All Entries in the "Article Directories" Category

How Important Is Article Analytics?

Is analytics for articles a necessity? I think it can be important, but we don’t want to blow it out of proportion. It’s nice to know how many people read your article, how many clicked the link to visit your website from the article directory, and how many publishers have used your article in their e-zines and on their websites, but the real metric to keep a handle on is how much traffic an article is generating. And I don’t just mean from the article directory itself.

Some article directories provide stats on how many people read your article, clicked your links, etc. but that information is only marginally helpful. It’s much more important to know how many publishers have used your articles. If you can then identify which publishers they are, you can usually check your inbound links to find them, then you can analyze your referrer logs to see how much traffic you are getting from those sources. That’s the best kind of article analytics. Don’t be fooled by article directories that hype up their bells and whistles.

Can Free Content Make You Money Online?

Every now and then I read an article that is so astoundingly off the mark it’s incredible that someone took the time to write it. Today’s featured article is such an article. Here’s a real gem with my commentary:

Make Money With Free Content

By Kenji Brian Sakamoto

Many webmasters will turn to free content directories to get traffic and earn money with their articles. If you are a new affiliate for companies, you might consider building small niche websites to draw visitors to your site and help you make revenue.

This will not effectively build a website or revenue. It may be the only viable option if you don’t have a big budget, but it can be harmful to your business efforts for several reasons.

We’re off to a rocking start. Free content is just that – free content. And you usually get what you pay for. But there is a distinct purpose to it that serves a well-defined benefit. It’s a benefit that this article fails to elucidate.

The author here is attempting to make a point that gets lost. Only passingly does he mention affiliate marketing while trying to warn of a dangerous method of promoting your affiliate links. His principle is one that I agree with – don’t use free article content to promote your affiliates. That’s ineffective. But that isn’t what he’s saying here. It appears that this article is saying don’t use free content at all, which is reallly bad advice.

The idea to build small niche websites to promote affiliate programs is a solid concept. That Sakamoto patently rejects the idea as a revenue generation model is quite precarious because there are many successful affiliate marketers doing just that. But not with free content. That is the point I think he is trying to make, but his manner of communication makes it difficult for that message to get across.

Problem #1: Search engines punish sites that have content that duplicates other sites. If you have your content on multiple sites, your search engine rankings will suffer.

This just isn’t true. The search engines don’t punish sites that use duplicate content. They just don’t reward them. And there’s a difference.

Let this point stick in your head: There is no duplicate content penalty.

Google’s policy clearly states that it will attempt to identify the original content and index only that. If the original article appears on your website or blog and is dated such that Google can clearly identify it as the first publication then that content will get indexed. You can then submit your articles to directories and have it appear on other websites. If you are a publisher of an article that has appeared elsewhere before you won’t be penalized. Just don’t expect that article to gain search engine rankings while on your site.

It is important to have a high ranking in search engines to increase traffic flow to your site. Without visitors, you can’t earn revenue. Improving the search engine optimization of your site is the key to getting a high enough ranking that brings in lots of customers.

There are a variety of ways to drive traffic to your website. Using search engine organic rankings is only one of them, a highly recommended one, but only one. Savvy marketers use all the tools at their disposal to drive traffic and rank websites. That includes search engine optimization, but don’t be fooled into believing that’s the only option you have.

Problem #2: It is hard enough to get visitors to click on your site, but getting a high ranking on search engine results is only part of the way to get customers to your site. The other half of the problem is getting your visitors to click on your affiliate links. Unoriginal content lessens the chance that people will want to click on the links on your site. People are more likely to buy things from a reputable and knowledgeable source on the subject.

OK, this is true. Your visitors are less likely to click your affiliate links if you use unoriginal content. But if you use article content from directories as additional content, not your main content, you can still build credibility. Don’t let the free content overshadow your original content. Use it sparingly and discriminately.

Originality is crucial. If you just copy material from other sites, you will be revealed as a fraud and lose any credibility on the subject. Fewer website visitors will want to click on your links.

That’s a little harsh. If you have no original content on your site then it will be difficult to convince readers to click your links. But using free content as an adjunct to your original content won’t cause you to lose credibility if you do it the right way.

Problem #3: Free content is often distributed with the requirement that you place the author’s byline under the article. Most author bylines include links, though, creating a problem. If a reader reads something interesting, they may decide to click on the byline of the author, and not your affiliate links. This is why sites offer free content – so they can put their name out there and gain popularity. Don’t use this content, though, because it may cause you to lose profitable visitors to your site.

The author here clearly understand the purpose of article marketing, but that last sentence is laughable. I nearly fell off my chair. The author is distributing his own articles freely through article directories in hopes that other publishers will use them and give him back links, but he tells you explicitly not to use those kinds of articles. Including his? Including this one? Does he lose credibility with that statement? Yes. But not because it is free content, but because he wants you to ignore his own advice and make a special case just for him. That’s a big no, no.

These three problems can cause a significant decline in revenue, just by using free content out of article directories. If you can afford to buy original content, do that. If you can’t afford it, write your own content and then seek the services of professionals after you’ve made enough money.

I agree. If you can write your own articles then that is the most preferred way to get content on your website whether it is an affiliate site, a service site, a site that sells its own products, or is a made for AdSense site. Original content is always best.

BUT, if you can’t write your own or don’t have the time then hire a ghostwriter. As a third alternative, free content can be useful, especially if you are putting together an AdSense site. But for affiliate sites, original content is the best.

Do you have your own original articles or rewrite contents? Submit your original content or article for free. Visit us online at Article Directory Online or Article Fan

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kenji_Brian_Sakamoto

I really don’t know what to make of an article directory owner that tells you not to use free content from article directories. But that’s what this article is. I’m scratching my head.

There are a ton of article directories you can submit your free content to. Don’t be afraid to use them. And don’t be afraid to use free content for your own site if you make it work for you. Do it smartly it can pay off.

How Long Should Your Articles Be?

It’s difficult to tell someone how long an article should be. The correct answer is it should be as long as it needs to be to drive traffic to your website. But because every article directory has their own guidelines for marketers sending articles to them, you should write your articles long enough that they would be accepted to any directory.

Just about every directory online will allow articles more than 300 words so you should absolutely not go any less than that on word count. But many article directories set their standards higher than that. Some set their minimum word count at 400 and some at 500. Some have no minimum at all. So you can see the difficulty.

Still, if you write articles that are at least 500 words then you should meet the minimum standards of every directory that has one. Otherwise, write shorter articles and there are directories that would not publish your article and that’s a limitation you don’t want.

Should You Submit Articles To Niche Directories?

Article marketing is a time consuming activity if you do it right. But there can be some big payoffs. Should you spend your time researching and submitting articles to niche directories?

Yes, I say you should. But understand that very few niches have that many article directories that specifically focus on their niche. You might find one or two article directories that serve your niche and if you do then you should submit every article you write to them. But don’t just focus on those directories. Also focus on high traffic general directories with authority.

The key to article marketing is to get your articles seen in as many places as possible. You are trying to do two things: Drive traffic to your website and build back links. Anything you can do to further each of these objectives is a positive. Niche directories are great for delivering targeted traffic, but the links are also highly relevant links if you article is picked up by a publisher. General directories, however, will usually see more traffic than niche directories so I wouldn’t discount them.

Learn more about article directory submissions here.

Article Directory Review

Article Content Provider would like to thank Directory Blogger for his fair and honest review of the ACP directory.

There needs to be more sites like this that give good an honest reviews of article directories and other directory and content services. We appreciate Directory Blogger for his honesty and fairness and willingness to review our article directory. Thanks!

13 Article Directories You’ll Find On Twitter

We decided to go looking for article directories on Twitter and found out there are quite a few article directory owners who use Twitter. EzineArticles, the most popular article directory online, sends out a tweet every time one of its members publishes a new article. Other article directories with a presence on Twitter include (note the links are directly to their Twitter profiles):

• ArticlesFYI
• ArticleOnCall
• ArticlesBase
• ArticleStars
• My Free Article Directory
• Go Health Article
• JPservicez
• Articleniche
• articleserve.net
• Euriskoarticles
• SmallArticles
• Adwordsa

If you’re looking for article directories to connect with on Twitter, feel free to follow these directories or owners of directories. And be sure to follow me too.

Does Google Have A Duplicate Content Penalty?

There is still some confusion about Google’s duplicate content penalty. The truth is there is no such penalty. Google’s policy states that it will index the first instance of specific content on the web, but not the same content at multiple websites. What that means is if you submit your article to 100 article directories then Google will pick one of those directories as the original content location and not index all 99 instances of the same article.

Google says it will index the first publication of the same content, but that isn’t exactly accurate either. If you submit your article to 100 directories on the same day at the same time through a mass submission process then Google may make a good faith effort to find the original, or first published, article but its robot will not be able to discern small time nuances in the submittal process. It is likely that Google will give favor to the article directories that it considers higher authority websites, but that’s just my opinion. Still, Google’s policy is to index one instance of a particular content and to discount all the others. That’s different than imposing a penalty.

Even then, if that article is held in 100 different directories, you stand a much better chance of having it picked up by other publishers than you do if you list it in only one directory. Plus, other search engines may list each article that it finds online regardless of whether or not it exists on a separate website so submitting your articles to multiple directories is always a wise choice.

5 Niche Article Directories For The Committed Article Marketer

Anyone who has done any marketing at all knows that targeted marketing achieves the best results. If you do article marketing then you may have been led to believe that all the article directories are general directories, but it’s not true. Here are 5 niche article directories that you can use if you fit into one of these niches.

• Real Estate – The Real Estate Article Directory (http://realestatearticledirectory.com/) is a great place to submit your articles related to real estate and related topics.
• Travel – Articles Abroad (http://articlesabroad.com/articles/) serves the travel industry very well. If you have articles related to travel, world languages, real estate, or the environment then this is the place to submit them.
• Arts & Crafts – If you’re a crafter or an artisan and you write articles about your craft the Art & Craft Article Directory (http://www.artsandcraftsnet.ca/articledirectory/) is the place to be.
• Internet Marketing – Do you do any Internet marketing? Any at all? If you are involved in pay-per-click advertising, blogging, article marketing, AdSense publishing, domaining, link building, podcasting, or any of various other Internet marketing categories then the Internet Marketing Article Directory (http://www.internet-article-directory.com/) is the perfect place to publish your articles.
• Computers – The topic of computers is a broad category, but it encompasses a very important niche. The Computer Article Directory (http://www.computerarticledirectory.com/) fills that niche very well. If your expertise has anything to do with Internet security, computer business opportunities, hardware or software issues, operating systems, search engines, web browsers, or any of various other categories related to computers then this is your article directory.

Do you know of any other niche article directories? Which ones do you use?

Article Marketing Mistakes You Don’t Want To Make

Here’s a great article on article marketing from an article marketing pro. You’ll do well to follow this advice.

7 Most Common Article Marketing Mistakes Made by New Marketers

By: Gen Wright

Although article marketing is one of the easiest traffic generation method to understand and implement, it can also be a total time waster if done incorrectly. That is because article directories will be rejecting the articles, and time that was spent writing and submitting the articles would have been wasted. Here are some of the most common mistakes that I have come across as a practictioner of article marketing.

One, the article title is too general. This is the first thing that the readers will see, and if they cannot determine if the article has exactly what they want to read, they will not click on the link and read the article. Besides, it is getting harder and harder to rank for general terms. So it’s definitely better to have something more specific in the article title. For example, instead of saying “Search engine optimization services”, choose something like “5 unique search engine optimization tips for new and advanced marketers.” The second title certainly sounds more appealing and communicates directly with new and advanced Internet marketers.

Second, the article title contains keywords that are too common. This is somewhat similar to the first mistake above, except that although the title has more specific details, it’s still too common. One such example is “Tips for Internet Marketing”. There is nothing wrong with such a title, except that these titles would have been chosen by several hundreds of article marketers already. And most article directories are setup to accept only unique article titles. So the article will most likely be rejected during submission.

Third, the article summary is too short. Some article marketers submit articles with summaries that are less than a hundred characters. A few established directories reject summaries that are less than a hundred characters. So it is a good idea to write at least three or four sentences for the article summary.

Fourth, the article summary is the first sentence of the article. This is the wrong thing to do as well. The summary should not be the first sentence of the article. Instead, it should capture the essence or the most interesting parts of the article to catch more eyeballs and entice the reader to finish reading the entire article.

Fifth, the article body contains too much self promotional material. Self promotional material means blatantly promoting the author’s own services, or including the URLs in the article body. For instance, the author writes about the features of his products and services without additional useful information. To avoid this mistake, try writing from a third party point of view. Write as if you are the reporter, and provide some useful information. Also avoid including URLs in the article body.

Sixth, more than two links are included in the article resource box. Most article marketers are not aware that a handful of established directories accept a maximum of two links only. So their articles will be declined outright. To get around this, rotate the resource boxes during submission, but all the time keeping the maximum number of links to two.

Seventh, the links do not contain anchor keywords. Part of the benefit of article marketing is that you will get better search engine rankings from your efforts. But if the wrong anchor texts are used in the links, your rankings will not improve. So instead of using a direct URL in your link, try to use texts that describe your products or services in the links.

If you can avoid the seven mistakes mentioned above, you will see tremendous success in your campaigns.

Article Source: http://www.articlecontentprovider.com/articlesubmit

For Article Distribution or Article Submission services, please visit www.fastsubmitarticles.com

For excellent ghostwritten articles visit Article Content Provider.

Article Directories: What Makes A Good One?

How do you know which article directories to submit your website to? Believe me, it’s not easy. I’d be real careful about submitting to every directory out there. Some are better than others. But there is one criteria that is often cited about article directories that I would caution you against in using as a selection criteria. That criteria is PageRank. Don’t use it.

PageRank can be deceiving. Just because a web domain has a high PageRank doesn’t mean it’s a good article directory. Maybe it has a high PageRank because it was another type of website for 10 years and just recently converted into an article directory. If that’s the case then it needs to prove itself as an article directory.

A better thing to look at is traffic. How much traffic does that article directory get? You can find out by going to Alexa.com and checking the traffic stats. This isn’t a perfect tool, but Alexa can give you an idea about traffic. Look at the upward and downward trend over the last 3 months. Then look at the raw traffic numbers. If the traffic is low and the downward trend is going down then it’s not a good site. If the traffic number is high and the trend is upward then that’s a good sign.

Another thing you can do is go to Google and type in site:http://www.nameofarticledirectory.com. Google will tell you how many pages of that article directory have been indexed. If the number is low then the directory probably has website crawl issues. If the number is high then it’s a good directory.

Also take a look at the cache option in your Google toolbar (you do have the Google toolbar, don’t you?). How long ago was the site cached? If it’s been too long then it isn’t getting updated very often.

Keep in mind that Google no longer passes link juice from article directories. That’s not to say that it couldn’t. Google often overlooks its own policies. But don’t count on links from article directories. You are submitting articles for traffic. It’s nice if that traffic comes from the article directory, but it doesn’t to. You want other publishers to use your articles. The traffic and links from those publisher websites are what you really want the article directory to do for you. If you find your articles getting published then you’ve found a good article directory.