As SEO we already know that article marketing is a common method of building those all-important one-way links back to our pages. It is also used as an efficient method of building relevant traffic. Article marketing and other forms of content distribution can if done correctly, make a massive contribution to the link acquisition process and guide your pages up the SERPs. The hope is that people who read these articles will also be interested in your web pages and therefore push highly convertible customers to your site. Article marketing is one of my favorite link-building methods and I want to spend a little time in this post showing you how I go about preparing an Article before it is published.
When it comes to article writing you have two simple choices; do it yourself or hire a professional content writer. I always prefer writing articles myself as I can add my own personality to the content. If you do want to write them yourself I would definitely follow these general tips:-
1) Make sure the first paragraph of your article is focused on what your article is actually about. You need to answer those all-important open questions, who, what, where, why, and how. Some people like to start their article by creating a problem and then solving it through the article text. Either way, the reader needs to know exactly what the article relates to.
2) Before writing make a bullet list of all the points you want to cover within the article. Structure them so they flow well from one point to the next.
3) Try to keep things simple. Not all the readers of your article will be of the same expertise, some may even be complete novices in the area. If you have to use technical terms simply define them to your readers ie SEO (search engine optimization) is the idea of optimizing your site for the major search engines etc
4) Make your format reader-friendly by using short paragraphs. I try to keep my paragraphs to 3 – 4 sentences as large bulks of text will put your readers off.
5) Try to back up the points you are making by giving examples of authority or personal experiences. You could use experiences when you have personally solved a problem or your company has. It helps make the article personal and reaches out to the reader.
6) Attempt to put some emphasis on the benefit of your product or service. Try underlining or bold to help readers identify the benefits.
7) Don’t be afraid of sharing relevant resources. Yes, this may mean your readers visit other sites but it will ultimately build confidence in you and your company.
8) Look to others within your niche or industry to give their honest opinion on your article. Ask for feedback or things that would appeal to them, that could be added.
9) Make sure the most important aspects of your article are placed nearer the beginning of the text. This is for 2 reasons i) it catches your reader’s attention early and ii) some editors will only show the first 2 paragraphs of your article.
