provides you an opportunity to collect names and email addresses for your own list building efforts. I suggest that you write a short report or ebook to be used as a giveaway. Then in your resource box you can offer that. That should get your readers to click through to your site.

There along with information about the actual product you can have a webform that they can complete to get your free report. The report gives you an opportunity to build a relationship with the subscriber and to promote to him in the future.

Article marketing really is the backbone of Internet marketing. If you are not using it as part of your marketing campaign efforts then you are missing out on easy traffic and sales.

About the Author
Get a free report about article writing at http://www.articlemarketingplus.com.
To skyrocket your Article marketing profits visit http://www.article-marketing-plus.com.

By Karon Thackston © 2008, All Rights Reserved

I’ve been asked the same question at least a hundred times.

“If I submit my articles to other sites, does Google count this as duplicate content?”

I’ve gone by my own hunches about this issue for about a year with great success for both me and my clients. But, I decided to go straight to the source for a definitive (well, pretty definitive) answer. I emailed Google Webspam Head, Matt Cutts, for some insight.

Before I continue, let me say that this article deals with duplicate content as it pertains to writing and submitting and/or syndicating articles. These principles may not pertain to web copy that is duplicated from page to page and remains exclusively on your site.

I asked Matt if he would explain a few things since it seemed many people were now questioning their online marketing efforts due to the duplicate content filters. My questions included:

1) How can submitted articles count against me as duplicate content if they are posted on other websites? Duplicate content filters are generally on the lookout for copy that has been repeated within the confines of a site. Since articles were distributed to sites other than my own, I wondered about this point.

Matt’s answer: “Taking all your articles and submitting them for syndication all over the place can make it more difficult to determine how much your site [has original] content vs. just used, syndicated content.”

That makes perfect sense. After all, Google is looking for quality, original content to fill its search engine results pages (SERP).

2) Does that mean - from a search engine perspective - you advise people not to submit articles? I couldn’t believe that the answer would be “yes.” Whether offline or on, writing and submitting quality articles has always been a phenomenal way of establishing yourself as an expert, promoting your business and more.

Matt’s answer: “My advice would be to avoid over-syndicating the articles that you write, and if you do syndicate content, then make sure that you include a link to the original content. That will help ensure that the original content has more PageRank, which will aid in picking the best documents in our index.”

So, how do you avoid “over-syndicating” the articles you distribute about the Internet? Although Matt didn’t go into detail, my personal take would be to:

• Avoid using article-blaster-type software programs that send your piece to hundreds of article banks and email lists. Instead, use a service that handpicks a select few, quality websites and then manually submits your article.
• Only submit to websites that allow HTML in the bio/about the author section. A big part of submitting online articles is link popularity. You get a much bigger bang for your buck if you have keyword-rich anchor text links rather than plain http:// links.
• Place the article on your site and allow it to get indexed before you distribute. This way, you establish yourself in Google’s database as the original writer.

While some people stress out about where their articles rank in the search engines, I, personally, never have. If another site that has reproduced my article (and done so legally) ranks higher than I do for an article, so be it. In the end, a link to my site is provided in the “about the author” section, so readers can find me if they want more information. However, if you prefer that your articles outrank those who reprint your material, then the above tips may help you accomplish that goal.

Above all, don’t let the engines dictate how you run and promote your business. If submitting your articles brings you business, then do it. A diversity of marketing efforts has always been the best way to promote. Writing articles is no exception.

About the Author
Discover the proven methods for writing powerful PPC ads with Karon’s latest ebook “How To Write Successful PPC Ads”. This quick-read has easy, tested ways to create PPC ads fast that get higher click-through rates. Learn PPC copywriting today at http://www.WritePPCAds.com.

by Andy Eliason

Writing and publishing articles as part of your Internet marketing campaign can have a significant impact on your online endeavors.  The possibilities for lead generation and building traffic are well documented, and it is a traditional way of gathering links.

The concept of marketing your website or product through articles is a classic one.  It’s been around for years.  So does that mean that it is an old and outdated method and ought to be excluded from your Internet marketing campaign?

Not in the least.

If you research the subject on the Internet, you are likely to discover a number of dissenting opinions on the matter.  Some of them are going to say that they are, in fact, out dated and that the links they provide aren’t valuable enough to justify the effort.  Others will swear by the system and claim that not only is article marketing a good thing to include in an Internet marketing campaign, but the best thing.  Of course, many of these people will then offer to sell you the knowledge to make Internet marketing miracles.

The truth probably resides somewhere between these two extremes.

Is article marketing still a valid practice?

Definitely.

Is article marketing alone going to make you a fortune on the Internet?

Probably not.

As an SEO practice, is it worthwhile?

Yes.  And this is the point we are going to dwell on for a while.

SEO has been evolving steadily since it was first recognized as an actual industry and necessity.  Some practices have come and others go.  Some are outright banned.  People are always on the look out for the newest trick or the previously undiscovered loophole.  This may or may not work, and this may or may not even be ethical.  But through it all there are some practices that you can rely on because they provide a foundation for other practices.

Article marketing is one of those foundational activities.  The reason you can be sure of this is because the principles behind it are as valid in off-line marketing as they are in Internet marketing.

Whether you are writing an article for a newspaper or for distribution in article databases, you are trying to accomplish the same things.  One: establish yourself as an authority in your industry or field.  Two: provide potential clients with useful information that they will appreciate even if it’s only in some small way.  And three: give them the means to get in touch with you or find you.

Did the practice get diluted once it hit the Internet?  Most definitely.  Did that cause the search engines to devalue those links because of it?  A bit.
Enough to warrant giving up the practice?

Absolutely not.

The proponents of article marketing would tell you that articles generate buzz about your site or product.  They say that it will be picked up by lots of other sites in need of good content.  This will, they say, create countless new contacts and generate leads.

Well… sort of.  But it’s probably not as efficient as all the guys selling their special systems would have you believe.  But, at it’s core, it does do what they claim.  At least to some extent.  (After all, you’re reading this, aren’t you?)  And while the links are supposedly not as valuable as others, they are still valid and valuable.

Recently there’s been a lot of talk about how a certain search engine adjusted its algorithm in such a way that caused a lot of large websites to loose their previous ranks.  The reason for that was because of their links that they paid for.  The search engine prefers natural links, which articles can develop for you.  Heavily weighted links?  No.  Links that will stand the test of time?  Yup.

Like many things in SEO and Internet marketing, it will take time and effort to achieve.  But, when it comes right down to it, most things that are worthwhile always do.

About the Author
Andy Eliason is a writer at Main10, an Internet marketing and development company. They can develop a strong marketing campaign that involves article marketing and other strong foundational aspects.

by Chris Simpson

Writing articles and submitting them to article directories is a strategy known as article marketing and is designed to do two things. The first is to create massive back-links to web pages in order to increase their position on search engine results pages. The second is to attract targeted visitors to your website.

Unless you purchase submission software or submission services such as Article Marketer, article marketing is free and if it is done consistently, can dramatically improve traffic to your site.

Before writing, you need to have a marketing purpose clearly in mind as well as understanding directory guidelines. In other words, write with both your target audience and the publisher in mind. It is a good idea to read the publishing guidelines at the article directory you’re going to submit to.

Briefly, the articles need to be original, between 500 and 700 words (recommended) and submitted either in text format or using Word with ’smart quotes’ disabled. You also need to be very careful that you put your article in the right category otherwise it will be rejected. It will also be sent back for editing if there are errors.

The whole point of writing articles for article directories is for the potential advertising benefit. You are submitting articles to directories so that web publishers can download and use your articles on their blogs and websites free of charge.

In return, they must agree to keep the resource box at the end of the article intact with a live link to your site. This is your payment. However, to really benefit you need to specifically address the needs of your target audience and to do it well. This way, readers will be far more likely to click on your link to see what else you have to say on your website.

Once you have an interesting, relevant and well written article that conforms to directory guidelines, you will need to decide which directories you wish to submit to. If you want a blanket approach for maximum initial traffic, you may wish to consider using a submission service such as Article Marketer. <

However, if you are seeking to improve your search engine position, there is a possibility of being penalized by Google for a lot of potentially low quality links. Google is constantly altering its algorithms to maximize benefits to their users and having a page of the same article come up in search results because of mass directory submissions isn’t good for users.

If you decide to manually submit to a few of the better sites, make sure you include ezinearticles. You can do a search and find a list of directories recommended by other people.

The actual submission process is easy. You simply register as a user, click on ’submit article’ (or equivalent) and paste your article in the space provided. The publisher will get back to you in a few days and let you know whether or not the article is accepted.

More than anything, however, you will influence your results by the quality of your writing, your subject matter and by creating a resource box that entices people to click on your link.

About the Author
Chris Simpson is dedicated to helping people find honest and legitimate work from home and home based business opportunities. Find a legitimate work at home opportunity today at: www.HomeNetPro.com

by Abi Noah

As an internet marketer, the temptation is strong to buy backlinks to improve your website’s position in the search engine results pages.

And with directories offering ‘deals’ like £1 a link, no wonder you are tempted.

But before you jump in, lets take a closer look at how effective bought links are.

There is no doubt that backlinks to your website are important in building popularity for your webpages. The backlinks bring both direct human visitors and visitors from the search engines.

But what you want are links that are generated naturally either through article submissions, other webmasters naturally linking to you because of great content or perhaps through viral products you have online.

Here are a few reasons why buying links is not such a good idea:

• Value for Money? If you think about it, good search engine results page position is achieved by having LOTS of backlinks from a WIDE VARIETY of sites pointing back to your site using the appropriate anchor text. So how many backlinks do you have to buy from the different sites to make a difference to your search engine ranking. So many, you will soon be out of pocket. So is it really value for money buying backlinks? I think not
• Quality of links. We all know that the best links are from within the content of another page on a relevant topic using an anchor text. Ideally the page that has the backlinks to your website on it should not contain any other outgoing links, maximizing the amount of PR juice your website gets from the linking website.With bought links your link tends to be put on a page that had a whole load of other links thereby reducing the boost you would get from your link. Also you cannot guarantee that the link will be placed on a page with niche specific content on it
• The Google Penalty. Google prides itself in providing the most up to date and relevant results for any query. It is to ensure this that Google has it’s very complex but effective search engine ranking algorithm. By buying links, you are artificially improving your ranking in the search engines thereby rendering the results inaccurate. The forums are full of comments by webmasters who have been penalized by the search engines on account of bought and sold links. This penalty is mainly in the form of loss of search engine results page position

Really, the best way to go about generating backlinks to your niche specific site or forums is to have unique useful content on your webpages that other webmasters will want to link to naturally

About the Author

Affiliate Marketing Tips for newbies at http://www.affiliatemarketingintro.com

by Randall White

A blog is a bit like an online journal, although it can be written by various people, or by just one individual. It’s written on a website in chronological order, although usually appearing in reverse order. Blog or ‘blogging’ are also used as verbs to imply an action - in other words, the action of making a comment on a blog somewhere.

The word ‘blog’ comes from Jorn Barger’s word ‘weblog’ and reportedly sprung into being when Peter Merholz divided it into the two words ‘we blog’ on his website for a laugh.

When lots of folks interact using a blog, they are typically discussing a particular subject of interest for them. Consequently, if someone wants to know what’s the best pink gadget to buy for his boat, others will write in with their comment on how that particular gadget worked - or didn’t work. Blogs are ideal for discovering what other folk’s experiences have been with anything you can conceive.

If someone is knowledgeable on some topic with plenty of experience that other people can benefit from, then he might start up a blog about it and offer advice. They might in addition offer links to other sites that promote products applicable to the area of competence. Also he may offer links to other articles or other blogs regarding the same subject.

Blogs utilize both images and text, but some blogs emphasize art (artblog), videos (vlog), images (photoblog) and audio, that is, podcasting or MP3. Blogs can be long or short, but those that are very short are referred to as micro-blogging. Blogs are typically updated frequently and the technology utilized today permits people who understand very little about it to become competent bloggers with just a tiny learning curve.

In the early days of blogging, bloggers referred to themselves diarists, journalers, or even escribitionists. An article or comment placed on a blog is called a post, a blog post or an entry. Old blogs on a topic are sometimes referred to as ‘archives’ and may be maintained on a different page or pages that can be accessed via a hyperlink. There are occassionally a variety of links - like the index at the end of a book and they are located on the right or left of the blogging page.

The beauty of blogging is that people who have the same interests can all join together and talk about, getting to know each other (so to speak) at the same time.

About the Author

The author, Randall White, often writes on topics such as What is Blogging? For more great articles, videos, and products, go ahead and check out Blogging for Fun and Profit