Famous Bloggers

How To Blog and Start a Business

Home » The Famous Blog » Why Article Marketing Is Still One of the Quickest, Easiest Ways to Get on the First Page of Google

Why Article Marketing Is Still One of the Quickest, Easiest Ways to Get on the First Page of Google

- by

Article Marketing

I’ve been a freelance writer for years – since 1993. My business has grown over the years from just writing for clients to: (i) writing for myself (I’ve self-published over 50 ebooks); affiliate marketing; and developing freelance writing e-course and seminars. The main method I use to promote all of my income streams is article marketing.

Article Marketing Is Old Hat and Google Doesn’t Like It

I know that’s what many are thinking – that article marketing is old and stale; that search engines like Google punish you for it (eg, the duplicate content penalty); and that other marketing outlets work better (eg, social media).

But I’m here to tell you, article marketing is still – yes even post-Panda and post-Penguin – one of the best ways to get on the first page of Google. Following is why.

Why Article Marketing Can Land You on the First Page of Google – for Years

Ever heard of content marketing? It’s all the rage now. It’s all about distributing informative content (via social media, newsletters, etc.) to drive traffic to a site. The theory behind content marketing is that when web surfers go online, one of the main things they’re looking for is information – information to help them make a more informed buying decision.

Article Marketing Tip: Why You Don’t Need to Worry about the Duplicate Content Penalty

Well, article marketing is just another form of content marketing.  Perhaps the only significant difference is that it’s distributed via article directories (eg, EzineArticles.com), instead of via social media. And, just in case you’re worried about being hit with a duplicate content penalty – don’t.

That’s because the duplicate content penalty is not a penalty at all. It’s an exclusionary tactic used by search engines to avoid the same content popping up on hundreds of different sites. So, if your article is part of an article directory, if it’s of good quality, it will still show up in search results – it just won’t show up on low-quality sites.

Proof?

How I Got Two Spots on the First Page of Google Using Article Marketing

SEO writing is one of my specialties (I own an SEO writing company). If you type the keyword phrase “SEO writing” (without quotes) into Google – the largest search engine, you’ll find content written by me in two spots on the first page of Google.

One them is an article on EzineArticles.com entitled “What is SEO Article Writing? SEO Copywriting Explained.”

Almost 4 Years on the Front Page of Google – Thanks to Article Marketing

I’m writing this article in October 2012; I wrote the article on EzineArticles in January 2009. For most of the time, that article has been somewhere on the first page of Google. That’s almost four years!

Why Article Marketing Has Gotten Such a Bad Rap

The main reason is the low quality of content that can be found in many article directories (and content farms). Many are cleaning up their act though. IdeaMarketers.com, one of my favorite article marketing directories, recently announced that it won’t accept articles from the general public any more.

They’re going the “preferred publisher” route; meaning they look at the quality of your content (and if you’ve spent ad dollars with them in the past) before they’ll accept content.

HubPages, eHow (Demand Media), AssociatedContent – and a host of other sites that used to accept all kinds of content got hit hard with Google’s Panda and Penguin updates. Hence, many of them changed their content strategies. And, although these aren’t technically article directories, I point this out to illustrate just how those Google updates shook up the web – and left many wondering if things like article marketing was still worth it.

The Key to Being Successful with Article Marketing

Good content will continue to be rewarded by search engines – if it’s found in an article directory, as a fellow writer so aptly pointed out in her piece on article marketing. She wrote:

Google is always changing its parameters so it can find the best content. Submit that, and you should be fine. Good article marketers welcome updates because it does cut out all the rubbish out there. Good articles remain well ranked and are left intact.

The example I gave with my article from 2009 is proof of this.

I, for one, was glad when Google shook up the web with its algorithm changes. And I was even happier to hear that more people were scared off of article marketing. Why? Because it meant more room for my content to shine – and less competition.

The fact is, more consumers are coming online every day. And what do they do when they go there? They conduct research (ie, look for information). And, one of the best ways to get in front of them is to write and widely distribute quality content. And one of the best ways to do this is via article marketing.

If this article peaked your interest, learn more about why article marketing still rocks — especially if you’re a freelance writer!

Image © violetkaipa – Fotolia.com

About

Yuwanda Black has been a freelance writer since 1993 and heads New Media Words (NewMediaWords.biz), an SEO writing company. She's authored over 50 ebooks, which can be found on major outlets like Amazon and Barnes & Noble, in addition to InkwellEditorial.com, her freelance writing site.

Reader Interactions

Related Posts

{ 18 Responses }

  1. Trung Nguyen says:
    I do agree that article marketing still affects SEO, however, most of us did it the wrong way, so that why we're be hitting by Google Penguin.
  2. Saurabh says:
    Thanks Yuwanda! You have mentioned some prominent points of article marketing. I didn't prefer to use this concept but now I think it would be quite fine :) I just tried for some free article submissions but I think even that was much worse thing because the websites which offering these services might just spam my articles. Thanks for your suggestions.
  3. Nishadha says:
    Although you made some good points I'm still a bit skeptical about article marketing. There is a place for it but I don't think article directories is the place to do that. Also whats the point an article in a directory ranking for your desired keyword? Much better you rank there with the help of article marketing.
  4. Dave Deib says:
    Keyword basis article writing is friendly for search engines but it must be followed up some regulations.Better content in a article of a blog site being famous of your site but bad and duplicate bring more harm such as fall down page rank.Articles should be interesting and informative. Author wrote in this article in a better way that is a better instruction to blogging.
  5. Michael says:
    I would really want to believe article marketing is still worth it, but how many of your 370 published articles on Ezine are actually on Google page one for the targeted keywords? I mean, we are talking about exceptions here, one article that gets on google page one is great, but if there are 300 left that don't, it simply a waste of time. How often do you see an article from an article directory (for example ezinearticles) on Google page one for a popular keyword nowadays?
  6. Steve Noriega says:
    Very nice article Yuwanda. There are way too many people that have completely written off article writing from their marketing strategies ever since Google shook things up so this article is a great reminder that this will always be a promising strategy. Many articles that have been written in an hour or less and posted on Ezine Articles rank way higher than the actual website that it links back to so that has to tell you something!
  7. Jon says:
    What's your thought about using a service like Submit Your Article for expanding article reach? Or is using only EZA sufficient?
  8. Joe says:
    Hi Yuwanda, I fully agree. After all the web is mainly based on text so article marketing features highly as good content creation. I have also found that article marketing helps to hone one's own writing skills enabling a person to create even better content every time.
  9. Taimoor says:
    Indeed very useful and informative post! Although I have never used this method but want to try Article Marketing for my Blog. Hope it will help me. Well, Thank you! :)
  10. Yuwanda Black says:
    @The Minion, @Christopher Benitez: I only put unique content on my sites. I will "spin" my own content, eg, usually writing a longer post for my site, then "spinning (rewriting)" a shorter version to distribute to article directories. This way, you get double the bang from one article. My blog posts tend to be long, anywhere from 700 to over 2,000 words. So it's relatively easy for me to get a 400 or 500-word article out of a longer one to submit to article directories. @Jane: Exactly! You get it :-) FYI everyon, check out the post, "Freelance Writers: 10 Reasons the Google Panda Update Makes (SEO) Article Marketing Even More Effective & Means More Work for You" at http://j.mp/10pVqeH. It gives much more insight into why article marketing is still so effective. Thanks everyone for taking the time to comment.
  11. The Minion says:
    soooo, if I write a great epic article on my own site and add that to article directories I won't face issues for duplicate content. Seriously this is stuff I need to hear and know. I have stopped myself putting articles onto directories believing that they would be bad for my site but I wanted to get them out there. I know what I write isn't particularly poor or the typical useless sub standard articles and would love to share them but I have feared being punished for having them in more places than just the one site.A very interesting and helpful post.
  12. Aasma says:
    Thanks Yuwanda for this informative article, I too used to think that publishing your good article in article directories is waste of time as Google has declined their reputation. Though I've ignored what Google has mentioned already, Google has said many times they're now more focusing on quality content so it doesn't matter where you publish your great article, Google would love to show it up on ranking if they find it useful and informative.
  13. Jane says:
    Yuwanda, as Mark says, the problem is not with article marketing but what people "think" as article marketing. It is not spreading low-quality gibberish content all over the internet and littering the space! It is distributing good quality content. Thanks for the headsup!
  14. Charles says:
    I have continued to do Article Marketing despite the Pandas and the Penguins and have not seen any bad effect yet. So as of now its working for me
  15. Christopher Benitez says:
    Interesting post, Yuwanda! Now that Google has improved its algorithm to combat article sites that feature low-quality content, I'm still apprehensive towards article marketing for a number of reasons: 1) If Google encourages people to post high-quality content, then why would you post them on article marketing sites? Ideally, all your prime materials should go to your own blog or site to directly receive link juice and credit from the articles you posted. If you keep posting your best content on article sites, then you squander the opportunity of building your online reputation and making your site an information authority. 2) Article sites are insular. I feel that people who browse through articles on sites like eZineArticles and such as fellows marketers and business owners. I don't think your customers and target market would visit article site for information - they would go to Google or other search engines for that. Therefore, there's less change for marketers to make a genuine connection with their audience. 3) More proof. Don't get me wrong - I would LOVE for article marketing to be effective again so well-meaning marketers can use it for branding and spreading great content (NOT just link building). However, I have yet to see more articles from article sites ranking on search engines. I guess I'm too skeptical to take a chance on article marketing, but unless there's more proof that article marketing gets you consistent ranking like before, I'll stick to guest posting and creating concentrated posts on my blog. Again, I'm not saying that article marketing doesn't work, but the aforementioned strategies work better on my site. Lastly, check out Rand Fishkin's take about the topic here http://www.seomoz.org/blog/article-marketing-mostly-a-scam-whiteboard-friday and the impassioned comments below. :)
  16. Yuwanda Black says:
    Thanks Mark. And you're right about using spun content. I "spin" my content, but always from scratch; never using software to do so. What usually winds up happening is the article is over 50% different. So there is a place for "spinning" in my opinion, but not turning out "spun crap" and submitting it to a lot of useless article directories. Continued success to you. :-)
  17. Steve says:
    I have been using Article Marketing Robot for some time and haven't seen a whole lot of movement with the tool, and this is creating like 2000 links a week. Link Authority seems really good as the quality of the articles is much better and the content isn't spun.
  18. Mark says:
    @Yuwanda I agree. Article marketing still rocks. The funny thing is, many people still confuse article marketing with article directory marketing (spamming thousands of low quality article directories with spun articles). There is no update that can or will eliminate the use of a solid article marketing campaign. Mark :) PS - 50 e-books...that's pretty impressive :)