Article marketing, sometimes called bum marketing, can be one of the most useful (and least expensive) forms of internet marketing you can engage in. Submitting your original articles to directories across the Internet is a great way to get your name “out there” and to drive traffic to your website.
How Article Marketing Works
The basic idea of article marketing is to improve your site’s visibility by riding the coattails of a more visible site. If your business is pizza, the likelihood of your new website being found in a Google search for pizza (146,000,000 results) is slim. You simply can’t rank high enough. But if you publish articles about pizza on sites like EzineArticles or Buzzle, you can take advantage of their high rankings to get your article seen and to drive traffic to your own site, and to get high-ranking backlinks to your site, which will improve your rankings.
It’s All About The Keywords
A keyword is just a word or phrase that you might type into Google–or another search engine–to begin your search. If you are looking for Chicago style pizza in Phoenix, then the phrase Chicago style pizza Phoenix is your keyword. If you are the owner of a pizza place in Phoenix specializing in Chicago style pizza, you want to be at the top of that search.
When constructing articles for your article marketing plan, you first need to determine your keywords, and then build your articles around them. Stick to two or three keywords or phrases per article. More than that and you can dilute your ranking.
Make sure that your main keyword or phrase appears in the title of the article, at the beginning, and at the end of the piece. Don’t get carried away, though. More is not better, and might even be seen as “keyword stuffing” by some article directories, causing your article to be rejected.
Content Is Still King
Keywords are not all you have to worry about, though. You still must have good content. Keywords can get you readers, but it’s the content that will keep them there. Without good content, the reader who arrives at your article or site via a keyword search will just as quickly hit the back button and move on to the next thing on the list.
More importantly, good content will keep them coming back. The more often a reader visits your site, the more likely they are to buy. Good, compelling, and helpful content will convert a one-time visitor to a loyal reader.
The Resource Box
The resource box is the answer to your reader’s question, “Now what?” Your article should leave your reader wanting to know more, and trusting in your authority enough to click on the link in your resource box to find out what else you have to say about the subject.
There are a lot of different opinions on the best use of links in your resource box. Some people use the links to drive traffic to the front page of their site, hoping the reader will click through the site on his own once he gets there. Some article marketers prefer to link to a squeeze page, where the reader will be asked to provide an email address in exchange for more information, usually in the form of a free report or ebook.
Persistence Pays Off
Article marketing can drive traffic, build your list, and dramatically increase sales, but it will do none of those things if you are not persistent in your efforts. You cannot simply write one or two articles, distribute them to two or three directories and wait for the traffic to roll in. Like blogging, article marketing needs to be an ongoing campaign, and like blogging, it will build on itself, with more links meaning better search engine rankings, and better rankings turning into more links.
When putting together an article marketing plan, make sure you intend to keep at it for several months to truly see the positive effect it can have on your sales.
P.S. If you need help with your article marketing plan, check out my article marketing service.
