Articles can drive an amazing amount of traffic to your site, if done correctly. In order for you to even begin though, you must first get your article accepted by the directory. Here are 3 simple tips to get your article published.
Keep it short and sweet. Article directories prefer to accept articles that are between 300-700 words. We live in an instant gratification society. People want things fast. So your article has to be short and sweet and contain everything you need within about 450 words total. Some directories won"t accept articles less then 500 words though, so it may be advantageous to have the same article in a 400 word format and a 550 word format to be able to submit to all the possible directories. Shorter articles receive better distribution rates and a higher distribution rate means...you guessed it, more traffic. Too short and your articles lack depth and information, too long and people just do not have the time and patience to read through to your all important resource box.
You need to deliver original, good quality content in an easy to read format. Make use of paragraphs and bullet points. You do not want it to appear as one solid block of text. It is uninteresting and overwhelming to look at. No one wants to read something with so much bore. Provide breaks, make it easier to skim and digest. You want your article to be read. No point in writing something and submitting it if no one is going to want to read it anyways. And make sure the content is original, no one wants to read the same regurgitated information 100 times over.
Your article shouldn"t be self serving. Don"t overload your article with affiliate links and website links. Articles are meant to provide information to the reader, not sell your sites. You want to provide value in your content. Drive the article and then sell yourself in your resource box. If you are informative and provide great information, you will see more click throughs. People will want to see what else you have to say.
Article marketing takes time and perseverance but is well worth it for the traffic can come forever in the future. As long as that directory is around and your article is archived within its pages. ( Not to mention the possible back links you can receive, but that is a topic for another day.) It is an unending source. Follow the rules and a few simple tips and get your articles published for the traffic you need.