All Entries in the "Article Submissions" Category
Can Automated Software Submit Your Articles?
I’m not a big fan of automated software. Sure, it has its uses. Autoresponders are nice to have. WordPress plugins are cool. But for article submissions, I’d rather do it myself.
I may use a service like iSnare, but generally not automated submission software. That’s because the submission software just doesn’t do as good a job as manual submitters. You are much better off submitting your articles yourself or paying someone to do it for you.
The reason why automated article submitters aren’t as good as manual submitters is because you end up losing a good number of your article submissions because many article directories reject those articles outright. Every directory has its own list of categories and if you submit to the wrong category then your article will be rejected. The article submitter won’t submit to the right category for you. Generally, the submitters use a one-size-fits-all submission process and many of them are geared toward submitting to Article Dashboard sites.
Since every article directory is different, submitting with automated submission software causes a lot of problems. You’ll get more mileage with an article submission service.
How Many Article Directories Should You Submit To?
Everyone does article marketing differently. Some people find one article directory they really like and submit only to that one. Others submit to all the article directories they can. Then there are a few that submit to a lot of article directories but don’t necessarily try to get in every one. Which way is the best way to perform article marketing?
I think it depends on your goals, but I personally think you should stay away from extremes. Just sticking with one article directory limits your exposure to users of that directory and not to users of other directories. No directory enjoys 100% of the market share in article publishing. By the same token, you could drive yourself crazy just researching all the article directories that are available. No need to do that.
Probably, for most article marketers, the best approach is to send out your articles to several article directories but to choose a few that you use as a means of tracking article distribution. Pick two, three, or 10 that you can focus on and submit directly to those article directories then mass submit your article through services like iSnare. That’s the approach that I like to use and one that I recommend for most business owners.
Does Your Article Content Belong To You Or Can You Control It?
One of the major concerns for many people getting into article marketing is whether or not they have control over their articles. If you submit your articles to article directories you should be prepared for some unauthorized use of your articles. It’s going to happen. You really can’t prevent it.
A lot of time can be spent looking for content thieves and people using your articles in ways in which you don’t approve. But should you be concerned?
The way it should work is like this: You submit your article to an article directory and a website owner or e-zine publisher uses it to present their readers with quality content. They use your author bio with links intact. But you’ll often see people using articles without activating the links in the author bio or by placing the articles on pages with Google AdSense. What should you do?
First, you should contact the site owner and ask them to remove your content if you don’t want it there, or you could ask them to activate your author bio links. If they refuse or you can’t contact the site owner for some reason then submit a spam report to Google. It takes a while, but Google will often remove content if it can be proven that webmasters are violating Google guidelines. This works if the site owner is using articles without authorization and using Google AdSense in ways not approved of.
Often, however, you might have to take the extra step of contacting the site owner’s hosting company and reporting them. Many hosts will not tolerate unauthorized SEO tactics because it hurts them and their other customers. Go to Whois.net and look up who owns the site and that person’s web host. But you can often spend too much time chasing people down and not getting any work done. You’ll have to ask yourself if it’s worth it in the end.
It’s Beer Thirty, Do You Know Where Your Articles Are?
Do you have a system for tracking your articles? You’d better because in today’s Internet marketing climate you can easily lose control. With spammers, scrapers, hackers, and other ne’er-do-wells lurking around every corner, you an easily lose track of your articles and forget where you’ve placed them. That’s why I recommend a system.
You can buy a fancy schmancy article tracking software for thousands of dollars or use the old trusty Excel spreadsheet that came with your laptop. I prefer the latter.
It’s real easy to track your articles. In the horizontal fields across the top of your spreadsheet, type in this information:
- Name of Article
- Where Published
- PageRank
- Date of Submission
- Approved Date
- Author Resource Box
- Number of Publishers
Some of these fields are self explanatory so I won’t discuss them here, but there are some that warrant an explanation. Here it is:
-
Where Published - This is not always an article directory, though it may be. If it is then list the directory. If you send your article through a submission service such as iSnare then list that service. Many times, however, you’ll submit an article directly to a publisher, either a blog or a website within your niche. Write the URL of that site down here in this field.
PageRank – The PageRank of the website where your article is published on the day that you publish it. PageRank is not as good a measure as it used to be, but it’s nice to know how your article progresses over time. If you submit to PR0 sites, and I recommend that you do, then knowing that one year later the site has progressed to a PR5 can be rather encouraging when your article is passing good link juice.
Author Resource Box – I recommend that you use more than one author resource box. In this field you’ll write the author resource box that you are using for this publisher on this date. Use a system that you understand and will remember for your author resource box organization. For instance, you might says version A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, or B3 where A represents the website and 1, 2, and 3 are the versions of your author resource box for that website. Use a system that works for you and that you’ll remember.
Number of Publishers – If you do submit your articles to article directories then you’ll want to check in from time to time and see how many times your article has been downloaded. This field will likely not be 100% accurate as some publishers will just copy and paste your article without using the directory’s script for the article. That’s OK; some publishers do it the right way. At least you’ll have an idea of how many publishers have used your article. I’d check on it every three months.
If you want to track the effectiveness of your articles then you need to know where they are at all times. An Excel spreadsheet can help you keep track of that.
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.
