Article Marketing is not a quick and easy fix to rushing thousands of surfers to your page, however it is a fantastic vehicle for establishing a solid foundation to build a reputation, relationship and trust with qualified prospects. And in all essence this form of marketing activity is essentially what brings about your successes and longevity

Though the quick and easy has never survived the test of time, the articles you submit to article banks survive in the vaults as long as the internet exists..... and that is a pretty good investment of time and focus. Think about it, you can place an advertisement on TV, Radio even the Internet and they will have their scheduled dates of appearance, but once the schedule runs out your message is no longer in the eye of the target audience.. You have to reinvest to get it back there again. Even with some forms of crowd sourcing, (which is the new hit on the internet marketing arsenal) there is a shelf life.

For this reason you must focus on making a current, informative and relevant article... something that could survive the test of time. Something an individual will want to read as they scan the titles pertaining to your subject matter; or ideally use as content for their blog, newsletter, or share with someone they may think is interested in the subject matter. Why? Because along with this article there will be provided space for an Author’s biography. Here is where you get to tout your expertise and provide back links for a TARGETED reader that will lead to your web/business page. These links are valuable in two ways. First, it provides direct traffic from those reading the article to the website. Second, the link counts as a vote to the website when a search engine robot crawls the article. This will help your website rank higher in the search engine results pages.　

The articles you write can also serve double time on your own web page and newsletter in order to satisfy hungry followers and web spiders who are attracted to a constant stream of fresh content on web sites.


Writing and submitting articles to article banks is a well-known method for promoting one’s website and as a means of optimizing position in the search listings. It serves a few good purposes. Regular submissions by you about your profession, product or service will build you as an expert in the eye of the reader. While by routinely adding fresh website content with back links more search engine indexing opportunities are created. This in turn provides better visibility to traffic searching your particular niche;more search engine traffic leads to more online popularity and viral online linking. The increased linking to a website results in more perceived relevancy by the search engines;and again resulting in higher search engine listings which can promote more traffic because of its visibility.

What counts is quality! Your content as well as your web page must be able to attract targeted visitors to come time and time again. This is where you will be in contact with them and avail yourselves the opportunity to turn them into loyal customers. Successful internet marketers typically write and distribute at least one article per week to various article banks, as well as doing double duty in their own ezine/newsletter and keeping fresh keyword content on their own pages.


That is a lot of writing ! And if you are not in the business of writing you will soon find that the demands of article marketing, (though very profitable if used strategically) can pull an entrepreneur away from what they do best and that is run their business.


There are various different methods used to tackle the content issue from: hiring freelance ghost writers, buying PLR content, spinning and article rewriting to refresh them for reuse, as well as using an article bank your self. Let’s take a closer look at each one.


PLR CONTENT...

PLR is short for private label rights meaning when you purchase PLR products they are free for your to alter and use as you wish, after all you just bought the rights to them;. just add your name/logo and off you go!. There is no shortage of PLR content being offered on the net and no matter what you are in business for, there is no doubt a PLR option that will fit quite well with your needs. These have some fantastic marketing applications. In this day and age "value added" is the catch phrase.


Consumers are being wooed continually with free offerings by savvy entrepreneurs to get their foot in the door so to speak. These free offerings such as e-books, video tutorials, programs and dvd’s are usually attached to an opt-in list such as a newsletter that keeps the entrepreneur and their business forefront in the consumers eye on a regular basis. You can even buy PLR articles as well and freely submit these to article directories with your name on them. Now here are some things you will need to consider when you purchase PLR article material for a SEO ( search engine optimization) campaign:


You are not the only one purchasing this particular article there fore the content may not necessarily be fresh.
Even reputable PLR sites offer content writing services to combat this issue with in house writers submitting to blogs and websites on a regular basis.
Though you are satisfied with the article you may have to consider a few re-written copies to distribute not only to get your monies worth, but to avoid being penalized by some well known search engines (like Google for example) who frown greatly on duplicate content. They have some massively sophisticated algorithms that can detect duplicated content rather effectively and you may find yourself at the back of the search listings as a penalty.

There are those that argue that Google doesn’t out right penalize for duplication but rather duplicate content is identified by advance filtering techniques and rarely features well in SERPs (search engine results pages)... to me when your investment and your results do not get you to where you had worked so hard to be; this sounds like being penalized. With a few extra dollars or a few extra minutes of time you can ensure that a few versions with a fresh spin are available for use. It can make the difference between being on the 7th page of the search listings as opposed to the first.. Think about it, when you do any searching yourself - how far into the page listings were you willing to go?


ARTICLE SPINNING AND RE-WRITING...

In attempts to stay one step ahead of duplication penalties entrepreneurs have turned to a few means of article re-writing, they can purchase programs to spin or re-write an article and if all else fails have an article spun by hand the old fashioned way. Why do I mention the old fashioned way? Because these programs though effective in providing very good word substitutions or sentence rearranging, they are not so good at making the content come across as clear and relevant. Editing will still need to be considered to polish a re-write so it actually makes sense.
The last thing you want is your name and reputation tagged to an article that is senseless. Some professionals claim that having a program re-write an article effectively loses the articles soul. Perhaps take a few free programs that are out on the market out for a spin and you be the judge. But don't forget to spin the title too, or else you are shooting yourself in the foot!


MAKING A WITHDRAWAL FROM THE ARTICLE BANK ....

When it comes to balancing time, money, and tasks at hand it makes perfect sense to throw in a free article from the bank once in a while. I say this for a few good reasons. While you may be a "re-upholsterer" and establishing yourself as an authority in your field or area on your site, you can draw from a wellspring of clients who may be found in an interior designer’s blog.
As mentioned earlier, the articles at the Article Bank have back links, follow the link and make a deal to swap content. This is a profitable means of both link sharing and networking. that can save the both of you a bit of coin as well as time. Don’t forget, quality content is still key.


THE FREELANCE GHOST WRITER...

Though you may want to take on an article or two yourself, or buy some PLR content and spin them a few times; it may be well worth your while to get to know and have on hand a freelance writer. One that is willing to get to know you and your business, takes the time to research the material as well as become familiar with your competitors material, can help with keyword research, back linking, and re-writes. This will free you up to focus on the million and one areas your business demands of you daily.


You want them to ghost write for you because it is more valuable for you to have your name on the content in order to establish yourself as "the expert". This builds a relationship of trust towards people who frequently come across your name when searching for information on your subject matter. Any freelance author worth their weight in salt will realize this.


Whether it be on your website, at the bank, or on a complimentary website with keywords and back links articles can certainly provide ample exposure for you to reap the benefits from ...but don’t stop there! There are a few more vehicles to use that can drive your article marketing efforts to success. And each one is effective in targeting a different audience.


THE PRESS RELEASE...

No need to wait for news to happen...make it happen! Press releases are very effective tools for creating awareness, feeling for new clientele, introducing a new business or product strategy, or simply to make sure your name is in the public’s eye. They can be politely supplied with back links too. I say politely because search engines do not like more than five or so key words per page... there is a certain etiquette to follow so as not to offend. In a Press Release the article has to be top notch and it has to be crafted to suit and motivate two very different audiences.

Ultimately you want to reach your customer by creating curiosity enough to back link to your site, but in doing so you must impress the press. The better job you do, the more viral your back link opportunities become. Not easy being that you are one of many jockeying for limited publication position. Yet not impossible either...remember content is key! They are looking for fresh content as well, to satisfy their own business needs. We are all essentially trying to keep the reader happy.


THE NEWSLETTER...

While most of the article marketing efforts listed above are geared towards attracting a client base to your site, the newsletter is designed to foster a continual healthy relationship once they are there. This relationship will provide opportunity to gain repeat loyalty at a lowered cost, word of mouth advertising at no cost, and further exposure for you and your business. Now that’s making your article marketing investment pay back in dividends.　No matter which avenue you intend to use, the bottom line is that fresh and relevant content is King. Keep your articles unique and to the point, professional, easy to read, and chances are your readership will notice and back link to your site for your touch of expertise. It all comes down to balancing, time, money and quality. Having a ghost writer produce quality content, and some re-writes of that content while throwing a mix a few PLR or free articles to keep the budget down makes sense.


There are certainly enough options to mix and match with that will fit your enterprise needs, goals and budget. We would like to wish you the best of luck with all your marketing efforts!