Article directories are a great way to submit high quality articles, have webmasters pick them up, and for you to reap great back links to your site. Still, all directories have restrictions and these restrictions can limit the number of quality links you put within the body of your article or strip them out entirely. If you run your own site, these rules have no bearing on how you manage your site. The following are some strategies I have employed that not only have given my site a Google page rank of 6, but have helped me to maximize my articles' exposure on the internet.
Lots of links. My articles have a similar resource box to those found on article directories, but I don't stop there. Within the body of an article, I frequently add additional links, sometimes lots of links to other sites. They don't have to be to sites I run, but to other high quality sites. If I am writing an article about Ford cars, you better believe it that I have links to pages for the Ford Mustang, to the Explorer, and any other vehicles I mention. Google seems to like these types of pages as some of my articles are getting ranked high too. One article already pulled down a page rank of 4!
Add pictures. A picture speaks a thousand words... A picture can help your article look more professional. I also will use a company logo, if I have express permission. With some of my links and pictures I will hyperlink them to other pages on my site or to other sites altogether.
Welcome the robots. I mentioned in another article that Googlebot is my friend. Do everything possible to keep your site crisp, clean, and clear and toss out anything that looks spammy. Most of my articles also have the requisite AdSense ads on them in part for me to make income, but also to tell me if the ads served up are related to the article I wrote. Almost without exception they are, but you need to check back to verify.
So, why go through all this trouble? Hopefully, to bring in additional business for yourself. Most of the work that I get is directly from my site, which I only set up on May 31, 2005! Not a bad track record, don't you agree? If I can do it, you can do it too! What are you waiting for? Get started today.
About the Author
Copyright 2005 -- Matthew Keegan is The Article Writer who writes on a variety of topics including: advocacy, automobiles, aviation, business, Christian themes, family, news, product reviews, travel, writing, and more. Samples from his portfolio are available right online.