Links are useful within an article because they can be used to increase traffic to whatever site that you are currently trying to promote. It also gives readers back-up information, to explain any points you are trying to make and give examples to show that it makes sense. It is also a way to add more content to the article, so that it doesn't have to be thousands of words long, as we know that occasionally, we really can't be bothered to read a whole article to get the important information!

Putting links in your articles can be somewhat controversial. Some directories allow you to use links within your writing, some point blank refuse them. So, where's the middle ground? The thing I would suggest to you, is to read the guidelines of the site before you submit ANYTHING. Read the FAQ's (or editorial guidelines or terms of service) in order to determine in advance whether you can use links or not. If you find out you cannot use links, you should see if you can pop them in your author resource box, and generally, most article directories encourage this. It may be a good idea to have two versions of your article, one with links and one without, so that when you submit your articles you don't have to keep modifying it to suit the site you are currently submitting to.

Another thing you should ensure when thinking of putting links in your articles, is to be sure that it makes sense when they are there, and not just random links back to your website to increase traffic. Nobody wants to read an article full of rubbish with a hundred links back to one website, I can assure you that it is most off-putting! Lots of links just makes the article look like one bid advertisement!

It might be a good idea for you to put links to third-party websites in your article, to prove that you are not just using the article directory as a free promotional package. Use third-party links as reference, such as Wikipedia, news website or a known professional website relevant to the article's subject. Not only does this bear well for you, (most article directories allow links to sites as long as you don't own it) but it can also be used to back up any claims you are making, or provide the reader with examples or experiences of what you are talking about.

Notice that when using links inside the article's body (on directories that allow it), usually you can use them as anchors ? meaning a word or a sentence will be ?clickable? and lead to the link you have designated using the anchor tag. If you are not sure how to do it, try to learn about the anchor tag.

Using links within an article is very much a personal choice. You either want to or you don't, but the best place for self-promotion is in the author box on the article directories, and many people who use Article Marketing agrees with this. Make sure you check out the guidelines of the directories first though, you don't want to waste time submitting articles to directories, only for them to turn around and reject them!