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This is Part 8 in the 10 part series How To Sabotage Your Article Marketing…And What To Do About It!
Every now and then someone will write in saying that they are not seeing the results they were hoping for with article marketing, and they'd like some feedback as to where they could be going wrong.
Then I look at their list of articles and start wondering,
"Hmmm, were all of these articles written to drive traffic back to the same website?"
You see, some of the articles are on the topic of "stereo systems" and others are on the topic of "ballroom dancing" and then others are on the topic of "parenting".
I check the resource boxes and sure enough–all of the articles are trying to drive traffic back to the same website…a website that sells stereo systems.
What is wrong with this picture?
When you're trying to get a grip on what you should write your articles about and why it's so important to stick to a certain topic, it helps to start with the basics.
First, let's refresh our memories about why we're actually doing article marketing in the first place:
To build inbound links to your website.
The inbound links will improve your search engine ranking, which will then, in turn bring you even more traffic. How do you build inbound links through article marketing? You receive a backlink from every publisher who decides to pick up your article, publish it on his website, and share it with his readers.
Now, not all links are created equal. Google gives more weight to links coming from related sites, or sites that contain other content that is related to the topic of your site. For example, if you have a website on Sail Boats, it's better to have an incoming link coming from another site about Sail Boats or Sailing Gear (or anything having to do with Sailing), than a backlink from a website that's about Computers.
With article marketing, some of the publishers who pick up your article for publication may have very specialized sites, and others will be article directories or other types of online publishers who have their content divided up into categories.
If your article gets picked up by a specialized site, then that's great…if you've written your article about the topic of your website.
If your website is about ballroom dancing and your article is about ballroom dancing, and your article gets picked up by a website that is all about ballroom dancing, then BRAVO!
But, if your article is about ballroom dancing and your website is about stereo systems and your article gets picked up by a site that's about ballroom dancing, then something is a bit off.
Yes, you're getting a backlink to your site still, but you're missing out on a few things–one of which is receiving a backlink from a site in a related field to your own. This is one reason why you should always, always, always write articles on the topic of your website.
To get the word out about your website, bringing widespread exposure and an increase in long term targeted traffic.
When I say "get the word out about your website" I am referring to your well-crafted resource box that sits below your educational, non-promotional article. The idea with article marketing is not to get just any type of traffic, but targeted traffic, and we do this by:
1) Grabbing the attention of our target readers with a compelling article title
2) Then we provide them educational information in our article body that leaves them saying, "That article really helped me!"
3) Then we transition the momentum that we built up in our article into our resource box. We've hooked the reader's attention in our article, and then we give them a really great reason to click through to our website in our resource box.
If you are not writing articles on the topic of your website, can you see where the problem starts to happen?
You may have a stunning article about ballroom dancing, but it's very hard to suddenly convert someone who is looking for info about dancing into someone who wants to buy a stereo system. 
Any click-throughs that you receive from an article that is not on the topic of your website are not targeted traffic, because you are not luring in your target customers.
Do you see what I mean?
We want our article to flow into our resource box, and then for our resource box to lure folks into our website.
If we write articles that are not on the topic of our website, then we lose the flow, and it's like we're trying to dance the waltz with two left feet.
To rank higher in Google and the other search engine rankings.
The number of backlinks that your website has influences Google's estimation of your website's importance, and we all know that when Google is creating its search results for its customers, that they really want to give the searcher results that have the greatest chance of answering their query.
The importance of your website in Google's eyes determines where your site is ranked in the search results when someone types in your keyword terms.
Why do you want to be ranked higher in the search engines (Google in particular)?
An increased search engine ranking for your major keywords can of course build traffic dramatically for the long-term.
When a customer is thinking about using your services, they are likely to find you through a Google search.
If you've been doing article marketing and writing articles on the topic of your website, it's likely that several of your articles will come up when someone does a search.
But what is the likelihood that when a potential customer types in the search term "stereo systems" that they will get a list containing articles about parenting and ballroom dancing? Pretty close to zilch.
This is another reason why it's very important to write articles on the topic of your website–your articles can drive targeted search traffic to your website if they are written on the topic of your website.
To establish yourself as an expert in your niche.
One of the big perks of article marketing is that your articles can make appearances in search results and also will appear on numerous websites on the net. When a potential customer reads one of your articles they will get a great idea of your expertise in your business (if you've written about the topic of your website). This also builds customer confidence.
If you're writing articles that are not on the topic of your website, then you're forfeiting the chance to show folks that you are an expert in your niche.
Alright, so what should I write about?
Great question!
Even with the instructions "write articles on the topic of your website", for lots of us it is still hard to come up with ideas of what to write about.
I KNOW! I think we all have been there and sometimes we really have to wrack our brains for interesting topics (and this may very well be the reason why some folks start writing on other topics ).
We'll be going into "what exactly should I write about" in the next installment of this series, so please check back in a couple days for that post!
Article Distribution Service (SubmitYOURArticle.com)
Posted: Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 at 12:00 am
article distribution service, article marketing, keywords, submit article, submit articles, writing
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August 25th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
[…] 8. Write Off-Topic Articles […]
November 24th, 2008 at 1:31 am
always great info, 2 to go eh?
November 24th, 2008 at 2:32 am
And don’t forge to tell people that your articles can be around for a longgggg time. I still see results from an article written back in 2004. Unbelievable, but true.
November 24th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Excellent article!
It makes a lot of sense that if you were interested in a specific article in the first place, then after reading that article… if your interest level is peaked more, you would want to either…
(a) get more information about that particular subject matter… or
(b) find out more about the author.
While it takes a major effort to write informative articles about your website consistently, there is no other way to get the desired results we are looking for.
We all do get caught up in doing things fast. We sometimes try to turn out 2 articles in an hour just to get the numbers out there.
I guess we all need to pay much closer attention to the quality of our articles over the quantity.
Once again thanks for your leadership Steve!
Godfrey Thaxter
November 29th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
It’s always important to write about what your customers are looking for not what interests you the most.
As an expert it’s easy to get bored with the mundane nuances of your subject…but that may very well be the information that your prospects need.
Stick mostly with the basics and your business will be rewarded for it.
December 9th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Your articles are always so helpful…This all really makes a lot of sense…and will create more focus for article writers like myself. THanks so much…carol stanley author of For Kids 59.99&Over
December 16th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
A quality, well written article will be around for as long as people have an interest in it. Just like a popular website like ebay, amazon, google etc. Basically all you have to do when writing an article is to use common sense and read it from your readers eyes. Then you’ll get the big picture.
December 18th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
[…] I am always telling you to write articles on the topic of your website, but what if your website more like a shopping mall, with lots of different categories and pages selling all sorts of different products? […]
December 21st, 2008 at 6:10 pm
How do you add a new website…or start writing articles about a new business…do you have to get a new account, or just add different links in the resource box?
December 22nd, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Hi Pat,
You don’t need a new account–all you need to do is write articles on the topic of your new website, and then craft a resource box that links back to that site.
I hope that helps
December 29th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Hi Steve,
You always give a wise advice!
It is important to write articles related to the products you are promoting for example, my website provide 6 main income pulling products and other services. So I write articles on each of my niche product thereby giving me much of the needed traffic. Thanks for the great resource!
Charles