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If you are looking for improved search engine rank for any page on your website, you have to learn how to write articles in order to make use of one of the major and most useful resources online: article directories.

Just as website directories can be used to promote your website online, article directories can be used to publish your articles. These articles can in turn be used to promote a specific page on your website, and in this respect are more useful than a website directory listing that promotes only your home page.

You have few opportunities to direct search engine spiders directly to a page of your own choice, and when one arises it should be made good use of. In fact, other than article directories and links on your own website, you are unlikely to find such an opportunity, and it should be seized whenever it arises. However, very few people actually know how to make best use of such an opportunity and to use their articles intelligently to drive masses of traffic to their site.

You can use your Author’s Resource to achieve that, but in order to get the Resource read, you have to get the article read. For that to happen, you have to write a good article and then make people read it. To do that your title must be good enough to persuade people to read it. To achieve that you must be able to write a good title. So how to you achieve all of these things? That is the purpose of this article: to teach you how to craft a title that will get you article read, and then to craft a resource that will compel the reader to visit your website - or the web page that you want them to see.

So, first the title: Before you can craft your title you will need a good topic or subject to write about. There are several ways to decide what that should be, but that is another article. Let’s assume that you have decided to write about how to cure a slice in golf. The obvious title would be: “How to Cure Your Golf Slice”.

Would that really be a good idea? How many web pages are there online with that title? A few thousand? A few hundred thousand? In fact if you use the term as a Google search you will find it is 387,000. You have 387,000 other websites competing for these keywords. Now, let’s change it to “How to Cure a Golf Slice”. You get 71,500 competing sites. Just one small word change: ‘your’ to ‘a’ reduces the competition by almost 82%.

What that means is that with fewer competing sites you have a lot better chance of having your website listed close to the top of the listings for the keyword. However, you also have to take the demand into consideration: if nobody is using these keywords in their search you won’t benefit by using them. Using Wordtracker I get three times as many people, searching for ‘cure A golf slice’ than ‘cure YOUR golf slice’. So based upon keyword research the title will be:

How to Cure A Golf Slice

This has three times the demand and over a fifth of the supply of the alternative with ‘YOUR’ in the keyword. That’s the difference that one simple word can make to the success or failure of a keyword or keyphrase.

In practice it will make little difference, unless the prospect uses the exact phrase, in which case ‘how to cure a golf slice’ is the more likely of the two terms for somebody to use. Were the term ‘cure my golf slice’ used, both would have the same number of results.

You then write the article, making it as interesting and as useful to the reader as possible, and try to persuade them that they have to find out more by visiting your website. However, the purpose of this article is not to show you how to write articles, but how to use them. You do that using your Resource Box. This is a section that some directories provide in which you have to persuade the reader to visit your site. The directory won’t describe it as such, but that is basically what it is. In fact not all directories provide a separate data box for this, so you have to add it to the end of your article, but either way you design it the same way.

Keep in mind that the resource box should not be used as a bio, even though the directory might ask you to provide info about yourself, you should use it to promote your website. Here are some ideas for your resource box.

1. Offer more information and a free gift “For more information on this topic and a free gift check out Pete’s website at xxxxxx
2. The Second Part Offer “You will find Part 2 of this article at xxxxxx.com, in which you will learn how to put this information to practical use.”
3. The Final Offer “If this article interests you, you will find a limited period free offer on xxxxx.com, that will help you to cure your golf slice.”

These are various uses to which you can put the resource box, and they are all effective in getting the important clicks. However the format that works best for me is something along the lines of: “”For more information check out xxxxxx where I will show you how to make every article rock with cash generating pizzazz that makes you more in a month than your website does in a whole year.”

That’s how to use your articles and your resource to make money. Some people don’t want the resource to look like an advert. Why not? Advertising is your life’s blood and your resource is the only place in your article where you really can advertise.

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Peter Nisbet - For more information on how to get a rapid listing on Google visit SEOcious where you will also be shown by means of HTML screenshots how Pete gets very high listings on Google, Yahoo and MSN , plus step by step instructions on how you can do it too.

Tags: article writing, content writing, improve search engine rank, Writing

I’ve already written about why it’s important to write articles, and it seems a lot of you agree because I keep getting emails saying that you want to write articles but don’t know what to write about.

It can be hard to decide what to write about, especially if you are trying to write a lot of content and get it out into the world.

Every industry is different and it is definitely harder to come up with topics in some industries - but if you get creative you can always find something.

Here are some suggestions I’ve given to clients recently:

Lingerie industry:

• How to care for lingerie so it lasts longer
• How to feel sexy even if you don’t have the perfect figure
• How to use lingerie to add romance to a marriage
• How to pick lingerie
• Best occasions to make sure you have new lingerie (honeymoon, his birthday, romantic get away, second honeymoon etc)
• Wear lingerie for yourself - it’s not always about looking sexy for a man, you can wear pretty lingerie under your clothes to feel good about yourself

Pest control industry:

• The cost of ignoring insect problems (especially termites)
• What to look for in a pest control company (or how to pick the best pest control company)
• What should you expect to pay a pest control company
• Common household pests and what they do - just annoying or do they actually damage your house?
• Insects and knitwear or clothing - how to protect your items

Tool industry:

• How to pick the best tools for the job
• What tools you should always have on hand
• How to use a …(jackhammer, saw etc)
• Tool brands - their reputation, your insights and reviews
• Weekend projects you can do with a hammer (saw, table saw etc)

Those are just some ideas to show you that even if you don’t think your industry is all that interesting to write about, with a little creativity you can come up with topics.

Here are some general tips that apply to any industry.

Lists are popular, so you can always write articles that list important facts. For example:

• The top 5 things you must know before you buy a…
• The top 3 things your xxx (doctor, lawyer, florist etc) doesn’t want you know
• The top 5 most popular … (books, CDs, blade saws, shoes, bras etc)

“How to” articles are also wildly popular. Here are some samples:

• How to pick the right (plastic surgeon) for you (replace plastic surgeon with whatever is relevant to you: doctor, lawyer, psychic etc)
• How to pick the best xxx for your xxx (lifestyle, weight, height etc)
• How to spot a good deal
• How to avoid the biggest mistake most xxx buyers make
• How to spot a fraud/fake/dud etc

A couple last tips before I wrap up:

• You can always set a Google alert to see what people are Blogging about and see what the buzz is in your industry.
• You can also look at your FAQs (or create them if you don’t have any) and expand your answers into an article whenever it makes sense.
• Ask your site visitors and customers what their biggest questions are and then create articles responding to their questions.
• Write an article that teaches people how to use what you sell. Teaching people to consume your products is important.
• Share your experience or opinions.
• Take a newsworthy item and write your take on the situation.

I don’t believe there is any industry out there that you can’t come up with great article topics for. So, put on your creative hat and start brainstorming - and then get writing!

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Jennifer Horowitz is the Director of Marketing for EcomBuffet.com. Since 1998 Jennifer’s expertise in marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has helped clients increase revenue. Jennifer has written a downloadable book on SEO and has been published in many SEO and marketing publications. Jennifer is the editor of the popular Spotlight on Success: SEO and Marketing newsletter. Follow Jennifer and stay current on SEO, marketing, social media and more. http://twitter.com/EcomBuffet

Tags: article topics, article writing

It’s easier said than done to write great 500-750 word articles. Some of us simply have too much to say. We have trouble reigning things in at less than 1500 words. Others are on the opposite end of the spectrum strain to make their articles long enough.

Knowing that a 500-750 word article marketing article has a greater chance of getting published on a top website like About.com, I consistently try to get all of my articles to conform to that range. Today, I reveal some of my secrets so you can get published on more top websites and ezines.

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Tags: article marketing, article writing, Writing

As you would surely be aware after some time in the Internet marketing business, submitting your articles and getting them re-published on others’ websites and newsletters/ezines is one of the most powerful Internet marketing strategies. Your articles will start working as a free advertisement for you forever. And you do not have to pay even a dime for such advertising space. You will continue to enjoy free traffic driven to your website for a long, long time!

Assuming you have decided to venture into writing your own articles, the following checklist should offer you as a very useful guide to help you overcome some common problems all beginners find in writing articles:

1) Decide on a Specific Objective

Always begin with a clear objective of writing an article. Is it a solution and answer to a particular problem faced by many? Is it an article expressing one’s experience in certain field? Or is it an article to attract prospective customers.

2) Target Your Audience

Before writing an article, ensure that the targeted audience is big enough to make your effort worthwhile. Ensure that this target is relevant, meaning they would find your article beneficial. For example as I write this article the target audience is the Internet marketers who want to drive or improve traffic to their sites by submitting articles to directories etc and are looking for a good guidance to do so effectively.

3) Give a Brief Description of the Article

With a quick glance the reader would immediately know the gist of the purpose, the important points and benefits of this article.

4) Create an Attention Grabbing Title

Perhaps we need some tips from the Advertising experts. One has this to say : “People that sell products to help you stop smoking don’t sell the “stop smoking” part. They sell the part about making your breath better, improving your health, living longer, getting better-looking dates, having whiter teeth”

Hence your title must grab the reader’s attention and prompt them to start reading at least the introduction of your article in order not to miss the benefits by ignoring your article!

5) Write as if You Are Talking to Somebody

There is no need for big and bombastic words and jargons that only would lead to confusion to some. You must write with simple English and in a manner that the reader feels that you are actually talking to him or her.

6) Re-read and Re-Write Your Articles

After you have finished writing, safe it and put it away for one day or two. Open it and read again. I bet you would find some weaknesses or mistakes that need your correction and amendments. Repeat this once or twice at least. If possible get somebody with experience of the same subject to proofread for you.

If with all this and your initial enthusiasm of an eager beaver, you still failed to become a writer, do not despair. Although you are ready to resign to the fact that you just don’t have the flair for writing and may be writing is not your forte, there are ways you could create your “own” writing with your name as the author in the “resource box”……………without having to write. In fact there are three ways from which you can choose one or use all of them:

1) Hire a Ghostwriter

You could hire somebody to write on your behalf on any subjects of your choice and he does not even take any credit despite his effort hence he is called a “ghost” writer. However a ghostwriter could be expensive. If you could afford this, it might be the best and easiest thing for you to do.

Visit http://www.elance.com/ where you can search for a writer who can help you create your own articles.

2) Buy Private Label Rights to a Collection of Articles

You could get hundreds of pre-written articles for a small enrollment fee. From these you could choose articles discussing subjects related to the content of your website. These are referred to as the “Private label articles” which you have full permission to use and also put your own name to the resource box as the author.

Although this method also costs money it is less expensive than ghost writing. The obvious disadvantage is that if the Private Label Articles are being sold in large numbers, there could be many purchasers using the same content at the same time unless of course you are good enough to do a considerable amount of editing.

3) Get Someone Else to Write for You Through an Interview!

This is a free method. You get someone else to create the article for you through an interview. Very often, interviewees are put in the limelight that would improve their image as experts in their fields. Hence people are glad to be interviewed, even if it’s free. If you know of any experts, a face-to-face interview in person can be conducted. Otherwise interviews through phones and e-mails could also be carried out. The article cold then be sold and distributed either as a text or audio format!

In conclusion, whether you are cut out to be a writer or you hopeless as a writer, you now know how to get the articles you require and distribute them to articles directories, e-zines to start driving traffic to your websites. Getting your own articles published on the Internet is one of the very best Internet marketing techniques in existence.

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John Woon (Sung-Liang Woon) is a Rubber and Latex Consultant with about 30 years of experience. He is now also earning handsome income from the Internet working from home. Check this fantastic website to find out how he has ventured into Internet business: http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-9747 … Learn more about his website and blog at: http://www.johnwoon.com and http://healthysite.blogspot.com

Tags: article writing, ghost writing, Writing

Times have changed. Just a couple short years ago, about 60% to 70% of your website ranking success depended on links. Now up to 85% of your page’s search engine rank on Google relates to how it is linked. More specifically, the quality and number of inbound links.

Google looks at everything from the “authority level” of the linked sites to their “PageRank” and even the IP class they use (Internet Protocol designation.) While we don’t have hours to get into every little detail, I have provided three simple surefire ways to get hundreds of top rate inbound links to any page or your site you wish. And this is the absolute fastest way to get on top of Google and stay there for the long haul. So, here we go…

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Tags: article writing, blog reviews, google linking strategies

I know you’ve heard many times that to be successful at Internet Marketing you have to have a list. You can build your list in many ways but the quickest and most effective way is by writing articles.

Many ezine publishers and website owners are constantly looking for new and up to date information for their publications and web pages. Article writing is the perfect way to provide that information and build an opt-in list.

A lot of new and some experienced Internet Marketers get confused about the obvious use of the opt-in list. The main objective is not just to build a list of names and email addresses. Its purpose is to help you build your business by providing you with a valuable list of names and email addresses that are of good quality.

Millions of people search the internet daily for numerous reasons. The majority of them are usually looking for information on one or a variety of subjects that they just want to know more about.

Here are a few things that you should consider when writing articles to build your business:

1. Find out what type of information people are looking for and provide it for them. This can be done easily by asking the members who are currently on you list what they want.

If you don’t currently have a list you can always visit different forums to find out what people are asking for.

2. Keep in contact with the members on your opt-in list and get to know them. Obviously, if they are subscribing to your list, and staying around, they are interested in what you have to say and you have something in common.

You can ask them to recommend you to their friends, family or co-workers who have the same interests that you have and they can help you build your business.

3. Be careful not to frustrate the members on your list by constantly providing too much information by email too frequently. Though they may like to get email, try not to send too many emails too often.

You can provide the best quality information there is but if you over do it some of your members will opt-out and leave you because of information overload.

When you write articles and submit them to article directories in most cases it is free. It is one of the easiest ways to drive traffic to your website, get free advertising and build your opt-in list all at the same time.

Make your articles key-word rich about your website topic and strive to keep the word count between 400 and 600 words long.

There are times that they will be longer but make sure you check the article directories rules as different article directories have different rules about article length.

Always include a resource box at the bottom of your article with a little bit of information about yourself and include a link to your website.

You will soon build credibility and draw more targeted traffic to your website as your articles are read by others and they begin to click on the link to your website and opt-in to your list.

You will also start to get noticed by search engines and get established as other website owners begin to publish your articles in their ezines, to their list and on their websites.

So, to build your opt-in list quickly and drive traffic to your website, write good quality articles and submit them to the article directories often.

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Angela Meyers is a writer and internet marketer who writes and publishes eBooks and media material on various ways to make money online. Want to find out several different ways to make money online? visit: http://www.resellrightsandplrmadesimple.com

Tags: article writing, opt in lists, Writing

Everyone thinks they have it all figured out when it comes down to producing, distributing, and reaping the benefits of article posting. Don’t get me wrong here, they are headed in the right direction and even hit their objectives, but does it produce monstrous results in sales? What is the magic formula for an article that directs traffic like an expressway versus one that fails miserably?

Human Emotion is the key. When you produce an article that sparks interest in your audience, or tap into their emotions, compelling them to purchase, then you’ve hit your goal. However, the bottom line is that most marketers write and post articles constantly to boost website traffic in hopes to stimulate sales, so the quality has diminished. With a few key elements you can capitalize on the poor grade articles and realize great success posting articles that capture people’s attention and directs them to what they want. Remember that last statement, what they want.

Advertize to emotions

This can be a tough, depending on your sales product so we will use a few examples here. I live in a large city next to an even larger lake. On my street alone there must be a boat at every other house, and most people have a hard time understanding the logic behind it. Somehow half of my street found logic behind the purchase of a boat. Maybe the boat salesman sells ice to Eskimos in the winter, no, that’s not it. It’s deeply imbedded in our society, the answer is competition. Think about that. We live in a highly competitive world. My neighbors saw each other’s boats and said wait a minute, how do I rank? I’m losing rank here. Soon the boat will be pulled with a matching new truck.

The new truck certainly wasn’t needed to get the boat to the lake. The old truck was fine and fit its purpose, simple transportation. But think of how that person feels leaving the neighborhood, full of peers, with a brand new boat. It’s the same way you feel when you leave the car lot with a brand new car, or live in a five bedroom two story home with just your spouse. Let’s face the facts. Our emotions drive nearly every purchase we make. With that understood, lets really drive home the message by offering up a few suggestions of how that person will feel with your product. Help with the reasoning behind buying your product and make it logical for them, make it a necessity even.

Back up your products with logic

You can make this happen with everything in existence that has a price tag on it. Imagine how you would benefit with the product and then verbalize. Let’s use something simple like water. Water believe it or not is a perfect example of compulsive purchases driven by marketers using your emotion and backing it up with logic. I used to think water was fine right out of the tap. Then a marketer got a hold of it and said it needs to be filtered, bottled, and infused with vitamins, flavored and everything imaginable to be healthier or beneficial like we are all super athletes. Each brand has a different twist on how their water is better or more beneficial for you. Everything from getting your daily vitamins to maxed out energy all revolve around the simple substance of water. They have paved the way with logical reasons to buy improved water that the tap stuff is out of the question.

Dare to be different

If everything was the same, competition would not exist plain and simple. Make your article stand out and your product for that matter. People want originality to set them apart from their peers. Inject your creativity starting with the title. A different, eye catching or unique title to lure them in will maximize results. Just make sure it’s on topic. Continue with creativity and personality throughout the body to set yours apart. Do not just state the facts; however use them as power statements. With a billion articles online you must be different to get notoriety, for example.

Be yourself and be honest

Honesty is just good policy. Don’t over exaggerate, make false promises, or mislead people because a major reason behind producing articles is to gain credibility. If you make your article personal and informational, that adds value to both the Internet and your readers. Offer up so of your own experiences with in the article topic and help others relate to both yourself and your writings. After the article others may read other postings produced by you. After you read an article do you look for the author? Do you look or follow the resource box at the bottom?

It’s only natural after being moved by a great interesting article. Maybe you want to learn more or respect what the author had to say. People read the article in the first place because they wanted information on the title subject. They were looking for something and the title led them into your article so it is important to follow through. It’s important to them not to be misled, and to find what they were looking for, and it’s important for you to help them get what they want. So let’s do just that.

Follow through and give them what they want

Give them what they want. It’s very important to back up you statements. The article has served its purpose, hit on the readers emotions, gave logical reasoning and sparked interest. Rather, it gave information on the reader’s initial interest because they searched for that topic. The article was personal, honest and different. Now back it up.

For example, I write articles surrounding the online affiliate market, common used tactics and practices that marketers use in small at home businesses. The subjects are pretty broad, however when the reader follows the resource box they find a website that contains everything needed for a small at home online business.

If you write articles simply because you enjoy it, there is difference from why the article is written for a business purpose. An article written and targeted for attracting traffic or to be profitable has to have this follow up quality. The ability to give either a product or more valuable information on the title topic solidifies your credibility and makes you a trustworthy supplier of the readers needs. Even a few of these tips done correctly produce results, however, perfecting them all produce the desired results.

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Mark Tyner is the webmaster of YourHomeBiz-Direct. For how to market with ezine articles or article submission please visit his website and receive 5 free e-books on internet marketing.

Tags: article, article writing, Writing

I frequently rant on Internet marketing and some of the gurus who try to bend your ear. Why? Because many of these so-called gurus trash everything that makes sense in this Internet world, especially when they realize that they cannot make money from the techniques being recommended.

I don’t preach marketing concepts solely for the purpose of selling my products and services. (If you happen to buy my products or services, then awesome, but that is not my point when I share information from my SEO and other marketing campaigns.) I preach the concepts that I have used for myself successfully. Either you can trust me and test the things I recommend, or you can listen to the gurus and drown yourself in pity, when you realize you are not finding the success you seek.

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Tags: article writing, Writing

“If you can’t stand in front of your target, reading what you’ve written aloud, you have no right to it.” - Frank Watson

After reading countless articles on social media, and sadly more recently of the tale of Megan Meier, it would seem that the bad element of society thrives on the safety of being anonymous. So often I’ve looked at blog postings, or more specifically the comments left by unnamed visitors, and wondered if those people would actually be able to say what they do to someone else face to face.

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Tags: article writing, email marketing, Marketing, Web 2.0

This article will give you 7 key tips for crafting an attention-grabbing article that will be welcomed by quality publishers, bring value to your readers, drive targeted traffic to your website *and* build up those precious one-way links in the process!

Let’s get started…

1) Remember who you’re writing for and why.

The object with article marketing is to write articles that bring value to your readers, that show you to be an expert on your topic, and that inspire your readers to click through to your website. Also keep in mind that your articles need to please the online publishers–after all, if your article doesn’t get picked up for publication, then nobody gets to read your article!

2) Don’t write about your website or business.

This is the part that so many article marketers struggle with! Remember, our articles are geared to meet the needs of our target readers and the online publishers. The minute your article stops sounding educational and starts sounding like an advertisement for your website, your readers will put their guard up and lose interest in your article, which is not what we’re going for! You need to take a more subtle approach. When you’re writing your articles, you are a teacher, an educator, an expert–not a salesperson!

The appropriate place to talk about your business, website or products is your author resource box.

3) Write about your area of expertise.

Your customers can be a constant source of article topic ideas. What are the top 10 questions that customers most frequently ask you? Write those questions down and create an article that answers each question. Remember, you have to be creative and subtle, because you must answer the question without mentioning your own website. Your role as the author of the article is to be a source of information, not a sales person.

4) Write ‘How To’,'7 Tips’ and ‘Top 10′ lists.

We all love a list, don’t we? Instructional ‘How To’ articles and informational ‘Top 10′ (or 7 or 5 or whatever) articles have a knack for catching readers eyes. No matter what the topic of your article, you can find a way to create a ‘How To’ or ‘Top 7′ list. This is an article writing strategy that works, so do it!

5) Always write about the topic of your website.

It sounds obvious, but I’ve seen more than a few authors who have a one track mind about article marketing–they just want to rack up the precious one-way backlinks that article marketing generates, and so they think it’s fine to write articles on any topic under the sun with a link in their resource box going back to their website on a different topic. Don’t do that!

Why? We’re not after just any type of traffic–we’re after *targeted traffic*. Targeted traffic means that the folks you lure to your website are people who would be very likely to be interested in the topic of your website. While you will never write directly about your website, you will definitely want to write about the *topic* of your website.

6) Make a great resource box.

Aha! This is the appropriate place to talk about your business. Writing a great resource box is an art in itself, but just to get you started here are a few tips:

• Do include a little biographical information.
• Do tell the reader why they should go to your website.
• Do ask them to click.
• Do customize your resource box to the article.
• Do include a link to your site, but don’t go ‘link crazy’. A single link is great. Three or four links is pretty pointless.

7) Don’t forget to have a great website.

This is the part that some folks overlook. They know that in order to increase their search engine rankings for their website that they need to generate incoming links and increased exposure for their site, but what then?

There’s no real benefit to drawing readers to a site that leaves them saying, “Is that all? This isn’t of much help to me.”

So, remember to create valuable content on your website too, so that you have a quality destination to which you’re trying to draw your readers.

The valuable content on your website is also like bait that entices a reader to click through to your site. Be sure to have something on your website that will expand upon the information you’ve just provided in your article.

Article marketing isn’t brain surgery–anyone can do it! Just follow these tips and you’ll be well on your way to a successful article marketing campaign!

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Interested in putting these 7 tips into action? Sharon Sarmiento is an article marketing expert who enjoys teaching website owners how to write and submit articles for maximum traffic. She’ll guide you step-by-step through the article writing and submission process at the popular blog, Creative Article Marketing => http://www.creativearticlemarketing.com

Tags: article writing, content writing, Writing