It has become common knowledge that to maximize your rankings on Google and the other major search engines such as Yahoo! and Bing you need to gain one way links to your Website. The Google ranking algorithm consists of two parts, onsite optimization and PageRank (link popularity).

This article will focus on using article marketing to increase your back links which will increase your PageRank, boosting your Website higher in search engine rankings.

Google describes PageRank as “PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page’s value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves important weigh more heavily and help to make other pages important.”

After 10 years of studying, researching and implementing search engine optimization strategies I have found that article marketing is one of the most important aspects in gaining high rankings. There are three major reasons to employ article marketing.

1)The articles will include back links to your website which will increase your PageRank.

2)The articles themselves are picked up by Google and your Website is linked from your articles which can drive in direct traffic from your article.

3)Articles are sometimes picked up by other Websites, keeping your back links which can drive you traffic from these Websites that have picked up your article.

Article Marketing is a two step process; article writing and article submissions.

Step 1: Article Writing

– Write a value added keyword driven article related to the industry that your Website targets. Your article should be informational, intriguing and interesting to the reader.

– Do not write a self promoting article; this is not a press release. The better article directories and hubs will not accept your article unless it provides value to their readers. Most article directories include a resource box which will allow you to self promote.

– Include a keyword driven article title, with the most important keywords to the left. This blog title is a great example; Article Marketing is my most important keyword phrase I am targeting with increase Google rankings as a secondary keyword phrase. If a Google searcher searches for “Article Marketing” there is a much better chance of the article being ranked if the title starts with “Article Marketing”.

– For best results the article should contain between 500 – 1000 words. Most article hubs will not accept an article with less than 400 – 500 words and articles with over 1000 words are typically overwhelming to the reader and lose value.

– Many article directories allow a few hyperlinks within the article itself. It is very important to include hyperlinks to your Website, linked from important keyword phrases. For example: if you’re an Article Marketing expert, you should link the words “Article Marketing” to your Website. Linking from important relevant keyword phrases tells Google what keyword phrases best describes your Website and will rank you accordingly.

– Create multiple versions of your article and submit different versions to different article directories. You do not need to completely rewrite the article; simply change words, rearrange sentences and possibly use slightly different content. Submitting 10 different versions of your article into 100 article hubs is beneficial compared to having the same version of your article in all 100 article hubs that you submit.

Step 2: Article Submissions

– Manual submissions to the top article directories on the Internet. You want to focus on the article hubs with the highest PageRank (4+ is best).

– Utilize reputable article submissions companies to submit your articles to 100’s of article hubs. I suggest manually submitting to the top 5 – 10 article hubs for best results and outsourcing the bulk of your submissions.

– Make sure you utilize the resources box when submitting articles. This is the area you can self promote and include direct links to your Website.

Article Marketing should be a mandatory aspect of any Search Engine Optimization strategy. It is not good enough to simply write and submit articles but to follow the strategy I laid out above.

Author Bio: Jason Lomberg is a 15 year veteran Philadelphia Internet Marketing Consultant and the founder of Philadelphia Internet Marketing Resources and Philadelphia Website Developers Directory. Jason focuses on working with Philadelphia area businesses in helping them develop Internet Marketing & Development strategies

Category: Marketing
Keywords: marketing, internet, seo, ppc, philadelphia, consultant, articles