Summary:
Learn the differences between article directories and individual submission sites and
discover what part they each play in your article marketing efforts.
Article marketing is a marketing technique used both
on-line and off. My first experiment with article marketing resulted in my employer and
his co-writer being featured on the cover of Training Magazine. Fast forward more than
sixteen years and I still use article marketing on a daily basis for myself and my
clients.
There is a great deal of confusion around article marketing
and in particular about the difference between article directories and individual
submission sites like websites, blogs, newsletters, etc.
Article directories (also known as article archives or
article banks) are searchable on-line databases of articles contributed by multiple
authors. The goal of an article directory is to collect articles on certain topics and
offer them to publishers to place on their website, in their e-zine or in print.
Individual submission sites are websites, blogs,
newsletters, e-zines and social media sites where a particular topic or a range of topics
are being discussed. The goal of these sites is to attract and retain an audience of
targeted website visitors.
Both article directories and individual submission sites
should be part of your article marketing strategy after you have posted the article on
your site and allowed it to be found by search engines.
The benefits of submitting articles to article directories
include the ability to post articles on a variety of subjects that may get reprinted on
other sites, the ability to create an author profile with information about your business,
the ability to edit your article and byline at any time and the ability to remove your
articles if needed.
The benefits of submitting articles to individual
submission sites include access to targeted audience in your topic area, the ability to
tailor your article and/or byline to the specific submission site, the possibility of
receiving search engine credit for the link back to your site, the ability to create a
relationship with each publisher, the possibility of editorial feedback and the increased
control you have over what sites get to use your article.
With the changes in search engine algorithms many article
directories have sustained some loss in ranking and credibility that didn't affect as many
individual submission sites. That alone is reason enough for you to submit to only the top
highly ranked article directories while submitting to as many topic specific, reputable
sites that you can find.
Remember that to get the best from your article marketing
efforts publish the article on your site first and let it get indexed by the search
engines and then submit it to article directories, topic specific sites and document
sharing sites. Many authors find it helpful to create a Squidoo Lens featuring each of
their articles along with other information on the topic.
As always, read and respect the editorial guidelines for
both article directories, individual submission sites and document sharing sites before
submitting articles. If you understand what publishers want then you will receive a much
better response for your article marketing efforts.
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