Article marketing is the process of marketing a business, developing links and generating traffic to a website or blog by posting articles on other websites. If you include article marketing in your marketing plans, you post your articles on other business’ blogs and websites (usually for free) and gradually gain more exposure and backlinks. In fact, there are article directories intended entirely for this purpose, such as EzineArticles and GoArticles.
Writing for an article directory differs somewhat from writing for your blog or website. While on your website or blog, you can talk about your history, explain why you are the best agent in the area and describe specific properties, these articles have to be informational but free of sales content. Read on for more details about writing for article directories.
Choose Effective Keywords
Good content for article marketing starts with keyword research. Choosing good keywords means your content will be more visible in the search engines, translating into more traffic to the article and then to your website or blog. An effective keyword or keyword phrase is one for which there are many monthly searchers and fewer web pages competing for the traffic. With fewer web pages competing for the same traffic, your article can rank higher in the search engines. The Google AdWords Keyword Tool is free and a good choice for keyword selection.
Write a Good Title and Subheadings
Start your article with a strong title. It should be relevant to your content, short and catchy. You want a title that will draw people in and make them want to read your content. Many people are drawn in by how-to titles, titles that ask a common question and those containing numbers, such as 5 Steps to Selling Your Home.
Include at least a few subheadings in your article. Subheadings help break up long blocks of text and give readers some idea of what to expect from the content below them. Include your keyword or keyword phrase in at least one of your subheadings.
Provide Informational Content
Think about the questions your audience wants answered and the problems it wants solved, and then write your content to provide solid answers and solutions. For article marketing, however, you’ll have to do this in a purely informational way. Provide general answers and solutions without discussing your business at all. For example, you could write about the qualities a person should seek in a real estate agent, but you can’t discuss your experience, skills, business, contact information or anything that could be considered selling your services. At the end of the article, often in a special resource section, you can mention your business and use a call to action to get readers to visit your website to learn more. This is where you’ll include links to your website or blog. Many article directories allow two or three links per article.
Length and Keyword Density
Each article marketing directory will have unique guidelines for article length and keyword density. It’s wise to familiarize yourself with them before you start writing. Generally, articles that contain between 400 and 700 words are good for article marketing. Most directories won’t accept very short articles, and you don’t want to give away too much by writing a very long article. Instead, stimulate readers’ appetites for the information you can provide, and then direct them to your website to learn more and get personal assistance.
Article marketing directories also differ in their preference for keyword density. If you use one keyword for every 100 words, however, you’ll meet most directories’ guidelines. In terms of percentages, many directories prefer a keyword density between one and four percent.
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