Anyone who has a website for fun or profit can benefit from using a free article directory. This is a site where you can submit articles for free. You do have to register and become a member, but it doesn't cost you anything to do so. Since the articles are free, webmasters can also avail of them to find free content for their websites. The only stipulation in using these articles is that you must retain the code that says the article is from the specific site you use. You cannot pass it off as your own work.

First let's look at the benefit of using such a site for writers their own websites. When you write an article and submit it to a directory, you get instant exposure because this site submits its articles to all the search engines. Therefore, you don't have to use up any of your writing time on this chore. However there are guidelines to which you must adhere before you can submit an article. The main guideline is that your article is original. The directory will search the Internet to make sure it hasn't been published elsewhere and that you haven't copied any of the information from another article. You must also include an Author Bio, which will give you and your website exposure because you can include a link to your website in this area. By submitting to a directory you also give publishers and webmasters permission to use your material.

Publishers and webmasters can use these free articles as content for their own sites. They also have to meet certain requirements in return for getting free material for their sites. They must agree to add a link back to the directory stating that this is where they obtained the articles. The author's name has to be retained and publishers cannot pass the work off as their own. They must also notify the author as to where and how the article will be used.

All of the directories have a list of categories so you don't have to browse every single article to find suitable material. When you find an article that suits your purposes, there will usually be a link at the top for Publish This Article and this will generate the plain text and HTML version of the article.

When submitting articles to a free directory, you have to be mindful of the material. Some directories will not permit the use of any profane language in the article or any material that is deemed to be racial in any way. Once you do submit the article, you have to wait for approval before it will go live online. There may be guidelines about how often you can use a specific keyword. You also have to include the keywords that will be used as metatags in the article.

If you are selling a specific product or want to promote the products of an affiliate, you can submit an article to several directories to increase your exposure. All the articles can be about the same topic, but they must use different wording so they do not appear as being the same article.