The goal of article marketing is simply, to provide great content that will drive traffic to your website. Article marketing will help you get published on thousands of websites. Plus, get you thousands of one way links back to your website. Article marketing will not only drive traffic to your site, but also bring up your search engine position and establish creditability. It's a great compliment to your traditional web-marketing plan.

You're already an expert on your business because you own it, breathe it and manage it. So why not write articles to solve a problem for your readers and bring traffic to your site? But, where do you begin? First let's talk about actually writing your articles.

1. Write your article for your reader. Make it original and full of value. Solve a problem, educate or even entertain, but always write the article without being promotional or self-serving.

For the best chance of publication, your article should be easy to understand and straight to the point. Use simple sentences, short paragraphs and flawless spelling and grammar. Use keywords early in your title and first paragraph. But don't overdo it. Only use keywords comfortably throughout your article. Your article title should let both your reader and the search engines know exactly what to expect.

Article Title Tip

Type your article title into a search engine with enclosed quotes to see if the title has been used, or if other articles or sites exist on the same subject.

2. Include a keyword rich anchor text link in your author block that becomes the link from your article to your website. The anchor text is how you inform the search engines about the content of your website. It's also important to word the text in your author block in such a way that it encourages readers to want to visit your website. Your call to action and use of keyword rich anchor text links in your author block are the two most important and most overlooked aspects of a successful article marketing campaign.

Keyword Tip

For the most effective keyword anchor text link, do a keyword search related to your industry and your article. Then you'll know the most popular words and phrases readers use to search for information about your business. Once you know the keyword you want to use, use your link to send readers to the page on your website that provides even more information on the subject.

3. Syndicate your article with multiple websites. You can submit your article yourself manually at each site, use automatic submissions software or a distribution service. No matter which avenue of distribution you choose, this is how publishers find your article. And, of course, the more sites that see your article the better your chances of increasing your own website traffic.

Syndication Tip

Manually publishing your article to hundreds of websites is extremely time consuming. If you're serious about article marketing consider submissions software or a paid mass distribution service.

So, your article is written. What happens now and how does the relationship between you, the author, and publishers work? How do you get your article linked back to your website if you give your articles away?

Your Articles Need Exposure

As an author, you write articles to promote your business, product or service. Your articles provide solutions and present you as a recognized expert in your field. Your article title will provide insight into the content of your article and the keyword rich anchor text will help the search engines understand what your website is about. To reap the benefit of your published articles, always include your keyword links and call to action in your author block.

Once your article is written, it's imperative that you get it distributed to multiple sites. You could write hundreds of articles, but if they're not being read, you'll never see results in your website traffic or search engine rankings.

Publishers Need Articles

There are hundreds, even thousands of Internet publishers that need content rich, informative articles. As owners of websites, newsletters and ezines, they constantly search for free, fresh articles to keep their loyal subscribers coming back. And, there are thousands of websites that earn money by selling advertising. All those sites need good content to draw more visitors, and more visitors to draw more advertising dollars and raise their own search engine rankings. But publishers can't possibly create the volume of new content they need to keep their readers coming back every day.

That's where you as an expert in your field and an article writer fill the void. To consistently establish yourself as an expert, write and submit original articles regularly. Consider it your drip marketing campaign for article publishers. The more articles you write the better chances of getting picked up by a publisher. And, of course, the more exposure your articles get, the better chance of increased traffic, business and search engine position for your website.

Who couldn't use more website traffic, more business, more brand promotion and a higher expert status? After all, that's what article marketing is about.