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Home » The Famous Blog » What You MUST Avoid Before Submitting To Article Directories

What You MUST Avoid Before Submitting To Article Directories

March 29, 2011 - Last Modified: August 11, 2011 by Tran Tinh

Article Directories

Article Directories are great sources for link building and traffic that can support your SEO work for FREE. Many of the big article directories, such as Hubpages, are now using sharing revenue models for their publishers. You will loose nothing by submitting your articles to these directories, but in return, you will benefit a lot.

Is it that easy to submit your articles to these directories? Yes, if you know what you must do in order to maximize your benefits from this work. It will also protect your articles from being rejected by editorial staff of these directories. The editorial team of these directories are working very well in order to ensure the quality of every submission.

Article marketing is very important in terms of link building and traffic generation without cost and it seems very popular now among the blogging community. All of us know its benefits and how to do it. The only thing you need to have is your ideas and your writing skills with a little analysis.

links building

With that said, there are several things you MUST consider before submitting your articles to these directories:

1. Don’t duplicate content that already exists there:

Many newbie bloggers think that these directories are great places to spam then they copy other articles to submit to directories with a link back to their sites. This is something you should avoid, as these directories have advanced technology in place or even editorial teams who can always double-check the quality of your articles, and your articles will then be rejected. Your account can be terminated too.

2. Limit links in your author box:

Links in your author box at the end of each article is how you will benefit from these directories. You can write your bio intro with 1-2 links back to your blogs. The limit of links are mandated by each directory. You should read their TOS so that you are informed on their guidelines. If your author box violates their TOS, your articles will never be approved, even they are high quality.

3. Don’t insert links in the body to your blog:

Each article has links to other related posts to make our blog sticky. This can be acceptable when you guest post for other site with limits of 1-2 links maximum. However, most of the big article directories do not accept links in the body of articles, no matter how related these links are. The only credit you will get is from the author box and revenue from your article traffic. So, please don’t not violate these rules.

4. Don’t submit paid reviews:

Most paid reviews are with affiliate links that help the author generate extra commission as a reward for their work. We all know this, and it is not wrong. However, article directories will NEVER accept these kinds of articles, as they consider them over-promotional materials that violate their rules. Therefore, you should not submit your reviews to article directories.

5. Don’t vote/rate your own articles:

Actually, you can do that if article directories are open for public rating/votes, but if they require logins for rate/vote, you should not vote/rate your own submitted articles if you are already logged in. This activity will possibly lead to violation of their TOS and your account is in danger of termination if you repeat it.

These are some mistakes that you MUST avoid when you submit your articles to article directories. Your comments and feedbacks are always welcome!

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Filed Under: Link Building

About Tran Tinh

Follow @azblogtips

Tran Tinh is a disabled blogger from Vietnam who can make over $2,000 per month from blogging. He is blogging at Affiliate Marketing Tips and you can visit his blog to see how he has done a great job with affiliate marketing.

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{ 78 Responses }

  1. Surminga says:
    Great points here Tran, most people just simply write an article and stick it on these article sites - these are some great points to follow to make your submissions more worthy
  2. Trung Nguyen says:
    Hey friend, you wrote a great post here. I will do what you advice on this post. Thanks so much, Tinh.
  3. shan ali says:
    i m always against copy/paste thing...these articles are really good in traffic generation so i m looking to post some good contents on them....
  4. Diana Eftaiha says:
    interesting post. i dont give much weight to submitting my articles to these directories. i only have a few article published on ezinearticles but i never felt that it got me any traffic so i dont bother much with that. do you think i should look into this matter more seriously? are there any good article directories that you can recommend?
    • Satrap says:
      Diana, From personal experience I can tell you that you should give it another try. Don't forget one of the main reason for article marketing is to gain quality dofollow one way backlinks. Don't count on these directories to bring you a lot of traffic, unless your artcile is one that really stands out and you submit it to top directories. Here are a few top directoires most people use: Ezine ArticleAlley ArticleDashBoard ArticleBase GoArticle
  5. tracy ingram says:
    great tips. it is funny that some don't even know them.
  6. moonheart says:
    Hi Tinh, I have a question regarding the point " Don’t insert links in the body to your blog", sometime when I submit article I do not link on the resource box. Like when I submit article on wordpress article directory. So will it any effect on backlink that we get from the article?
  7. Jimmy Sigenstroem says:
    The number 3 i not quite right, some of the big site do allow links in the body and one should certainly seize the opportunity this gives. If the article is good then it will probably get published on other sites 2, this has happened with several of mine. Other than that can I only agree.!
    • Tinh says:
      I have tried with ezinearticles and hubpages but failed. Can you tell me what directories allow this?
  8. Bryan says:
    I think since the recent update, the most important thing to remember is that quality trumps anything else. I've noticed a number of article directories becoming more strict with their rules and guidelines for submission since I'm a member of each one of them.
    • Tinh says:
      You are right friend, most of big ones are not strict with any submission and that is good as they are afraid of penalized by Google too. All of them making good money with adsense :-)
  9. ZK says:
    Hey Tran Tinh and all readers ...Would love to your favourites top 5 article directories name ...Please share by replying to this comments
    • Tran Tinh says:
      I don't have that much but currently I am working with ezinearticles, hubpages, articlebase and ehow :-)
    • Jimmy Sigenstroem says:
      I have a top 4 english article directoriesarticleslash.net articlealley.com articlesbase.com articlesfactory.com
      • Tinh says:
        Thanks, that is great suggestion :-)
  10. Suresh Khanal says:
    Well the tips are really worth considering and those are the best way to stand firmly on the article directories. Recently I read about Big Panda and still its the time to wait and watch the effect of Panda Update on search engine ranking algorithm. Do you still believe that the links coming to your site from the article directories equally valuable? Are they the only directories that suffer the Panda Effect or will the websites that get links from them too?
    • Tran Tinh says:
      Everything is not clear and I am also waiting to see effect of the Google Panda too. There have been a lot of rumors that Google is going to equalize all kind of links whether they are do or no-follow but still prioritize natural link building. I am sorry as I can not share more now :-)
      • ZK says:
        I do not think that google is going to equalise all kind of links.Such things are not at all practical in real life as well.If you are smart and hardworking than you should deserve more compare to those people who are lazy and dumb. So links should also go in that fashion as well.
        • Tran Tinh says:
          It has been like that but I have read somewhere that Matt Cutts or other experts implied this and I hope to see more clear evidence soon, no matter where it come from. But I guess that internet marketing esp. SEO services and backlinks will join the dead pool if this really happens :-)
        • Suresh Khanal says:
          I guess its not the equalizing but the distinction made with 'nofollow' is going to be swiped out. In fact the removal will be better.
          • Tinh says:
            I heard several rumors about this but I am not sure whether Google will do this or not :-)
  11. Wong Chendong aka The Bad Blogger says:
    I had been using ezine for a very long time, here's a tip that I did like to share that works very well: In order to get high click through, always end each paragraph with a question. The reason is simple, you want the reader to know what's next and in order to get it they had to read on until the last line and that's when you place the link to more information... I know it's kind the hard to actually write every paragraph with questions, but that's how some articles get a 6 figure views in just 3 months... of course keywords are also important especially placing them in the title, second the first sentence and the last sentence of the article, hope this little tip might spark some of you.... And thanks for sharing this great post...
    • Tran Tinh says:
      Nice suggestion @Wong. I have never tried placing question in these articles, just in my blog posts. Did it work well with yours? As Google prioritize for keywords in post title and in the very beginning para then your advice is useful too :-)
      • ZK says:
        @ WongYour tips forcing me to read your article.Would you like to share one link with the reader of this blog.
        • Tran Tinh says:
          You mean the article that I published on article directories?
      • Wong Chendong aka The Bad Blogger says:
        Below is a link to article who uses title, first sentence and last sentence tactics and it got around 200,000 over views and this was publish on June last year 2010, this means every single month he got about 20,000 views... can you imagine the power of well placement of keywords in article marketing... Here's the link: http://ezinearticles.com/?Make-Money-With-No-Money---This-Unconventional-Method-Works-Every-Time&id=4568336
  12. Harsh Agrawal says:
    Hey Tran I'm probably one of those who never tried article marketing. I always prefer guest posting.. Though would love to know Article marketing worked for you?? Do you find it better than Guest posting..?? Will love to know your take on this....
    • Tran Tinh says:
      So far, guest blogging works better than article submission but I think that if you are blogging for a new niche where you can hardly find your targeted clients such as weight loss, fat burner...these article submission can be a good choice to do so. However, for blogging niche or technology, seo, sem, marketing....guest post is the most profitable now!
      • ZK says:
        Guest posting is more than link building, here you build the relation with the readers of other blog, you are directly exposed to them as a blogger.Where as article directories are simply another link building for SEO (maximum times)
        • Tran Tinh says:
          Yes, that is why I will continue guest post on several blogs of same niche sooner :-)
  13. Sye Wells says:
    Hey Tran, I lucked up and found your article through a few mutual friends on Twitter. So glad I did, it's a great share and very informative on the do and don't's of article marketing. Have you had much succcess in driving traffic to your sites utilizing Hub pages? do you use article marketing submission software as well? Sye-
    • Tran Tinh says:
      Frankly I got very few traffic and backlinks from article marketing from those directories, just because I had little time to write on regular basis and socialise too. However, I would recommend guest blogging instead :-) I use submitter script and it works like a charm. Thanks for your comment @Sye
  14. ZK says:
    Many people go for hundreds of article directory submission and that also with same article.Instead of this I would recommend to go for top 5 article directories with original contents and once they publish build links for those articles.
    • Karan says:
      Absolutely ZK... By submitting the same article to hundreds of directories gets us nothing but low quality links and all our efforts go almost against us... What do you think ?
    • semmy says:
      Yep that's right, I'm only focusing on the big 5 articles directory. Because they authority site already.
    • Tran Tinh says:
      You are right, using re-write softwares can produce hundreds of articles with same contents and different ways of writing by mins but it is nothing as readers are smarter now and they know these tricks :-) Few articles but original with high quality would always be the best!
  15. ZK says:
    Your writing style is quite important as well.Write simple and divide your articles in points or paragraph so readers can read it easily.Once your article published do not forget to promote them through social bookmarking and also through your own network.
    • Tran Tinh says:
      Thanks @ZK, that is much easier to follow by points rather than mixing them in one or two paragraphs. I do agree that using social networks are good ways to promote them too as win-win :-)
      • ZK says:
        Glad that you like it ...So Tran ... how do you promote your articles which approved ?
        • Tran Tinh says:
          I usually share it on social bookmarking or social networks like FB, Twitter or Digg
  16. semmy says:
    Hi Tran thank you very much for your article, I think this tips will prevented google panda. I'll try it out. Thanks again
    • Tran Tinh says:
      Yes, just got an update about Google Panda and it is a good news for those who write all contents on their own.
  17. Dennis Edell says:
    I love tip #5, I'm sure that one hits lot of people where they live. ;-)
    • Tran Tinh says:
      You are right @Dennis and some article directories now use IP tracking or limited login users to rate themselves :-)
  18. Alex says:
    Well, Tinh, it seems that article marketing is still isn't dead although google kind of took a swing at it. But although is not dead, you know have to really write quality articles in order to actually get a benefit, from both the backlink and the traffic that article may generate. So writing 200 words articles and submitting them to hundreds of directories has passed and you know have to really think about subjects, write a compelling, researched article and promote yourself with it by using only certain high quality directories or web 2.0
    • Tran Tinh says:
      Blogging ideas are very important when we have a lot of competitors out there and most of aspects have been covered already. I don't plan submit one article every day, just try to do once a week or even one per 2 weeks only. Compelling contents are very important and I will try to keep it as much shorter as I can as most of us are busy then unable to read 2-3 pages articles :-)
  19. Ryan Biddulph says:
    All solid tips Tran. Duplicating to the same directory is a blatant form of spamming that won't be tolerated. Think of it this way: anybody can post thousands of the same article to one directory. Put some thoughts and creativity into your work and you will see better returns. Thanks for sharing! RB
    • Tran Tinh says:
      Hi @Ryan, as I have said that your hard word will always be rewarded :-) Nothing is easy and nothing is FREE
  20. Andreas says:
    When submitting to article directories, one mistake you can make is to submit the same bio text to all article directories with your article, because the duplicate text and links are easily detected by search engines. Its better to submit a unique text to each directory with each article.
    • Tran Tinh says:
      You are right but I knew that EZ allows us to make several bio to switch among articles we submitted to them and I guess other directories do the same :-) The rule these big directories set is not allowed to add bio text within the content even top or bottom
  21. Dean Saliba says:
    Hi Tran, I'm setting myself up to use article directories quite a bit from next month and I think I came across this post at the perfect time. Thank you for sharing these tips. :)
    • Tran Tinh says:
      I hope this help you for your articles in the future too :-)
  22. divas says:
    Originality of content is very important...initially my articles were rejected, till I increased the their quality.
    • Tran Tinh says:
      Good to hear that, even article directories accidentally approve duplicate contents for any reasons, it is hard to get attention from readers who are now smarter and smarter :-)
  23. kbharath says:
    Thanks for sharing the great tips Tran Tinh. now i realize that why most of my articles were rejected by articlebase and other article directories. i will follow the tips you have provided hereafter for submitting articles to article directories.
    • Tran Tinh says:
      I am happy as it helps you sometimes. I have experienced with these kind of article directories then it should be shared widely with my friends :-)
  24. karan says:
    Absolutely Tran, copying content is something which is really not favorable. Even if it get's approved, search engines are getting smarter and your article can be taken as a low quality page and hence the links you built can go against what you expected.
    • Tran Tinh says:
      You are right and my experiences that these big article directories have their own tools in place to verify these contents too :-)
      • karan says:
        Lol, I once tried to post a spun article and it got accepted, so that came out of my own experience.
        • Tran Tinh says:
          Even your spun article was approved, it would be hard to get attention from readers LOL
          • karan says:
            Well, I have some free article spinner, and it works like charm. I mean it is really good and the spun articles really makes sense. Anyways, I just submitted that article for the link and didn't really bother about getting any traffic. But it was just that one time, I usually prefer guest blogging to article submission.
            • Tran Tinh says:
              Guest blogging benefit us a lot rather than traffic and backlinks, it is impact and relationships :-)
  25. Mani Viswanathan says:
    I agree with your point about rating one's own articles. It's such a lame practice to create duplicate acc. and rate our own posts.
    • Tran Tinh says:
      There are a lot of PLR articles published on the internet with a minor changes then it is harder for directories to verify them. Anyway, they have editorial team to do this :-) Original contents are always good!
  26. Usman says:
    I actually like the two points, that never duplicate your content, because no one like it.and secondly if you limit your links in author box, there will be more chance for your post to be published.thanks
    • Tran Tinh says:
      You are 100% right, sometimes editorial teams complain about number of links in bio and delay publishing with a warning note :-)
  27. Jitendra Singh says:
    Very nice article on directory submission check points. I am agreed one should have to check all above points .
    • Tran Tinh says:
      I am happy as you liked it too :-)
  28. Nishadha says:
    I think with HubPages and Squidoo you should add back links in the article body as well. Those sites allow linking within the context and you should add relevant quality links to get the maximum benefit. As long as your hub or lens is good there wont be any drawbacks.
    • Tran Tinh says:
      I guess that but usually they removed backlinks to even relevant or reject. I have experienced with hubpages, never tried squidoo yet. Thanks mate :-)
      • Art says:
        Squidoo lets you put links in the article body. I've heard that links placed in the middle of paragraphs/the main page body do better than links that appear above or below the main content on the page.
        • Tran Tinh says:
          Great news. As I am not a fan of Squidoo then never mind :-) I heard many bloggers talking about it but it seems I can not stick to it either.
      • karan says:
        Hey Tran, Squidoo worked pretty well for me..But I forgot to check whether the link was dofollow or not. Will check and report back. :D
        • karan says:
          Just checked and all my links are dofollow...and They have been there for around 1 month... So, I guess Squidoo is really a good link building platform.
          • Tran Tinh says:
            Great! Let's give it a try now. Thanks dude
        • Tran Tinh says:
          I seems that I have more work to do with Squidoo now LOL
  29. Patricia says:
    I've only just started submitting to directories. Have also written articles for submission for a couple of blogging friends. Some directories are more strict than others I have noticed. One didn't like the title but soon as I changed it, the article was accepted! Thanks for the tips. Appreciated. Patricia Perth Australia
    • Tran Tinh says:
      Hi Patricia, there are a lot of big article directories but the competitiveness is very high too. I think submission to these directories will gain more backlinks that can foster rankings for our blogs :-) Some are very strict and have a good team of editorials and every single submission is reviewed, that is why we trust them :-)

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