Article Marketing plays well with others.

People submit articles to market their website, and blogs can also be used to market a website.

Both article marketing and blogs can be marketing tools for traditional websites, but they offer special benefits when used together.

Articles and Blogs Play Well Together

My main marketing tool for my business is Article Marketing–that is the tool that has produced the most dramatic success for me.

But I also use other secondary marketing tools which I enjoy and from which I get different types of perks. For example, one of the things I like about having a blog is that readers can leave comments, and I can reply back. My blog is like a little community hub where I can connect with readers.

Another thing I like about having a blog is that it fits so nicely with my Article Marketing plan. Here are a couple ways that I play one off of the other:

It’s easy to bounce articles off of blog content.

I’ve told you about this a few times before, but I have a process for creating my marketing content.

First, I publish educational content on my blog–I try to do 8 posts a month.

Then, I take the previous month’s blog posts and I turn them into articles. Basically, I use the blog post as an outline for the article so that the blog content is still unique. On my own site, I want to have unique content.

Then I submit the articles, and start the whole process over again the following month.

So, as you can imagine, it’s pretty easy for me to write articles because the harder work has already been done for me in the writing of the blog post–I can write a unique  article pretty quickly using the blog post as an outline.

For some more detailed information about turning blog posts into articles, see these resources:

How To Use Your Blog To Generate Articles

How To Turn A Blog Post Into A Free Reprint Article

Use Article Marketing to leverage your blog.

You would do this by linking back to your blog in the resource box. If you also would like to link back to your website, it’s a great idea to use our ArticleLeverage tool drive traffic to multiple sites with just one article. I think it’s a good idea to use a single link in the resource box, but with ArticleLeverage you can create many resource boxes linking to different sites.

What do I mean by “leverage your blog”?

Many website owners use blogs to leverage their websites, because a regularly updated blog usually has an easier time of getting a higher search engine ranking than a traditional website. The reason for this is the freshly updated content–traditional websites are pretty static, but blogs are updated much more frequently.

Google values the steady stream of new content, so if you have a blog and a website, you can have an easier time impacting the search engine ranking and authority of the blog, and then use the blog to drive traffic to your traditional website. Also, the links from the blog to the traditional website can bolster the SEO of the static website.

So, in this way the blog becomes a leveraging tool–ultimately you do want the traffic to end up at your traditional website, but you can use a blog as sort of a “middle man”.

How does Article Marketing play into this?

If you have a blog you know that it’s not enough just to set one up and start posting–you still need to market the blog. Even though Google likes blogs, traffic does not come on it’s own and neither do links. You need to do something to market the blog and to get the links going into it.

That’s where Article Marketing comes in–by building links to your blog and getting widespread exposure to it, you build up the blogs power. Then, ideally the power from the blog flows into the traditional website.

If I have a blog, do I need to do Article Marketing?

It’s very beneficial if you have a blog to do article marketing to build links to your blog, increase your blog’s authority, and elevate search engine ranking.

Why?

A blog has the same challenge that traditional websites have–getting traffic. Especially at the onset, every website owner (and blogs are websites too) realizes that it’s not enough just to have a site–you need to market that site.

Article marketing is a great tool for that, especially if you have a blog, because blogs and article marketing campaigns complement each other–they can work in coordination with each other to produce the results you’re after with not that much more effort.

If I’m doing Article Marketing, do I need a blog?

No–all you need is a website. It’s fine for you to have a traditional website and to submit articles to market your site.

That is how many business owners do things–they have a static website, and then they submit articles to build links, increase their search engine ranking and thereby increase traffic to their site.

Although blogs and Article Marketing can both be marketing tools, they work differently and accomplish different things.

If you don’t have a blog and don’t want one, then it’s fine to just stick to submitting articles–that is a great way to market your site, and it works.

But if you are thinking about starting a blog or have one already, then know that it can play very nicely with your Article Marketing campaign.

Photo by squamosity

Submit articles to market your local business

Getting global exposure for your website and reaching customers all over the world are two perks of Article Marketing, but what if global domination is not your thing?

What if you own a dry cleaning business in Madison, Wisconsin?

Or you’re a real estate agent in Ontario, Canada?

Or you operate a bakery in Marrakech, Morocco?

If you own a local business, you want to attract customers who are in your neighborhood or city. Can article marketing work for you?

Yes!

Many of our members at SubmitYOURArticle.com do have businesses that have localized clients and customers, and they use article marketing to increase their web presence, to help bolster their website’s rankings in the search engines, to establish themselves as an expert in their niche, and also to generate more targeted traffic to their website.

How To Produce Targeted Traffic With Article Submissions

When I say “targeted traffic”, I mean that the people who are visiting your website are not just random passers-by. Rather, they are the type of people who might be truly interested in your business.

To be sure that the traffic you receive is targeted, you would write about your area of expertise and in your resource box (that’s the author bio that sits below your article) you would specify the location of your business. This would tell the reader that you only work with people in that location.

Also, if appropriate you could write some articles that specifically deal with your industry in your location. For example, if you are a Real Estate agent in Ontario, Canada, there may be some unique aspects of buying or selling a house that are specific to Ontario.

Here’s one article idea: “Upcoming Neighborhoods in Ontario, Canada”

Then the article would have to deliver on the promise that the title makes–the article would contain information about upcoming neighborhoods in Ontario.

Please resist the urge to mention your location in the title and then write an article that offers generalized info–if you mention your location in the title, you need to provide specific info about that location.

Having the article be about your niche and your location is not always possible, but even if it’s not you can still include your location in your resource box to help target a specific city or state or country.

We All Want To Attract People Who Will Be Interested In Our Business

The main thing to remember is that while we talk about a “global audience”, every one of us who is doing article marketing wants to attract a certain type of person–the type of person who is most likely to be interested in our business.

I don’t know of any website owner who wants every Tom, Dick and Harry coming to his site.

Whether you have a local business or an internet business that operates worldwide, you still have a target market, and you need to write your articles with that specific group in mind.

So, don’t let the “global exposure” idea intimidate or mislead you–when done correctly, article marketing generates targeted traffic.

Traffic that is targeted to your specific location (if that is what you’re going for).

Traffic that is targeted to your industry.

Traffic that is targeted to people with very specific needs.

Traffic that is targeted to people with specific interests.

If I Have A Local Business, Can Internet Wide Exposure Benefit Me?

Yes, it can.

=> The more people who find your articles to be helpful and interesting, the more times your article will be picked up for publication on websites.

=> Every time your article is re-published on a website, so is your resource box, with a link to your website.

=> The more links you build, the greater affect on your Google ranking.

=> An increased search engine ranking for your major keywords can of course build targeted traffic dramatically for the long-term.

This is how you can train the big old world wide web to work for your local business:

Let’s say you own that bakery in Marrakech–you actually don’t need for any of the people who re-print your article to be located in Marrakech. You’ve included your location in your resource box, so Google knows to associate that location with your business.

When you get your Article Marketing campaign going strong, this is how most people will find you:

They will type “Marrakech bakery” (your keywords) into Google, and your website will appear high in the results.

Hardly Anybody Uses The Phone Book Anymore

I wish that more local business owners realized the power of marketing their businesses and websites on the internet.

So many times I’ve tried to look up local restaurants to take a sneak peak at a menu, and even by typing the business name into Google, it’s still like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Can you imagine that? I’ve got the name of the business and everything, I know the street it’s on, but when I go to Google to find out some more info on the business, there is practically nothing.

What a shame.

This is what your customers are doing. Hardly anyone uses the phone book any longer. We want to see your website, a menu, prices, testimonials, reviews, background history, etc. Anyone who is interested in your business will most likely go to Google for more info.

Having A Website Is Only The Beginning

You probably already have a website with all of that helpful info, but now you have to market that website. You have to make it so that when your potential customers do a search in Google, that your website ranks high up in the results.

That is what Article Marketing can do for you and your local business.

If you do start marketing your local small business online, you will be eons ahead of your competitors, because I don’t think that many owners of local small businesses are on to this yet.

This is good news for you though–like shooting fish in a barrel.

If you have a very tight niche (think ‘Marrakech bakery’, ‘Denver dentist’, ‘Ontario real estate agent’, etc), and very few of your competitors are marketing their websites, then it’s like you’re interviewing for your dream job and all the other applicants have overslept!

For a local small business, your competition is likely very scarce online, which means you can easily dominate Google for your keyword terms.

How To Get Started…

Just start writing articles and submitting them. Do it consistently. Mention your location in your resource box. Make article submissions an ongoing part of your marketing plan. Be grateful that very few other local business owners in your niche are on to this marketing tool.

Photo by Lightmash

It’s great to know what your keywords are, but sometimes it seems like authors are just not sure what in the world they’re supposed to do with the keywords once they’ve researched them and are ready to start submitting articles.

I hear ya!

I know that this topic can seem confusing sometimes, but it doesn’t have to be.

Here are some essential but quick tips for using your keywords in your articles:

1) Within each article, keep the keyword density below 3%. If you’re a member of SubmitYOURArticle.com, you don’t have to worry about this–there is a build-in tool that will alert you if you’ve gone over 3%.

2) Develop a list of 20-30 keywords and phrases.

3) Use a variety of keywords across all of your articles, and don’t focus on just one keyword or phrase all the time.

4) When you’re writing an article, pick one or more of those keywords to use in your article. Use semantically related versions of the word in your article rather than the same keyword over and over again. When I say semantically related, I mean for example: sail boats, sailing boats, sail boat gear, how to sail a boat, etc. All of those phrases are semantically related, but they are different. Google recognizes semantically related keywords, so it’s not necessary (or recommended) to use the same exact phrase over and over again.

5) Every couple of months update your keyword research–that list of 20-30 keywords will not necessarily stay the same for the lifetime of your website. Update your list regularly.

6) Focus on long-tail keyword terms in your articles. Long-tail terms (3-5 words long) are longer than your regular keywords (which are 1-2 words long).

Your basic keyword phrase may be this: dog collars

Your long-tail keyphrase may be: pink rhinestone dog collars

While there may not be as many people searching for the long-tail keyword phrases as your more general keywords, it is easier to rank higher for those search terms (due to less competition), and it’s easier to write an article to satisfy those terms. By writing your articles around your long-tail keyword terms, you can effectively create a blanket coverage of all applicable keywords, all directing readers to your site.

7) Titles are great places to use keywords, if appropriate. If you would like to use your keywords in your title, then your article must deliver on what your title promises. For example, if your keywords are “New Jersey bakery” and you’d like to use that term in your title, then your article must be about New Jersey bakery(ies). If your article is not about a topic that specific, then you should not include your keywords in your title. Always, your title should reflect what your article is about.

8 ) Resource boxes are also good spots for keywords, but do remember to switch them up, especially if you’re using an HTML resource box. If you repeatedly hyperlink the same words, it can be interpreted as trying to be manipulative of Google–which Google doesn’t appreciate! By varying your anchor text (the keywords that you’re hyperlinking) in your HTML resource box, it’s non-manipulative but helps Google get a good idea what your site is about. Try linking to varied semantically related key phrases rather than the same keywords all the time.

9) Write on the topic of your website–that will go a long ways toward creating keyword rich articles.

10) Write naturally, and focus on readability rather than trying to get your keywords in the article as much as possible. A reader should not be able to tell that you’re focusing on certain keywords–they should just think that they’re reading a quality article on a specific topic.

Really, if you follow these 10 simple guidelines you will have much greater success with your keywords, you’ll create higher quality articles, and you’ll make things much easier on yourself!

Photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography

Additional Resources:

SEO For Article Marketers: a collection of resources about link building, SEO, keywords, writing with search engines in mind, stats tracking tools, and more.

Let’s start at the beginning–When you’re creating your resource boxes, your options are a text link and an HTML link.

A text link looks like your website address written out. For example, the text link for my website is this:

http://www.SubmitYOURArticle.com

It is just the text (the letters) that form my website URL hyperlinked so that when someone clicks on it they are taken back to my site. From looking at the link, you can clearly see what my website address is.

When you’re submitting your article at SubmitYOURArticle.com, to create a text link, all you have to do is type in your complete URL (http://www.yourwebsite.com) into the text resource box, and a link will automatically be made.

A HTML link is created by hyperlinking certain words. When you click the words, you are taken back to the website, but you cannot see the website address from looking at the link (unless you hover your cursor over the link).

The words that are hyperlinked with the website address are called the anchor text.

Here is an example of a link with anchor text:

This blog, Creative Article Marketing, is a companion site my main website about article marketing.

The words “article marketing” are the anchor text.

Those words are hyperlinked, so when you click the them it will take you back to SubmitYOURArticle.com. From looking at the hyperlinked words “article marketing”, you can’t see what my actual website address is (unless you hover your cursor over the link).

In the Advanced HTML Resource Box field the link is not created automatically, as in the text resource box. You can create a link using anchor text, and you can also create a link using a written out URL. When doing so, you will need to go through the process of hyperlinking both your keywords and your URL–just typing them into the box will not create the link.

It’s actually quite easy to do the process of creating the hyperlinks in the HTML resource box. In case you need it, here is a tutorial on how to use the Advanced HTML resource box:

How To Create An Advanced HTML Resource Box In 5 Easy Steps

Now that we’ve gone over the difference of a text link and an anchor text link, let’s head into a question that I received from a reader:

“I usually include one anchor text link to my website and one regular link with a written out URL. Do you think that it is a good idea to do so?”

If you are going to use the HTML Resource box, yes I think it’s a good idea to include an anchor text link (hyperlinking a keyword or keyword phrase that is 1-3 words long) and to also hyperlink a written our URL.

With an HTML resource box, why use both a text link and an HTML link?

By using anchor text, you get the benefit of your keywords being linked. This helps Google associate your article/website with those words.

By using the text link, you have the advantage of allowing readers to see your spelled out URL. The written out URL can help a reader remember your site even after they’ve clicked away from your article.

Note: When using anchor text to form a hyperlink, the only thing to keep in mind is that it’s important not to focus on the same keyword phrase each time, but to vary them a lot within your niche. If you repeatedly hyperlink the same words, it can be interpreted as trying to be manipulative of Google–which Google doesn’t appreciate! By varying your anchor text (the keywords that you’re hyperlinking), it’s non-manipulative but helps Google get a good idea what your site is about by linking in semantically related key phrases.

If you’re just using the text resource box, you will only be able to use a text link. But, if you also fill in the Advanced HTML field you can create a resource box that has both a written out URL and a link created by your keywords.

Questions for you–Do you use the HTML resource box? Do you ever hyperlink your keywords and your URL?

Photo credit: Links

You can start to wonder–”Do I really need to do such and such? And if I do need to do it, I think I might be out of my depth!”

Please, if you’re a newbie to article marketing let me set your mind at ease.

First off, you aren’t alone–there are many, many others who are just starting to learn about article marketing.

Secondly, you don’t need advanced knowledge of anything technical in order to do article marketing.

What about keywords?

Is it a “must-do” sort of thing, or can you skip that?

Let’s take a look at a question that I recently received from a reader:

“If you are simply writing to express your thoughts and not necessarily for marketing purposes, just expressing yourself on what you think on a subject, do you think doing keyword research is still necessary? Just finding your blog too full of information for a newbie like me…”

Answer:

It is perfectly fine if you’d just like to write articles on particular topic and not do keyword research–you can still see excellent results with Article Marketing.

By far the most important aspect of article marketing is consistency–submitting articles every month for an extended period of time (preferably the lifetime of your website). And consistency is something that anyone can do–no technical knowledge necessary on that one!

On this blog I teach content that’s applicable to beginners, content that is meant for more advanced folks, and everything in between. Not everything you read here will be applicable to your stage of learning–just read it and take in as much as you can, or store it away for a rainy day when you’re feeling like biting off a little bit more.

If all this keyword and SEO stuff is making your brain hurt (and it makes mine hurt sometimes too! ), then please don’t focus on it. Just write articles on the topic of your website, and submit them regularly.

I think it helps to think about this in terms of food.

What? Let me explain:

Right now as a newbie, you have a beginner sized appetite for article marketing. It’s perfectly fine to eat appetizer sized portions. Right now you just aren’t ready to sit down to a big meal of this stuff.

When you get more experienced, your appetite will increase, and you will naturally want to consume more information on more complicated aspects of this topic.

It’s just fine to start with an appetizer–the more comfortable you get with this new activity, the easier it will be for you to expand on your knowledge.

You might find this post reassuring: The #1 Reason Why Article Marketing Fails (and I’ll tell you right now it is not a lack of knowledge of keywords or SEO!)

You can do this–as a newbie by just reading that one post I just linked to above, you will have everything you need to make a strong start with Article Marketing.

Photo Credit: Penguin Appetizer

If I could sit across a table from you and give you some advice on just a few main things to keep in mind as you carry out your article marketing campaigns, this is what I would tell you:

1) Vary your keywords.

Yes, knowing what your keywords are and using them appropriately in your article submissions can help you maximize your results and really target the types of readers that you’re reaching.

I just want to caution you though, to vary your keywords in your articles–don’t just target the same words every time. The reason for this is that overusing a keyword in your submissions can make it appear as if  you’re trying to manipulate Google, which Google doesn’t like.

2) Focus on writing quality articles.

It may be tempting to just crank out article after article thinking that the goal is submitting a certain quantity of articles so that you can receive the backlinks, but quality is important as well.

Article marketing is not just about the initial backlinks–the goal is to produce and widely distribute educational, helpful content on a niche topic that will continue to hold its value for readers for years and years to come.

One of the major perks of article marketing is that the backlinks build over the lifetime of the published article.

Why do the backlinks continue to build?

Because when people read the article, they find value in it and decide to re-publish it on their websites.

If the article does not have lasting value, though, there is no incentive for more and more publishers to keep on republishing

Quality articles will build credibility with publishers and your target readers. Focus on only submitting quality articles and you will be rewarded many times over.

When I say “quality article”, I mean one that is well written and thoughtfully put together, offers helpful information, is specific to your niche, and is ideally timeless.

3) Re-purpose your content.

Have you got a blog, an e-book, a PDF, or a website with helpful information?

If you do, you have a ready source of inspiration for your articles.

Or if you have a collection of articles that you’ve written and submitted, why not re-purpose them into an e-book, which you can use as a resource box lure or as a free gift for people who sign up for your email list?

Most of the way we communicate with people online is through the written word, so why not multi-task your content and save yourself some time and energy?

Here are some resources to help you get started:

5 Ways To Get Multiple Marketing Uses Out Of Your Articles

Get More Marketing Mileage Out Of Your Articles–Turn Them Into An E-book!

How To Turn A Blog Post Into A Free Reprint Article

How To Use Your Blog To Generate Articles

4) Build your email list by linking to a squeeze page from your resource box.

If you are trying to build your list, it’s a great idea to link to a squeeze page that has a sign up box for a valuable report, an e-book, a newsletter, or some other gift that you can offer a reader. The reader will then sign up for your email list.

You can also link to your main site (for SEO reasons), but it’s worth it to link to a squeeze page as well.

I do recommend using a single link in a resource box, so if you have two pages to links to (as in this case with the squeeze page and the main site) you can use ArticleLeverage to drive traffic to both sites with one article, while still maintaining a single link in the resource box. For more info on how to do that, please see this post:

How To Build Links To Multiple Sites With Just One Article

5) Be consistent.

You can do all the things I advise above, but if you are not consistent you will not see the results you’re looking for. Consistency is the driving force behind a successful article marketing campaign, and if you’ll just learn to do that one simple thing–be consistent–you will go much farther than you would have otherwise.

I keep this quote from Benjamin Disraeli beside my desk:

“The secret to success is constancy of purpose.”

Something to keep in mind: Doing anything consistently month after month after month will make an impact.

What does “consistency” look like?

Submit articles each month. Do it for the lifetime of your website.

I recommend submitting somewhere between 2 and 8 articles a month–anything more than that is overkill, in my opinion. When you go over 8 articles, the benefits of article submissions go down compared to the extra effort you’re putting into it.

As long as we’re talking about consistency, here is a post I’d like to refer you to:

The #1 Reason Why Article Marketing Fails

If you are serious about driving traffic to your site with article marketing, there is nothing to prevent you from doing so.

Article marketing isn’t complicated, you don’t need to be advanced in your knowledge of SEO, and you don’t need to know anything technical like HTML.

As you’re starting out, focus writing on quality articles, submit them consistently each month, and then you can work on doing these other suggestions I’ve listed here.

What about you–

If you could give one suggestion to a newcomer to Article Marketing, what would it be?

Do you have a particular quote that inspires your life and your work?

SSL Makes Articles Easy To Read

I’ve written a ton of articles, and if you’ve been writing for any length of time you’ll probably notice that you’ve developed certain patterns that you do pretty much ever time your write that help you get the job done quickly and with a level of quality that is consistent for your entire library of articles.

For myself, my formula is as simple as SSL.

What does SSL stand for?

SHORT PARAGRAPHS

I make a point in writing in short paragraphs simply because it makes the article easier to read. If you see a big block of text, you can get lost in it, but if your paragraphs are short it’s just plain easier to take in.

The way I organize paragraphs when I’m writing an article is very different from when I’m writing a book. Normally with longer pieces of content (like books) the paragraphs have an intro sentence, supporting sentences and also a concluding sentence.

But with a short web-based piece of content like an article (or even a blog post), you have to keep in mind that that the viewer is reading off of a computer screen, which is not necessarily easy on the eyes for intensive reading!

So, when I’m writing my articles, I like to space out the content very generously and create short paragraphs.

For some examples of what my short paragraph articles look like, click here.

SUB-HEADINGS

In this blog post, I have sub-headings–can you pick them out?

Sub headings appear on a line separate from the regular paragraphs, and they announce what the next section is about.

In this post, I’ve broken the content into 3 sub-headings: “Short Paragraphs”, “Sub-headings”, and “List Elements”.

Now, when you’re submitting your articles, you won’t be able to use bold, italics and colors to delineate your sub-headings, but you can still make them stand apart from the other sentences.

Here’s how:

USE CAPITAL LETTERS IN YOUR SUB-HEADING

OR…

Use Capital Letters Just For the First Letter Of Each Word

OR…

*Put A Star (Asterisk) Before Your Sub-Heading

OR…

=> Put an arrow in front of your sub-heading.

(You can create an arrow by pressing the “equals” key (=) and then the “greater than” key (>)

Also, be sure that your sub-heading has a blank line above and below it–that makes it easier to see.

Sub-headings are a great trick for making an article easier to read–have you noticed that one of my primary goals is readability?

For one thing, reading off of the computer screen is not the most comfortable way to ingest the written word.

Also, any content on the web is in extreme competition for the reader’s attention–if the content is hard to read, it’s easy enough to click away to another web page.

Additionally, readers usually skim web based content.

This is why sub-headings are great–the article is neatly and obviously broken into sections that are readily apparent to someone who is skimming the article.

LIST ELEMENTS

Perhaps the easiest type of online content to read are lists–this is why list articles are so popular!

A list article can be a HowTo article that is broken down into steps, with the steps clearly identified (1, 2, 3, etc)

A list article can be a collection of facts on an overarching topic, such as this one of mine: 15 Top Article Marketing Tips

The reason why list articles are so easy to read is because it’s like the article is broken into bite-sized pieces. If the reader is skimming (and likely they are!), they can quickly look at the list and even if they don’t meditate on every single word in the article they can still take away the main points.

Here are some tips on how to write a great list article:

5 Steps For Writing ‘How To’ Articles

How To Write A Great List Article

For most of my articles, I use most or all of these tactics–every article I write has short paragraphs. Most articles I write are list articles, and in any that aren’t list articles, I use sub-headings to break up the text.

What do you think–will you try these techniques?

Photo Credit: Magnifying Glass

Google & Article Marketing

It is not necessary to know the ins and outs of how Google works and how Article Marketing influences search engine listings to see positive results from your article submissions.

You can progress and see the benefits if you write articles on the topic of your website, submit articles consistently, and craft strong titles and resource boxes.

However, you must know that Article Marketing is inextricably linked with SEO, and when you’re feeling up to it there are some more advanced things you can do to with your articles that will capitalize on the SEO benefits of Article Marketing.

How Do Google and Article Marketing Interconnect?

When you have a website, all marketing tools are employed with the end goal of driving traffic to that website. The traffic can come from multiple sources, but the primary traffic hubs are search engines such as Google.

Link Building is something that website owners undertake to increase their search engine ranking. When I say ’search engine ranking’ I mean where the website shows up in search results when someone Googles the website’s keywords. By building links from other websites going back to your own website, your can get a higher search engine rank. An increased search engine ranking for your major keywords can of course build traffic dramatically for the long-term.

This is where Article Marketing steps in–it is a tried and true tool for building links and driving traffic to a website over the long term. By being aware of how SEO interacts with Article Marketing, you can leverage your articles more effectively and fine tune your results. You can also develop realistic expectations, which will help you keep your motivation and momentum going.

This collection of resources is for anyone who wants to maximize their success with their article submissions. The first section “Getting Started” is for everyone–even if you don’t know anything about SEO or Google or the internet. Just read the resources under that section, and if you like you can save the rest for when you’re ready to bite off a little bit more.

The other sections are for folks who are ready to spread their wings and start learning about keywords, link building, basic SEO, and how search engines work.  I hope you find these resources helpful!

Getting Started:

The #1 Reason Why Article Marketing Fails - If there is one post on this blog that you need to read, this is it. Article Marketing is not complicated–it is extremely simple and you may be surprised at the most common reason it ‘doesn’t work’.

5 Things To Do Before You Start Article Marketing - for anyone who has just stared doing article marketing, or is on the verge of starting, or who is considering starting, I’ve got 5 tips for you that will make your life easier.

ArticleLeverage: How Does It Work? a brief overview of the ArticleLeverage system.This tool is free for the use of SubmitYOURArticle.com members, and allows you to create unlimited variations for your articles and resource boxes.

How To Drive Traffic To Your Brand New Website - a member of SubmitYOURArticle.com shares his results when marketing his new website with article submissions, and I give you 3 big tips for creating the same types of results.

Link Building & Search Engines:

How To Get A Higher Search Engine Rank - Have you ever wondered what it means to “get a higher search engine rank”? This resource explains what that phrase means, what you should be shooting for, and a step-by-step plan for increasing your own search engine ranking.

How Many Articles Should I Submit–Is More Better? - tells the optimum number of articles to submit per month, explains how a rapid increase in links affects search engines, and gives tips for building links organically.

When Can I Expect Backlinks To Show Up From My Articles? - explains how to do a backlink check and how long it takes for links to be registered at search engines.

Is There Any Benefit To Having My Article Published On A Smaller Website? - explains the 2 ways that Article Marketing builds traffic and why it’s important to submit to as many targeted websites as possible, both big and small.

Keyword Research:

What Are Keywords? - gives illustrations explaining what keywords are and how Google sees keywords.

How Do I Get Started With Keyword Research? - goes over some of the most popular keyword research resources.

Keyword Density - explains how keyword density is calculated

Why Do You Ask For My Keywords On The Submission Page? - teaches how SubmitYOURArticle.com and article directories use your keywords in the publication of your articles.

SEO Writing:

How To Sabotage Your Article: Go Keyword Crazy - a 5 step process for using your keywords appropriately in your articles.

How Can I Use Keywords In My Articles To Please Search Engines And My Target Readers? - a 2 step process for effectively using your keywords to grab the attention of readers and also appeal to Google. Covers using long-tail keyphrases in your articles, and how you can create a blanket coverage of all applicable keywords, all directing readers to your site.

How To Write Search Engine Friendly Article Titles - explores how to use the free WordTracker keyword suggestion tool to generate article titles.

How To Appropriately Use Keywords In Your Article Titles - covers how NOT to write a title, and also 3 key elements that your titles should include.

Always Write On The Topic Of Your Website - explains why all of your articles should always be on the topic of your website.

SEO & Resource Boxes:

How To Build Links To Multiple Sites With Just One Article! - Members of SubmitYOURArticle.com are invited to use ArticleLeverage™, which allows you to set up variations for different parts of your article, including the text and HTML resource boxes. This article reveals a secret trick for driving traffic to multiple sites by employing the ArticleLeverage™ tool.

Are You Making One Of These 7 HTML Resource Box Slip-Ups? - goes over several common mistakes that people make when creating an HTML resource box, and how to fix them.

How To Create An Article Marketing Campaign:

Over a series of posts on the Creative Article Marketing blog, I shared the details of my own link building, traffic driving, ranking jumping journey for my most recent article marketing campaign. I revealed every step I took on my article marketing campaign, exactly what I did, and also the very pleasing results. If you would like to maximize your results and be more strategic in your Article Marketing efforts, I highly encourage you to read the resources below and develop your own Article Marketing Campaign. This is the way that I do mine:

Step 1: Establish Your Baseline -covers 4 questions to ask yourself in determining your website’s starting point, some FAQs you may run into as you’re doing this research, and reveals my own results in search engine rankings for my keywords from consistently submitting articles.

Step 2: Check Out Your Competition - explains why it’s important to look at how your main competitors are doing, how you can determine who your competitors are, and what info you should track for your competition.

Step 3: Organizing and Brainstorming - teaches how to set goals for your article marketing, establishing a schedule, and also pre-brainstorming article ideas.

Step 4: Writing - gives basic guidelines for writing your articles, and highlights 2 easy ways to use your keywords in your submissions, even if you’re a beginner with SEO.

Step 5: Keywords - further elaborates on how to use keywords in your article marketing campaign, including the WRONG way to use keywords and the RIGHT way to use them, and also some tips on using keywords in your titles.

Statistics Tracking Tools:

How To Use Yahoo Site Explorer - walks you though using Yahoo Site Explorer in monitoring the statistics for your website.

How Can I Tell If My Target Market Is Reading My Articles? - teaches how to reach your target market with your articles and how many views your article has.

Photo Credit: Google logo render - Mark Knol

An increased search engine rank can build traffic for the long term.

One of the most common areas of confusion is exactly how Article Marketing works to drive traffic to a website. The answer probably has more levels than you would think, and a better understanding of how Article Marketing works can help you know what to expect.

Recently I received this question from a reader:

“I have asked several “experts” this question and not been convinced of the answers. My question is in relation to the tactic of using article marketing to drive traffic. If the target market does not utilise popular article directories as a source of information then is there any point in spending time submitting to directories? If keyword searches in article directories do not display information in the market niche can one assume that this format in not applicable to the niche?”

Those are some great questions–let’s go through them one by one…

“If the target market does not utilise popular article directories as a source of information then is there any point in spending time submitting to directories?”

Yes, there is–Although people may find your articles on an article directory, Article Marketing drives traffic to a website primarily through an increase in search engine ranking for your website’s keywords.

An increased search engine rank can build traffic dramatically for the long term.

For example, if a person does a search on Google, Yahoo or any other search engine for the keyword terms associated with your website, and if your website comes up high in the rankings (say #1 or #2 or somewhere in the top 10, which would put it on the front page of results listings), then you will receive more traffic to your website than if your site appeared lower in the rankings.

Put yourself in the position of a search engine customer–when you do a search for something on Google and other SEs, you tend to just look at the first page of results–rarely would anyone go through 5 or 10 pages of results.

If you get past the 2nd page and you still haven’t found the info you’re looking for, most people will simply figure that they need to use different search terms. They will start over typing different words into Google’s search box.

So, any website that shows up on the first page of results in Google or any other search engine will have a marked advantage in getting more traffic.

This is why people do article marketing–by consistently submitting articles on the topic of your website, you build links to your website and also are able to create a library of niche specific content that is linking back to your site (each time your article is republished, your resource box will be also, and that is how you build the links).

So, let’s go back to your question–”If the target market does not utilise popular article directories as a source of information then is there any point in spending time submitting to directories?”

Yes, because even if your target market is not doing searches on a particular article directory, they are most certainly doing search engine searches (on Google, Yahoo, etc).

Your article marketing campaign is meant to elevate your search engine rankings for your keyword terms, thereby sending you more traffic from Google, Yahoo, etc.

If keyword searches in article directories do not display information in the market niche can one assume that this format in not applicable to the niche?

I hope I’m understanding your question correctly, and please correct me if I’m not–but if you’re asking what I think you’re asking the answer would be “no”, because again the place where your target market would be doing keyword searches would be in search engines like Google. Whenever someone does a search for a keyword term in Google there will always be a result–your object is to have your website rank highly in the results in Google.

On the article directory itself, you will submit your article to the category that best matches your topic. Most article directories will have an assortment of general categories, and you would pick the one that matches most closely (for example, if your topic was ‘dogs’, you would choose the ‘pets’ category).

I wouldn’t worry so much about how things are arranged on the article directory itself.

The article directory is not the end of the line–it’s just the beginning.

The article directory is the hub from which publishers will find your article and then republish it on their sites (thereby building even more links to your site).

So, when you submit an article to a directory, you are not just building one link–you are placing your article on the free market in a location that is a hive of activity.

Lots of publishers use free reprint articles on their sites, and they go to various article directories (or do a search on Google) looking for articles that are on the topic of their particular website. So, putting an article on a directory is not the end result–the article directory is a means to an end.

It’s basically like placing a product of yours in a busy store where everyone can see it. The store gets traffic from many places–some of the traffic is just people stopping by spur of the moment, but other traffic comes from more targeted sources–from an ad the store placed in the newspaper or on TV.

So, bringing it back to Article Marketing–the article directory is the store, and the article is like your product.

You will get people looking at your article simply because they came to the directory and were searching on the directory for certain types of articles, but you will also get people who came to your article via a search on Google.

Here are two resources that you might find helpful:

What is the purpose of an article directory?
Is there any point in having your article published on a smaller website?

I hope that helps!

If you’ve just started Article Marketing, the concept of a Resource Box may be new to you.

I’ve written many articles on the topic of ‘how to create a great resource box’, and I thought it would be a good idea to compile and organize them in one place so that you will have a ready resources when questions arise.

Here are some of the classic articles on how to make a strong resource box:

Getting Started:

How To Write A Resource Box - explains what a resource box is, includes basic tips for getting started writing a resource box.

5 Safeguards To Be Sure That Your Resource Box Links Work - a guide to help you avoid broken links.

How To Customize Your Resource Box In 3 Easy Steps - It’s great to have a basic resource box, but for best results it’s a good idea to customize your basic resource box to suit each article. This resource shows you how to tailor your resource box so that it flows nicely with your article.

How To Sabotage Your Article Marketing: The Last Minute Resource Box - Here are a 7 Simple Resource Box Guidelines that will take you from “What?” to “Wow!” in no time.

5 Ways to Stop Singing the Resource Box Blues - Here’s a list of 5 definite ‘Do’s’ to keep in mind when crafting your resource box.

Giving A Reason To Click-Through To Your Website:

7 Effective Resource Box Lures - A resource box ‘lure’ is anything that inspires a reader to click the link in your resource box and go back to your website. This resource contains 7 ideas for giving your readers a reason to click-through.

How To Make Your Resource Box Sticky (and Get Those Click Throughs!) -It’s not so much what you say as how you say it–this article gives examples that show you how to tweak your readers’ interest and cultivate curiosity for what you have to offer back at your website.

3 Secret Tricks For Luring Readers Back To Your Website - My 3 best tips for increasing click-throughs from your resource box to your website.

Resource Box Rehab:

A while ago did a “Resource Box Rehab Lab” where people submitted their resource boxes so that I could brainstorm ways how to improve their author bio. We had a great turn out, and from the entries I picked out several resource boxes that were representative of common problems, and then in several posts on this blog I did a “makeover” on those chosen  resource boxes.

It was very fun and a great teaching opportunity. I think we pretty much covered all of the different pitfalls that authors fall into when creating their resource boxes–please look through the list of links below and read those tutorials. By following the instructions in the posts, you will be able to create a great resource box.

Resource Box Rehab: Why Should I Go To Your Site? - guide for providing a reason to click-through to your website.

Resource Box Rehab: Making Your Resource Box Short And Sweet - gives pointers for condensing information in your resource box to fit character limitations.

Resource Box Rehab: How To Turn Your Business Card Into A Resource Box - you can do better than having a resource box that simply reflects the info on your business card. This is a guide for taking things up a few notches from just the bare basic info.

Resource Box Rehab: It’s Not Just About Links - if you’ve ever been tempted to simply leave a link or a URL in your resource box and no other info, then this article is for you!

Resource Box Rehab: Excellent Author Resource Boxes - It helps to have role models, doesn’t it? This is a collection of great resource boxes.

HTML Resource Boxes

What’s An HTML Resource Box? - tells what a HTML resource box is, goes over the benefits of using one, and then covers some of the common mistakes people make and how to fix them.

How To Enter An Advanced HTML Resource Box In 5 Easy Steps - this is a step-by-step tutorial for submitting an HTLM resource box into SubmitYOURArticle.com. This post is for members who would like to learn how to use the Advanced HTML Resource Box field that appears on the Enter Your New Article page.

How To Write An HTML Resource Box…The Easy Way! - I’ve noticed that some authors will have great text resource boxes but their HTML ones are just bare bones! This article teaches how to have a completely fleshed out HTML resource box.

7 HTML Resource Box Slip-Ups - goes over several common mistakes that people make when creating an HTML resource box, and how to fix them.

SubmitYOURArticle.com & Resource Boxes

How To Drive Traffic To Multiple Sites With Just One Article! - Members of SubmitYOURArticle.com are invited to use ArticleLeverage™, which allows you to set up variations for different parts of your article, including the text and HTML resource boxes. This article reveals a secret trick for driving traffic to multiple sites by employing the ArticleLeverage™ tool.

How To Use The Resource Box Manager On Your Account - For members of SubmitYOURArticle.com, this is a tutorial about how to use your Resource Box Manager.