Write Free Online Articles that Drive Traffic to Your Site
Are you interested in writing free online articles? It is one of the best ways to bring traffic to your site. But at first, it can be intimidating to think about all the things involved as you learn to master article marketing. This article will help you focus on the most important things as you start out.
Your Keywords
What Are Keywords?Keywords tell search engines, like Google, and Yahoo, what your webpage is about. The search engine’s job is to give Internet visitors relevant results that match the terms they’ve typed in. The easier it is for the search engine to recognize the topic of your page, the more likely it is that your page will be ranked well. If your site is about gardening, and your keyword is “gardening tips,” you use that keyword phrase on your site, then submit your free online article using the same phrase to draw traffic. If the search engines see that your site’s content matches your keyword phrase, “gardening tips,” they take note of your site. And when someone searches for “gardening tips” your site will come up in the results. However, good keywords alone will not guarantee a top position. Whether your site is positioned in the top, middle, or bottom is determined by how popular your page is and how much competition there is for the keyword. The Importance of Keywords in Free Online Articles It’s very important to make sure that the keywords on your page are being used by searchers. For example, if your page is about “how to do gardening” and your visitors are searching for “gardening tips”, then you won’t get that traffic. Do your keyword research. Once you figure out what you’re doing and get used to it, researching your words can actually be fun! What research tools should you use? It’s really a matter of preference; there are lots of keyword research tools out there, both free and paid. Wordtracker is a good place to start. They have a free tool and also a paid one that will give you more info. Once you choose your keywords, use those words when you write your web pages and articles. Sprinkle the words throughout, and also try to include them in titles. But don’t try to force the keywords in where they don’t fit. If you force them, then your page will not read well. (It’s important to remember the human reader too!)
Write Free Online Articles that are of Value to Your Audience
When you’re doing article marketing, write in a way that is useful to your visitors. “How-to’s” are great! Try to teach your readers something; and avoid being being a salesperson. You give your readers information in the article, and they give you traffic in return. So avoid the sales pitch. You can mention your products or affiliates in your author box, but not in the article itself. That’s a big article writing no-no! Articles could be 400-1500 words long, but the “ideal” number is 700-800 words. That’s the best length for both readers and publishers.
Include a Resource Box in all Your Free Online Articles
Last but certainly not least, don’t forget your article resource box! It should be short and sweet—no more than 450 words. And include the following:Your name This is important so that if someone uses your article on another site (which is legal, if they include the author box), then your name will be connected to your article. Bio Put a little bit about yourself, your business and your products so that readers can get to know you a little bit. Also tell about how and why you are experienced in your niche. That will gain you trust and a good reputation. Link Be sure you link back to your site to get traffic! Entice the readers to visit your site, using descriptive, interesting text. Include both a text link and an HTML link in your resource box. This is what will get you the backlinks that are so important for building your site’s traffic. Text Link Example Visit our site for more info: http://www.your-domain.com HTML link (anchor text) Example href=http://www.your-domain.com> Visit our site today! With the second example, the reader will only see the text that says “Visit our site today!”. It’s always a good idea to put both a text link and an html link in your resource box. Why? If you use the HTML link, then you can put keywords in it that will help with your rank. When you do a text link, then your visitors get to see the URL of your site, which hopefully will stick in their mind. Alter the keywords in your links; don’t use the same ones all the time. If you do, the search engines might think you’re trying to be manipulative; and you don’t want that!
Free Article Submission Sites
Below is a list of free article submission sites where you can submit your articles:ArticleBiz.com http://www.articlebiz.com/submit_article/ Article City http://www.articlecity.com/article_submission.shtml ArticleDashboard http://www.articledashboard.com/login2submitart.php ArticlesBase http://www.articlesbase.com/author-login.php?from=unlogged Articles Factory http://www.articlesfactory.com/submit.html Business Know-How http://www.businessknowhow.com/newsletter/articleguidelines.htm Business Seek http://www.businessseek.biz/page.php?page=article-submission Buzzle.com http://www.buzzle.com Excellent Guide http://www.excellentguide.com/submit_free_articles.html EzineArticles http://ezinearticles.com/submit/ GoArticles.com http://www.goarticles.com/ulogin.html Idea Marketers http://www.ideamarketers.com/writers.cfm iSnare.com http://www.isnare.com Power Home Biz http://www.powerhomebiz.com/termsofuse/articlesubmission.htm PromotionWorld http://www.promotionworld.com/submit/submitcontent.html SelfGrowth.com http://www.selfgrowth.com/submit_articles The Whir http://www.thewhir.com/article-central/submit You can find some more article sites on Ralph Wilson’s site: http://www.wilsonweb.com/linking/wilson-article-marketing-1.htm Concentrate on choosing the best keyword phrases, writing what your audience wants, and your resource box, and your endeavors at writing free online articles can’t help but succeed!
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