Wednesday, March 05, 2008

"The Power of Article Marketing

The power of article marketing is that it is 1 of the best free traffic generating methods to get people to visit your web site. Yet many don't use the power of article marketing because they think they can't write. And many of those who do write articles don't write them correctly.

To use the power of article marketing correctly you need to do these 3 things:

1. Pick a topic

Since you've picked a niche for your web site you should be writing articles that pertain to that niche. Writing an article about how to improve your golf swing for a cooking site just doesn't make any sense. Even if the article is really good and does drive traffic to your site, it's very doubtful that the reader will be interested in what your site has to offer so they will just move on.

When you pick a topic make sure it's something that people are looking for information about. Article marketing is about providing information people want. If you write an article that doesn't provide any useful information then those who read it probably won't visit your site.

2. Write a "good" article

Most people who don't use the power of article marketing are people who think they can't write. If you're one of those people let me ask you a question?

Can you talk?

If you can talk and you can talk about your niche then you can write!

Article marketing isn't about writing a paper for school. It's about having a conversation with someone. When you write, write like you talk. Sure you don't want to make a lot of glaring spelling and grammar errors but the internet is much more forgiving than your English teacher. (Hint: Some people use a mini-recorder to record what they want to say and then write what they've recorded.)

When using article marketing you must also provide useful information however you don't have to write a book. You only have to write a short 250 to 600 word article and that isn't long enough to tell your reader everything you know. So don't try to prove you're an expert and tell them everything. Just show them you're a credible resource and tell them a little.

The real power of article marketing comes when you write your article correctly and this doesn't mean good spelling and grammar. It means you've written an article that has good keyword density. Keywords are those words people are searching for and density means you've used those keywords enough times in the article to make the search engines think your article is relevant. Just be careful about the number of times you use your keywords because if you over use them your article could be considered spam and ignored. For optimum keyword performance and to get the most from the power of article marketing, keep your keyword density around 4% for the total number of words in your article.

Having a conversation with your reader about something in your niche, providing useful information and having your search engine keywords sprinkled throughout is what makes a good article. (Hint: A catchy title containing your keywords will also help.)

3. Use your resource box

Your resource box is the key to driving traffic to your site with article marketing because it's where you put your link and the compelling reason to click it. You should state your name, a statement with some of your business/personal information along with an offer containing your link.

In other words, say who you are, why they should care about what you have to say, where to go to get more information and your link to get there.

The power of article marketing is under-used and misused by most online marketers. Yet it's one of the best free traffic resources online. Article marketing is a free way to:

  • Get your article (with your link) a good search engine ranking

  • Get backlinks to your site (when others put your article on their site they have to include your resource box)

  • Get your name branded as a credible resource

By using the power of article marketing correctly and often you'll be able to drive traffic to your web site.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. Today's tip contains some of the information in the article marketing discussion from "How Can I Get Visitors to My Website: Traffic Generation Techniques Explained." Feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts about this tip.


Tags: , , , , , , , , ,