This is article marketing this article that you are reading right now. I write a 350 to 500 word article, post it in free article directories and content-starved webmasters come along and add this article to their website.

It's pretty simple really. You need to have something useful to say, some place to send the reader when they like what you have written, and a relevant list of article directories that will post your articles.

Why do it? Using the resource box at the bottom of each article I am able to send you, the reader, to someplace that should be of interest to you. This creates a link back to my website or webpage. It's a great thing for increasing popularity. Also, I get in front of more people than ever.

It turns out that a 350 word article is about the length of an informative email. There are a few tricks to writing the articles. And it's best to study those ?tricks? so you can make the most of your article writing.

You are just getting yourself online. You have a new site that you paid good money to have built. Your web designer did a great job. You are ready for the world to come to your doorstep? what? Nothing happened?

You have people visiting your website, but they don't stay and they certainly don't buy. Why? Could it be that they don't know or trust you?

Writing articles is a guaranteed solution to both of these problems.

Here's the deal: You need to get in front of the people who are looking for you. This is the heart of marketing. You also need to gain some popularity on the internet if you want your website to rank well with the search engines.

We now live in a time where we can write for the reader and still satisfy the search engine spiders (pieces of software sent by the search engines) who seek to understand just what the article is about. By understanding how the search engines look at articles we can write effectively and get noticed.

Look at the above title. Notice I put ?article marketing? right at the beginning of the title. I am actually telling the search engine spiders what this article is all about. And it's easy for you, the reader, to know what it's about. See what I mean Simple.

By taking the time to study Article Marketing and learning a few tricks of the trade, you can easily reach out and increase your popularity with the search engines, increase your visibility within your market and increase your credibility with the people who are getting to know you.

You have got to have it. And it's so simple to do. And it drives traffic to your website which increases your sales. It's a win on every front.