Article Directory Sites: How They Work

Using article directories is an essential mechanism for boosting one's website/blog in the overall search engine rankings. By submitting articles to article directories, it is possible to get hundreds of backlinks pointing to your site or specific subpages within your site. This is key, since the number of links pointing to your site or specific subpages plays a major role in how high they come up in the search engines.

So, how do they work? Really, they are quite easy. You write an article - anywhere from 3 to 5 paragraphs on average - about some topic (really, specific keywords that you are targeting). You then submit the article to the various article directories. For each article you submit, there is a place called a "resource box" or "about the author" or some other similar term. It is here - not in the article itself - where you put in links pointing to your website, blog, book, or whatever else. When the article is published, this little "resource box" is automatically attached at the bottom, and gives you free backlinks pointing to your site. Most article directories only allow 3 links per "resource box." However, they do let you customize the "resource box" for each article submitted. Thus, it is possible to get hundreds of backlinks pointing to all of your pages, books, blogs, etc. by simply submitting articles and changing the "resource box."

Do you submit the same article to all the article directories? You can, but it is best to change the title and some of the content if possible. Do you submit the article to all of the article directories at once? Again, you can. However, search engines like it when links are built organically, so it is best to submit over a period of weeks so that the links build at a more organic pace. What if I want to post the article on my website or blog, can I do that? Yes, but PUT IT ON YOUR SITE FIRST. This is very important, otherwise you will get slapped with a "duplicate content" flag by the search engines - a big no-no.

Post the article on your website or blog first. Wait until it has been spidered by the engines (around 2 weeks). Now, change the title and some of the content around, and begin submitting it to article directories with links pointing back to your site, book, blog, etc. Do this over and over and you will not only add content to your own site or blog, but you will end up with hundreds of backlinks pointing to your site and boosting its overall ranking in the search engines.

Here are the article directories : Return to Marketing Your Writing or Book Online page.