Saturday, 29 December 2007
Late christmas video
Well, now that Christmas is just about over and New Year almost upon us, I thought I'd post a video on the general topic. Thank you and sorry :-)
Articles good for both SEO and VEO
(Just in case someone is unfamiliar with the terms, seo means search engines optimization and veo is short for visitor experience optimization).
Articles, checking out my definition, are informative pieces of writing, typically relatively quick, that conveys an idea or concept in a useful, enticing and/or entertaining demeanor. But what do you need articles for, you are an online marketer who wants to make as much profit as possible, right?!
It is perhaps an obvious point, but you can ask just about any netrepreneur who have learned the secrets of generating repeat visitors to their website, and they will tell you it's all about content (that is CON-tent as in what gives something substance, not con-TENT which refers to something else completely). And so, what people at large like about a site is what it has to offer them that posesses substance about whatever subject they are intrigued by.
Articles are content. They are the heart of your website; providing substance and value to both visitors and search engines. A website completely without articles is like a headline about alien babies on the cover of a tabloid magazine: easy to ignore. There is no real ambition for the visitors to stay on the portal or for or coming back, and nothing at all to cater to the search engine spiders into indexing your pages somewhere above the millions rank. The latter is unmistakably a considerable problem for many sites consisting of exclusively graphics, javascript (programming code to us non-geeks) and such.
Once your website has content, you're on your way to visibility. By offering your visitors something of value, you not only add to the chance that they'll come back, but further that they will tell friends about your site - this being an example of the much hyped up "viral marketing" methodology. Likewise, search engines bestow more weight to websites with text as well as those that are frequently new and improved.
All things considered there's no way around it: you can find millions of websites out there in cyberspace. You desire visibility to get visitors. And the more visitors you keep, the more sales you'll make.
Having any old text on your website, and passing that off as your articles, is perhaps not adequate. Written pieces of data can be generated in many different ways, especially online. All methods aren't created equal. In fact certain of them will set off the alarm in the search engines and will outright displease your genuine visitors. Creating articles that both visitors and search engines will love, is the aim of these articles I am writing.
Articles, checking out my definition, are informative pieces of writing, typically relatively quick, that conveys an idea or concept in a useful, enticing and/or entertaining demeanor. But what do you need articles for, you are an online marketer who wants to make as much profit as possible, right?!
It is perhaps an obvious point, but you can ask just about any netrepreneur who have learned the secrets of generating repeat visitors to their website, and they will tell you it's all about content (that is CON-tent as in what gives something substance, not con-TENT which refers to something else completely). And so, what people at large like about a site is what it has to offer them that posesses substance about whatever subject they are intrigued by.
Articles are content. They are the heart of your website; providing substance and value to both visitors and search engines. A website completely without articles is like a headline about alien babies on the cover of a tabloid magazine: easy to ignore. There is no real ambition for the visitors to stay on the portal or for or coming back, and nothing at all to cater to the search engine spiders into indexing your pages somewhere above the millions rank. The latter is unmistakably a considerable problem for many sites consisting of exclusively graphics, javascript (programming code to us non-geeks) and such.
Once your website has content, you're on your way to visibility. By offering your visitors something of value, you not only add to the chance that they'll come back, but further that they will tell friends about your site - this being an example of the much hyped up "viral marketing" methodology. Likewise, search engines bestow more weight to websites with text as well as those that are frequently new and improved.
All things considered there's no way around it: you can find millions of websites out there in cyberspace. You desire visibility to get visitors. And the more visitors you keep, the more sales you'll make.
Having any old text on your website, and passing that off as your articles, is perhaps not adequate. Written pieces of data can be generated in many different ways, especially online. All methods aren't created equal. In fact certain of them will set off the alarm in the search engines and will outright displease your genuine visitors. Creating articles that both visitors and search engines will love, is the aim of these articles I am writing.
Monday, 17 December 2007
The ultimate Article Submitter?
If you have read the Article Marketing 180 guide, you know that you don't necessarily need any submission software in order to do article marketing. In case you haven't read this free guide yet I suggest you do so now, even before reading the rest of this post.
With that said, many people still ask themselves "But what about the tons of backlinks" I'll create by submitting to hundreds of different article directories?".
Although it is true that you will create more backlinks by submitting to more article directories, the crux is how much time you will have to spend in order to get this amount of link love. Maybe there are quicker ways to accomplish what you are looking for?
Still, I can't contest the idea that more article directories are...well, simply more. So here is a quick run through of some of the article submitters I have come across.
Article Submitter By Brad Callen
Brad Callen is the man behind the enormously popular applications SEO Elite and Keyword Elite. His article submitter uses the same kind of user interface that, in my opinion, is very easy to use.
Perhaps the best feature of this piece of software is that it is free. Brad also promises to keep the software updated and from my experiences with Keyword Elite that should equal a tight update schedule.
This submitter currently submits to over 600 directories. But, unlike they claim on their web page, it does not do so "in 1 click". This is a semi-automatic submitter - so if you are submitting to 600 directories you will have to select category and click at least 600 times.
If you write articles under many different pen names, a bigger problem may be that this software does not support several user profiles. So for submitting to directories that allows one author per account, it is not a very practical choice.
This program does not submit to any email lists either.
Article Announcer
This is the granddaddy of article submitters, as it wouldn't be unfair to say that Jason Potash started the article marketing boom with his Article Announcer software.
This application is now on its third version, and has learned a few new tricks along the way - such as submitting random articles, saving the details for multiple author profiles (not as easy to do as it could be though) and finding new potential partnership sites to submit articles to. This software is also updated on a regular basis.
The biggest drawback of Article Announcer would be its high price tag - $379 + shipping and handling is simply too much for many beginning netreprenaurs. In Mr. Potash's defence, it has to be said that the physical package you receive is very well put together, and is in fact way more than just an article submitter - it is a complete course in article marketing. A very good one at that.
If you're an article marketing newbie, you could do a lot worse than start your career with this educational package. You can find much of the same information online for free (like in this blog and in my other articles), but Jason's course is of course a more coherent experience.
Article Post Robot
Article post robot is probably the most automated solution you can have on your hard drive right now. By operating on a list of well known article directories based on common scripts like Article Dashboard, it can actually take care of article submissions on auto pilot.
Set up your article once, click submit and the software will go to work and produce a submission report once it has finished. Besides Articledashboard sites, it also submits to some other well known directories like Ezinearticles.
Another great point about it is the fact that it has a built in article spinner. No other article submitter out there makes it as easy to submit unique variations of each article. This is accomplished by adding variations on word, sentence or paragraph levels.
Just about the only problem the software doesn't solve, is creating the author accounts for you. You still have to create these manually, and when it comes to using several pen names (most Articledashboard sites allow multiple pen names in the same account) you have to add these manually as well.
This submitter also submits to a large amount of article announcement lists by email. Naturally, you have to sign up for all of these first as well.
A final negative point about Article Post robot is that its user interface isn't terribly intuitive or nice to look at.
Isnare article submission service
This last "submitter" takes another route altogether. Isnare is in fact a free article directory that also offer to submit your article to 40 000+ publishers, using a credit based system. Having them submit your article for you will cost between 0,83 and 2 dollars per article, depending on how many credits you purchase in one go.
This is truly hands free submission at it's best, and coupled with the ability to use pen names it is a very lucrative alternative. The only two down points are that you have to keep paying for each submission and that exactly the same article will be submitted in all places, possibly making the duplicate content filter reduce some of the bang you are getting for your buck.
So wich one should you choose?
Well, it's up to you really.
But if you ask me, I'd first start using the methods presented in Article Marketing 180 (free, remember?). If I still felt that I absolutely have to submit to even more article directories than I can do easily by hand, I would pay Isnare to submit the occasional article for me - even if many of the articles will be considered duplicate, it should still give you the highest amount of link love you can get from one article. However, I still wouldn't pay them to submit each and every article I write.
Bookmark this post:
With that said, many people still ask themselves "But what about the tons of backlinks" I'll create by submitting to hundreds of different article directories?".
Although it is true that you will create more backlinks by submitting to more article directories, the crux is how much time you will have to spend in order to get this amount of link love. Maybe there are quicker ways to accomplish what you are looking for?
Still, I can't contest the idea that more article directories are...well, simply more. So here is a quick run through of some of the article submitters I have come across.
Article Submitter By Brad Callen
Brad Callen is the man behind the enormously popular applications SEO Elite and Keyword Elite. His article submitter uses the same kind of user interface that, in my opinion, is very easy to use.
Perhaps the best feature of this piece of software is that it is free. Brad also promises to keep the software updated and from my experiences with Keyword Elite that should equal a tight update schedule.
This submitter currently submits to over 600 directories. But, unlike they claim on their web page, it does not do so "in 1 click". This is a semi-automatic submitter - so if you are submitting to 600 directories you will have to select category and click at least 600 times.
If you write articles under many different pen names, a bigger problem may be that this software does not support several user profiles. So for submitting to directories that allows one author per account, it is not a very practical choice.
This program does not submit to any email lists either.
Article Announcer
This is the granddaddy of article submitters, as it wouldn't be unfair to say that Jason Potash started the article marketing boom with his Article Announcer software.
This application is now on its third version, and has learned a few new tricks along the way - such as submitting random articles, saving the details for multiple author profiles (not as easy to do as it could be though) and finding new potential partnership sites to submit articles to. This software is also updated on a regular basis.
The biggest drawback of Article Announcer would be its high price tag - $379 + shipping and handling is simply too much for many beginning netreprenaurs. In Mr. Potash's defence, it has to be said that the physical package you receive is very well put together, and is in fact way more than just an article submitter - it is a complete course in article marketing. A very good one at that.
If you're an article marketing newbie, you could do a lot worse than start your career with this educational package. You can find much of the same information online for free (like in this blog and in my other articles), but Jason's course is of course a more coherent experience.
Article Post Robot
Article post robot is probably the most automated solution you can have on your hard drive right now. By operating on a list of well known article directories based on common scripts like Article Dashboard, it can actually take care of article submissions on auto pilot.
Set up your article once, click submit and the software will go to work and produce a submission report once it has finished. Besides Articledashboard sites, it also submits to some other well known directories like Ezinearticles.
Another great point about it is the fact that it has a built in article spinner. No other article submitter out there makes it as easy to submit unique variations of each article. This is accomplished by adding variations on word, sentence or paragraph levels.
Just about the only problem the software doesn't solve, is creating the author accounts for you. You still have to create these manually, and when it comes to using several pen names (most Articledashboard sites allow multiple pen names in the same account) you have to add these manually as well.
This submitter also submits to a large amount of article announcement lists by email. Naturally, you have to sign up for all of these first as well.
A final negative point about Article Post robot is that its user interface isn't terribly intuitive or nice to look at.
Isnare article submission service
This last "submitter" takes another route altogether. Isnare is in fact a free article directory that also offer to submit your article to 40 000+ publishers, using a credit based system. Having them submit your article for you will cost between 0,83 and 2 dollars per article, depending on how many credits you purchase in one go.
This is truly hands free submission at it's best, and coupled with the ability to use pen names it is a very lucrative alternative. The only two down points are that you have to keep paying for each submission and that exactly the same article will be submitted in all places, possibly making the duplicate content filter reduce some of the bang you are getting for your buck.
So wich one should you choose?
Well, it's up to you really.
But if you ask me, I'd first start using the methods presented in Article Marketing 180 (free, remember?). If I still felt that I absolutely have to submit to even more article directories than I can do easily by hand, I would pay Isnare to submit the occasional article for me - even if many of the articles will be considered duplicate, it should still give you the highest amount of link love you can get from one article. However, I still wouldn't pay them to submit each and every article I write.
Bookmark this post:
Wednesday, 12 December 2007
The real nature of online articles
Okay, so you own a website. Thus, there are at least two things you need: content and website traffic. This is where articles come in.
By definition, the word "article" may perhaps conjure up images of newspaper stories or printed magazines. If you where a little too wide awake on the English lessons in school, maybe it means absolutely correct grammar and stuff like that (yawn!). In order to make the intention of THIS article perfectly clear, let me make clear that the articles I am referring to are:
"Relatively short, informative pieces of writing that conveys an idea or concept in a useful, interesting and/or entertaining manner."
Now, take a good look at that definition. There are several key words to help you determine what an article is. The word "informative" is perhaps the most important. Good articles let the reader walk away (or click away, as the case may be) knowing something they didn't know before. People read articles expecting to either learn something or be entertained - preferably both.
What about the term "relatively short"? Articles can vary in length, from a few paragraphs to several pages. The length of an article should depend on the information you're trying to convey. For example, "How to Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich" would be relatively shorter than "The Basic Operating Principles of Fission Reactors."
Lastly, but certainly not the least, you need to learn what articles aren't. Or rather, what they shouldn't become. Especially if you are using articles as a means of online marketing and promotion you must have something crystal clear - articles are not advertisements.
No one is interested in reading a three-page ego-stroke about how great your product or book is, or why dozens of people in your hometown are raving about you. "Articles" like these will not be circulated or read, and can actually decrease your website traffic when word starts spreading that your site is nothing but a bunch of advertising hype.
I hope you misunderstand me correctly in the above statement. Articles can indeed be used in order to drive both traffic and sales. But if you, in your writing, spell out all too clearly that you are really only looking to sell stuff, it will often have an adverse effect on your success.
By taking a more subtle approach, you will build a large audience much quicker - an audience that may eventually be converted into paying customers.
If you'd like, you can have a look at this free article marketing guide for even more details.
By definition, the word "article" may perhaps conjure up images of newspaper stories or printed magazines. If you where a little too wide awake on the English lessons in school, maybe it means absolutely correct grammar and stuff like that (yawn!). In order to make the intention of THIS article perfectly clear, let me make clear that the articles I am referring to are:
"Relatively short, informative pieces of writing that conveys an idea or concept in a useful, interesting and/or entertaining manner."
Now, take a good look at that definition. There are several key words to help you determine what an article is. The word "informative" is perhaps the most important. Good articles let the reader walk away (or click away, as the case may be) knowing something they didn't know before. People read articles expecting to either learn something or be entertained - preferably both.
What about the term "relatively short"? Articles can vary in length, from a few paragraphs to several pages. The length of an article should depend on the information you're trying to convey. For example, "How to Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich" would be relatively shorter than "The Basic Operating Principles of Fission Reactors."
Lastly, but certainly not the least, you need to learn what articles aren't. Or rather, what they shouldn't become. Especially if you are using articles as a means of online marketing and promotion you must have something crystal clear - articles are not advertisements.
No one is interested in reading a three-page ego-stroke about how great your product or book is, or why dozens of people in your hometown are raving about you. "Articles" like these will not be circulated or read, and can actually decrease your website traffic when word starts spreading that your site is nothing but a bunch of advertising hype.
I hope you misunderstand me correctly in the above statement. Articles can indeed be used in order to drive both traffic and sales. But if you, in your writing, spell out all too clearly that you are really only looking to sell stuff, it will often have an adverse effect on your success.
By taking a more subtle approach, you will build a large audience much quicker - an audience that may eventually be converted into paying customers.
If you'd like, you can have a look at this free article marketing guide for even more details.
The ever popular affiliata article marketing
Article marketing has been a common and useful strategy for marketers aiming to promote their sites and products online, for a long time. And certainly, article marketing is one of the best ways to promote your small business web site. One thing not many people will have an objection against when it comes to article marketing is that articles aren't very useful in batches of one or two. No, to really have the impact you are looking for you'll desire lots and lots of articles.
Advertising for the long term
As far as long-term promotions and marketing goes (what you in fact require in order to profit from a web site), article writing is absolutely a thing that one shouldn't overlook. To begin with, you can find many studies that have proven article writing as a sensible marketing tool. I'm sure you'll agree that writing clearly is an important part of any website. It's normally easier to write about things you are knowledgeable in, and have a personal interest in. Strive to achieve the same passion when you are writing for other themes as well, and your general writing skills will be enhanced readily. Not paying attention to what is happening in the article marketing arena is a blooper every single web site owner should go to great lengths to avoid making. I have knowledge about the effectiveness of article writing from personal past experience and, though I don't wish to brag, it's driving a nonsensical amount of traffic my way. As with other marketing tactics, I am quite sure that when you have found something that really works, you should do it right and do it big.
Why it is functional
An example of the most talked about positive features of online marketing articles is that it helps to create more links and traffic to your website. As i am sure you know backlinks are greatly invaluable to any online business. This process is further enhanced when publishers post your article on their sites creating even more inbound links for your website. Another upside of the article directories are their rss feeds your articles get that will help get your site spidered and indexed by google, msn and yahoo.
As this is a primer article, we're not going to go in detail into utilizing article marketing for your own purposes. But it goes without saying that a serious-minded curriculum of article marketing will save you time and money, improve your sales and profits, enhance your image, and expand your reach. Phrasing it differently, article syndication is really advertising your web site through the use of articles. As you publish more articles, your chances of getting visitors to your site will be enhanced. Article marketing is becoming more common right now since - now more than ever - websites are searching out lots of content to display to their visitors.
With good articles you can fulfill a portion of this demand, and everybody wins - those who need text get literally that, and you get to spread the word about your website. If you want to get the absolutely most out of your article marketing, you should likewise chose the article directories you use meticulously.
Advertising for the long term
As far as long-term promotions and marketing goes (what you in fact require in order to profit from a web site), article writing is absolutely a thing that one shouldn't overlook. To begin with, you can find many studies that have proven article writing as a sensible marketing tool. I'm sure you'll agree that writing clearly is an important part of any website. It's normally easier to write about things you are knowledgeable in, and have a personal interest in. Strive to achieve the same passion when you are writing for other themes as well, and your general writing skills will be enhanced readily. Not paying attention to what is happening in the article marketing arena is a blooper every single web site owner should go to great lengths to avoid making. I have knowledge about the effectiveness of article writing from personal past experience and, though I don't wish to brag, it's driving a nonsensical amount of traffic my way. As with other marketing tactics, I am quite sure that when you have found something that really works, you should do it right and do it big.
Why it is functional
An example of the most talked about positive features of online marketing articles is that it helps to create more links and traffic to your website. As i am sure you know backlinks are greatly invaluable to any online business. This process is further enhanced when publishers post your article on their sites creating even more inbound links for your website. Another upside of the article directories are their rss feeds your articles get that will help get your site spidered and indexed by google, msn and yahoo.
As this is a primer article, we're not going to go in detail into utilizing article marketing for your own purposes. But it goes without saying that a serious-minded curriculum of article marketing will save you time and money, improve your sales and profits, enhance your image, and expand your reach. Phrasing it differently, article syndication is really advertising your web site through the use of articles. As you publish more articles, your chances of getting visitors to your site will be enhanced. Article marketing is becoming more common right now since - now more than ever - websites are searching out lots of content to display to their visitors.
With good articles you can fulfill a portion of this demand, and everybody wins - those who need text get literally that, and you get to spread the word about your website. If you want to get the absolutely most out of your article marketing, you should likewise chose the article directories you use meticulously.
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