Article Marketing and SEO

A month or so ago I wrote a scathing post about bad article marketing. So I guess it is only fair that we say something about GOOD article marketing - which isn’t that different from blogging, in fact.

The most important aspect is value. The article must have value to the reader first of all. Value can be instruction, enlightenment, entertainment, facts, etc.  In order to have value, it must also have a touch of uniqueness - either you say something new, or you say it in a way that is new. Something they can’t find just anywhere.

It should draw the reader back to the website it is promoting. That means choosing the topics carefully. But it also means leaving the advertising for the author resource box, and not putting it in the article.

An article should use keywords wisely. Keyword usage here follows the same “people first” rule that every other SEO tactic does. Keep them logical and natural, in both titles and article bodies. Keywords in the article and title will help the article garner more traffic in its own right - but never sacrifice article quality to any arbitrary rule for keyword density!

The resource box is your prime option for backlink power. A well worded author bio, with some anchor text to help the website that it points to is useful - unless the article might be posted where hyperlinks are stripped out. In that case, you’ll want to put the URL in bare, with keywords near it.

SEO for article marketing really isn’t any different than for a website. Be smart about it, make it natural and logical. Make the writing appealing to people, and it gains viral power. Fail at that, and you’ve just created more internet detritus.