One of the most common ways in gathering backlinks for a website is by submitting articles to directories. Every successful submission assures a writer of a reliable link back to the promoted website. However, though submitting an article increases links what an author aims is the traffic that visitors of the article directory could bring to the website and the reference they can make to the website. Link from the directory is not enough to promote a website, but the traffic coming from the directory will definitely lift the status of the website.

To attain the goal of article submission, articles should be submitted to the right directory under the right category. What good is an article if not submitted under the right category? It does not stop there. Writings should be published on a suitable directory. There are thousands of directories available, but only few can provide the right and constant traffic you need for your website.

There are two types of directories, paid and free article directories and an author should be aware of this prior to submitting an article. Paid directories offer authors fast approval and easy access of articles. Normal submission can take a minimum of four (4) days to a maximum of two (2) weeks prior to getting an article approved. Nevertheless free article directories are the perfect choice. An author does not need to spend a single cent and there is an assurance that more authors are accessing it since it's free.

Directories are managed by different organizations offering the same service. It is understood that they will definitely implement different set of rules. They have their own authors who will review every entry to the directory. This is to ensure that entries submitted are in conformity with the rules and will preserve the integrity of the site. For fast approval of articles, punctuation, grammar, and spelling mistakes should be avoided.

Content of the article should be weighed before submitting it to any directory. Factors such as keyword density, choice of words, popularity of the topic, and accuracy of information provided are key components to the success of a submitted entry. Directories do not allow entries with too much keyword causing it to lose the main point of the article. An article containing 1-3 percent keyword will most likely make it to the directory rather than an entry with 5-6 percent keyword though rich with information.

For articles that need to be submitted to several directories, it is very important to understand the importance of the author's name and bio-box. Articles submitted to numerous directories must have identical author's name. Using a different author's name on different directories may result to issues that could lead to removal of account. Publishing an article under a different author's name may violate the anti-plagiarism rule an article directory implements.