Main points:
- Article marketing is an “oldie” but goodie.
- My definition of Article Marketing: You write articles (or outsource them), and submit them to one or more article directories. Those directories publish your article on their website, along with an author bio section that links back to your website. Additionally, those articles may then be syndicated on other people’s websites.
- Some reasons I think it’s a good strategy for newbies:– It’s white hat (unless you do it the grey-hat way).
– It’s easy and low cost to get started.
– Even if you fail from an SEO standpoint, you’ll still have something to show for it. - The BUM Method?- It’s cool, but NOT what I’m talking about.
– Fails to reap all the benefits of article marketing. - Benefits of article marketing:1) Off Page SEO from the back links
2) Direct click-through traffic from the links
3) Builds your authority/credibility as an expert in your niche - How to do article marketing:1) Write an article (or outsource it).
– Needs to be original. No PLR or public domain. Re-written or spun content works in some cases, but not recommended for EzineArticles.
– Needs to be 500 words. Between 400-1000 is OK, but shoot for 500.
– Don’t promote anything in it!
– Editorial guidelines: http://ezinearticles.com/editorial-guidelines.html
– Write about the things that your market wants to read about. (NOT about your product)
– Use your keyword research from Lesson #77. DO go broad, and use the long tail.
– Use your keyword at the beginning of article title. Write catchy titles to entice clicks.
– Use one of your keywords as the anchor text for a link to your site IN the article.
– Write an author bio, with a call to action to entice clicks to your website.
– Alternate anchor text between the URL, site name, and keywords.
– If your #1 goal is SEO, link to your home page or strategic page that you’re trying to boost. Otherwise, consider linking to a squeeze page. Remember I spent 12 lessons talking about list building.
2) Submit your article.
– Most important directory is EzineArticles.com
– Some article marketers do very well exclusively with EzineArticles.
– Others like to distribute to as many article directories as possible.
Strategy to consider:
– Submit at least half of your articles exclusively to EzineArticles.
-Take your remaining articles, and submit them to several other article directories, such as…articledashboard.com
goarticles.com
articlesbase.com (uses no-follow attribute)
articlesnatch.com (uses no-follow attribute)
articlealley.com (uses no-follow attribute)
knol.google.com (uses no-follow attribute sometimes)
ezinemark.com
articlecity.com
articleclick.com
ideamarketers.com
isnare.com (Article distribution service)Article networks (Gray hat IMO):
MyArticleNetwork from Matt Callen
SEOLinkVine from Brad and Matt Callen3) Promote your articles to give yourself an edge
– Do some off-page SEO
– Bookmark it on social bookmarking sites like delicious.com
– Digg it on Digg.com
– Tweet it on twitter.com
– Use it in the URL of blog comments
– If you’re going to use any automated/spammy tools, this is the place to do it.
– Or hire some cheap oursourcers to do the work, and multiply the effect.4) “Rinse and repeat”
- The biggest reason why most people don’t see results from article marketing is probably because they fail to stick with it. Consistency is key.
- The most successful article marketers who get steady traffic are the ones who are submitting 100 or more articles per month.
- Article marketing lends itself well to outsourcing because there are an overabundance of freelance article writers who can provide satisfactory results for small prices.
- Some places to find article writers…
Freelancer sites:
vWorker
OdeskClassifieds:
craigslistArticle specialty sites:
Need-an-article.com
articlez.comHire your own team (probably the best long-term solution):
Replace MyselfRemember to…
-Ask for samples first.
-Check for plagiarism. (www.google.com, www.copyscape.com, www.scanmyessay.com)Action steps:
1) Decide if you want to pursue article marketing.
2) If yes, commit to doing it diligently for 6 months+.
3) Write, submit, and promote your articles. (Or outsource it).
