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In the world of Search Engine Optimization, there are many guides and tutorials out there on the web that will provide various ways of link building. One of my favorite methods, and a method that is often overlooked by others for various reasons, is the method of article marketing. The  main reason that article marketing is my favorite and arguably the best way of building up your back link profile, is that article marketing serves two very useful purposes. First, distributing the article itself, if done properly, will generate reader interest and therefore be a source of traffic in and of itself. Secondly, when articles are distributed with properly formatted back links, you get a quality back link with the anchor text of your choosing, which in time gets you  higher search engine rankings. Now with that being said, how can article marketing NOT be on your to-do list for your SEO campaign?

Now, of course just stealing other peoples articles and throwing them out there on the web will not be the best use of your time and certainly will not reap the rewards that you are looking for. Sure it can take time, trials and errors just like any other strategy you may find useful, but when done right, I guarantee you will not be disappointed. Here are a few things to consider before you decide to get involved in the process of Article Marketing.

Choose A Topic

Choosing a topic for your article is an important factor. You want to make sure that you have enough knowledge on the topic to write a long enough article and also you want to be sure that the article you will write is of value to potential readers. There are two questions you should ask yourself when choosing a topic:

1. Will the editors want to read this? If the editors of related websites you will be submitting to aren’t going to be interested in your topic then it’s not going to get published. If it’s not going to get published then you can probably find more effective and efficient ways to promote your site or brand.
2. Will bloggers care? The second questions is whether other online publishers like bloggers will be interested in the content. If you create articles on topics of interest and provide value to the existing conversation on a bloggers sites, chances are they, and others, will link to you when picking up your article.

A great thing to do when looking for topics is to go to Google. Think of a topic that you wish to write about and start typing the question, and notice the results. For example, if you have wanted to write about motorcycles. Go to Google and start typing something like this:

You will see that they give you questions that people are searching for in REAL time. So at least you will know that if you write a topic about one the Google’s suggestions.. people WILL care, and the article WILL be relevant to its readers and editors alike.

Write The Article

As a general rule, an article that has between 1000-1500 words is sufficient enough. You may want to check certain sites you plan on submitting to and either check out there Submission Guideline. While you are on the Article Directory site, spend a few minutes and read about 5 of their articles. You will get a good feel of what the editors like to see, and the format that they prefer.

If you cannot find the time or do not have the know-how to write consistent articles on your own, it is totally acceptable to hire someone to do it for you. Keep in mind that article marketing is one of the many SEO Services that most Search Engine Optimization companies offer to all of their clients. On the other hand, if you do not want to hire an entire SEO agency to work on promoting your website, you can outsource to someone on E-Lance or Guru.com for usually very cheap.

Here are some quick tips you can use right away to improve your site’s ranking.

1. Title Tags – one of the most important keys to ranking is the title tag. Make sure each page has a unique title tag and use around 2 – 3 keywords, but make them so they create variations. If you serve a specific local or regional market, it can also be helpful to list your main location in the title tag. Using geo modifiers helps you to rank more quickly and show up for more buying keyword phrases.

2. Don’t Over Optimize – Don’t overoptimize the pages you want to rank well. I believe this is the main cause of the ‘Sandbox’ filter. The old way to get a site to rank was to have the keyword in the domain, the title, the h1 tag, an h2 tag, and the first sentence bolded and italicized. When you do this, it is obvious to a search engine that you are trying to rank for this keyword. Search engines don’t like to be manipulated, so you have to be more subtle. If your site is perfectly optimized and you’re moving up from #15 to #7 to #3 and then suddenly you disappear, then you’ve probably triggered this filter. There are exceptions. Sometimes, it is just the engine doing some recalculating. Other times, you’re getting filtered. Don’t overoptimize and you’ll be less likely to get filtered.

3. Links to Links – Many people know that link building will help your site to rank better. But most people go about it the wrong way. If you want a page to rank and not fall back quickly, then you need to build links to your links. If all the pages that link to your page are brand new and have no backlinks of their own, then your page is not going to rank or it won’t rank for very long. In addition to building links to your main pages, you have to build links to your links.

4. Website Speed – If you’re website is slow, your visitors will notice, and they will probably leave quickly. Make sure your website loads quickly and doesn’t have any problems displaying in the most common browsers.

5. Unique, Engaging Content – We shouldn’t even have to say this, but to rank well and keep on ranking well, you really need to have fresh, high quality content on your site. What do you offer that differentiates you from everyone else? Make sure the content on your site is fresh and interesting, and your rankings will stick.