The reading level for this article is Novice
Articles should be written to cater to two dissimilar types of readers - humans and search engine spiders. Each responds to information in their own ways. How one attains the best of both goes to the heart of your article strategy.
People want articles they read to be useful, timely, and relevant. Writing quality (with wit, persuasion, emotional images, etc.) matters to them. But that's of no concern to the spiders. Readers who like what you've written are likely to come to your website - maybe even buy something. Yet, the benefits received from search engines are just as important.
Search spiders are attuned to links, keywords, and Page Rank (the popularity of sites that link to yours). Decide which keywords or recurring theme to build every article around before starting to write. That amplifies your search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) efforts. Multiple articles can draw attention to a wide array of pertinent terms.
What Search Engines Do for Your Articles
- Track your keywords as they appear in posted articles
- Deliver links to you in response to relevant queries, thereby sending targeted traffic to the site
- Find your site through links from posting sites - particularly important for a new or low-traffic website
- Show the places that publish your articles
- Increase your Page Rank as high-quality links are established
- Raise your site in the rankings as more and more articles appear
Decide Where to Submit your Articles
Who (human) are you writing for? Narrowly defining appropriate interest groups will dictate what spin to use. Unless that's clear, blasting out articles is too hit or
miss. For example, if writing about electronic games for children, your emphasis will be very different if written for parents, schools and institutions, or the kids
themselves.
Clarity about your audience determines where to send your creative output. Article Marketing Academy http://www.promotewitharticles.com/howto.html offers extensive lists of where and how to post your articles.
You'll soon learn which sites actually publish your contributions, and which drive traffic to your site. Your submission list keeps growing with every completed article
(becoming more valuable to you all the time). At some point, your name-recognition and expert status kick in.
Watch Out for Contradictory Messages
Maintain a consistency of message from one articles to the next, that is also in synch with your website personality. If your article promises a mother lode of answers, make certain they can be easily found, once a reader visits your
website. Confusing navigation or a sour note can quickly undo whatever good your article accomplished.
Recycle Your Articles to Work Harder
Posting your articles online is just the start. Even before you've written them, plan off-line ways to recycle that same information. When I write articles for clients, I encourage them to use it in as many ways as possible. Don't neglect your customers who aren't Internet savvy.
Re-package Articles Multiple Ways
- Send to local publications as press releases or PR
- Submit to trade journals
- Create handouts to be provided at your store or with services
- Collect them into handouts or flyers to sell or give away
- Reformat them as hints, booklets, tutorials
- Incorporate them into speeches or classes
Monitor the Results
A strategy only makes sense if you also keep track of what's working. How many websites actually publish your article and link back to yours? (That's easy to determine. Conduct a Google or Yahoo query with your article title in quotes.
Continue to log where it appears for several months after posting.)
Spelling out an article promotion strategy makes your Internet and traditional promotions work smoothly together. And it assures that the needs of both search spiders and readers will be satisfied. The right time for planning is before starting to write any articles. I can help you with that. http://www.promotewitharticles.com/consult.html
Your carefully-crafted strategy assures that a steady flow of articles supports your multiple business goals. Best of all, you don't have to wait long to see people and search engines responding to what you've written. That's bound to pay off, and keep paying off...
(c) Lynella Grant, 2005
