Google and Your Article Marketing: Shifting
the Focus Back to Ezines Again?
By Dina
Giolitto
With Google's Orion street-cleaning the
Web of all duplicate content and content spam, it may indeed
be time to shift your article marketing from mass submissions
back to selective ones. Search engine experts already called
it: Google is in so many words, giving the glory back to niche-focused
web sites that speak to humans as opposed to robots.
To make your own judgement call on the Google
situation, read what Garrett
Rogers had to say on the matter back in April, then Google
a few of your recent article marketing keyword efforts for
the confirming evidence. If you're a search engine prowler
like I am, you may have noticed the change. Just four months
ago you could submit one article to ten directories, Google-search
the prime keyword search term, and discover a glorious broadcast
of sloppily managed article banks revealing your article title
at the top of the Google results page. But now, it's all come
undone.
Keyword terms have been returned to their
proper owners-- longstanding businesses who have built niche-targeted,
categorical web sites and spent years fortifying them with
high-quality, intelligent content. I have to wonder how many
small article directories hell-bent on the bragging rights
that come with search engine prominence, are now throwing
in the article marketing towel altogether. If the reality
of Orion hasn't hit them yet, perhaps it will very soon. Granted,
I'd be hard-pressed to call myself a search engine optimization
expert. But as an astute observer, that's what the writing
on the wall is saying to me.
Despite the Google algorithm shift, article
marketing is still very much a viable way to get your business
before the eyes of targeted prospects; now moreso than ever.
Thanks to Google, and barring unforseen circumstances, it's
been arranged that the content publishers who are in it for
the long haul will prevail. And so, the question on everybody's
minds: what to do with your article marketing campaign?
Some Tips from a Strategic Article Marketer:
1. Target your niche.
Focus on building a library of tightly-focused content
in one category. Write one or two articles each month, and
publish them exclusively on your own Web site.
2. Save it for your
ezine. Articles will always be a source of interest
for your readers and fans. If you haven't started building
a list yet, now's the time. Ezines build trust and they're
the foundation of your client base.
3. Duck the dupe content
penalty. Mass article submissions hold no clout now,
as far as I can see. Shift your energy from mass submissions
to selective ones. Focus on the Best, not the most.
4. Remold old content.
All the article marketing articles I wrote are heading
toward obsolete and in need of reworking. How's your content
looking? Take another look at your previously published articles
and repackage/remold for reuse in a new form.
5. Join article communities.
EzineArticles.com serves as an info authority and promises
a free education on any number of topics. Publish articles
regularly here as a testament to your expertise.
6. Network with other
article authors. If your previous goal was to get your
articles in the Google spotlight, your new strategy should
be to shine among fellow article submitters.
7. Swap ezine articles.
Strengthen your bonds with top quality content producers
in related niche categories. Advertise an article swap for
two times the exposure.
8. Be niche-selective.
You'll likely start to see a shift from "generic" article
banks, to topic-focused, which is the way that it should be.
An example: GoDaddy's new article site, DomainInformer.com.
Write original, exclusive articles for specific, targeted
sites like these.
9. Stick to natural
linking. Natural links are ones that further the reader
experience by providing more information; for example to a
resource. Artificial ones are self-serving to the content
publisher only and will put a crimp in your search engine
effort.
Article directories will continue to serve
as an amazing free resource for anyone wishing to market a
Web site. This fact alone keeps article marketing high on
my list of Great Things You Can Do For Your Internet Business.
I will continue to contribute my knowledge in the form of
article submissions, as will I keep on reading and learning
from my fellow article marketers. I suggest you do the same.
Copyright 2006 Dina Giolitto, Wordfeeder.com
Copywriting and Marketing. All rights reserved.
Explore our Individual Copywriting Services
Learn about our Monthly Marketing Services
Back to Copywriting Articles Page |
