Articles is an extremely effective and successful linking technique. It’s a great way to get high quality back links. When you write an article, you’re providing the fresh content that search engines love and you’re demonstrating your expertise and abilities.
By writing articles, you’re establishing yourself as an authority in your field and creating a positive feedback loop which, in turn, will drive more traffic to your website.
Follow this three step process to start your article marketing strategy.
Step 1: Research and Write Your Article
The obvious first step is to write your article. You should spend time planning your article. If you begin typing without any planning, you probably won’t get very far.
You need to brainstorm at least 10 different topics, all relating to your website. You will develop these 10 topics into 10 separate articles.
Once you have your 10 topics, you’ll write one article, 400 to 500 words in length, about each one. Each topic should differ enough to allow you to reach the minimum word count. The topics should be related and easily tied together, but they need to be sufficiently different.
Since you’re writing articles that will be posted to other websites, make sure that you use shorter sentences and shorter paragraphs. Most people on the web will skim the article looking for main points.
Your title should speak directly to the main content. They don’t have to be cute, fancy, or obsessively creative. In fact, you can actually mislead readers if your title is too creative.
Use your main keywords with a quick synopsis of what the article is about. Simple, direct, and to the point.
Once you have your article written, it’s time to add your resource box
Step 2: Add a Resource Box for Impact
You need to develop a persuasive resource box that makes its point clearly with a strong call to action. In order to do that, you need to ask yourself these questions:
1. Why should or would the reader of this article click on my link?
2. Would I click on this link?
3. Does the article compel me to seek further information or take action?
A five to six line resource box is not unheard of, but a resource box of three to four lines is most generally well received and very successful.
You must give the reader a reason to click your link without sounding like a sales pitch. So, forget the “buy one get one free” offers and the “limited time only” jargon. Just compel the reader with facts and tried not to sound like a salesman.
One critical and often overlooked point is your hyperlink. Make sure that your link’s anchor text includes the keywords that you want to be ranked for in the search engines. Don’t use your personal name or website URL unless those are the terms you want to get ranked for.
Also, make sure the link is functioning correctly and is pointing to the correct page you’re promoting.
Last but not least, proofread the article. A great technique is to write the article, do a cursory check, then a second check. Do one last proof a day later.
Step 3: Promote Your Articles
You may want to write one article and jump to the promotion right away. You’ll have to determine for yourself which way you like best. Either way works fine.
Now that you’ve written your articles, applied your formatting, finished your proofreading and added your resource box, it’s time to start promoting.
There are several places you can start promoting your articles:
1. Article submission sites and directories
2. E-mail announcement lists
3. Ezine publishers and webmasters that share your target audience
Another great way to promote your articles is to package and distribute them by bundling them according to popularity and creating a free e-book, report, or course. You can set up an autoresponder on your website where visitors can sign up and receive your e-book as a free download. Encourage them to distribute the ebook freely.
Get out there and promote your ebook on other sites. Push it around. Get it into the hands of as many people as possible.
Article Marketing – An Effective Strategy
Writing and promoting articles is an effective way to get high quality back links to your website. When you write an article and include a link back to your site, you’re getting a link from a sight without the requirement to link back to that same website. The article also serves as a PR or marketing vehicle for your site. You’re not only getting one way back links, you’re also getting visitors who click through your article’s links.
If you take your time, do your research, and write good, quality informational articles, you will be on your way to higher search engine rankings and more sales.