Three Things You Must Do Before You Submit To Article Directories
Every web site owner is always looking for the most effective way to generate traffic to their web site. A well written article not only creates an initial increase in visitors but keeps attracting new visitors for years to come.
Definition of Article Submission
Articles can be used as a promotional tool for marketing your web site. You write an article or have one written for you then post it on article syndication sites on the Web. People visiting these sites will republish your articles in their ezines, newsletters, blogs and web sites. For example if your article gets published in an ezine with 500,000 subscribers you will see a huge boost in traffic.
Top 10 article submission sites
There are hundreds of directories which allow you to submit articles however it would take hours to submit to all of them. Not all article directories are created equal. Not all receive the same amount of traffic therefore I have chosen the top 10 directories that get the most traffic.
Article Alley
Articles Base
Article City
Article Dashboard
Buzzle
Ezine Articles
Go Articles
Idea Marketers
Isnare
Search Warp
Why you should not use an automatic article submission service
1. Prevent spamming
Automatic article submission services will submit your article to thousands of sites simultaneously. This is like throwing mud at the wall hoping some of it will stick. The best article directories will not receive submissions from automatic submission services. This is to prevent people spamming their web sites with low quality articles.
2. Follow guidelines
Each directory has specific guidelines for submitting an article. If you are not aware of them your article may get rejected. For example if you submit an article to a directory that only allows a minimum of 400 words and your article contains 300 words it will not be received and you will have wasted valuable time.
3. Specific control
Manual submissions allow you to enhance your articles by including specific html tags. For example bolding the headings and sub-headings will make them stand out from the main content. Creating anchor text will boost the link popularity for your web site. This increases the effectiveness of your article by attracting more readers.
Conclusion
Don't only limit yourself to article syndication sites. Expand your traffic generation strategies by submitting to specific ezines that cover the same topic or place it on your blog or web site. Select 10 articles on the same topic and put them in a report or ebook that you can offer for free or for a fee. You are only limited by your creativity.
Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Design, SEO, Hosting
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