Blah..Blah..Blog..Rantings by Merle: “Using Article Directories to Funnel Traffic”

Content is one of the main reasons people keep coming back to the Internet. Providing the information they seek can lead readers back to you again and again. If you are a writer, use your skill to promote your website through article directories.

Article directories are places where website owners can go to find useful content in their niche. People simply surfing the web can also find this content during their topic searches.

This is valuable to you, the website owner. If your content is listed here, you can gain quite a following with the more articles you submit and have posted. The process is not hard as long as you adhere to the submission guidelines set down by the site. Note that while most article directories have similar rules, not all are the same so make sure you’re double checking before submitting articles to each site.

The easiest way to create content is to write about something that you know – your niche market. Within those parameters you have plenty to work with. You can write about business issues: starting a business in your niche, defining your niche and promoting your business. More articles will probably be generated on your business focus. For example, if your focus was gardening: Titles such as “How to Fertilize a Vegetable Garden, How to Grow Bug-Resistant Plants, etcetera would be perfect topics.

Keys to Driving Traffic Your Way

• Whatever articles you write, always have an engaging headline. Include the same keywords that you use on your website. Articles that include steps or processes catch a reader’s eye. Why? They usually include bulleted points or numbered steps which are easy to skim or read quickly. Reader’s like to get their information in as useful a format as possible.

• Use keywords throughout the article. For an article of 400-500 words, a particular keyword can be mentioned about six or seven times to be effective and not considered “keyword stuffing.” For maximum effect, if you have more than one keyword you want to use, write a separate article for each.

• Submit your content to popular article directories. Some people may have their favorite sites like About.com or Ezinearticles.com to find helpful information. There they can search within the site to find helpful articles. If you are there with your expertise in the form of submitted articles, they will find you. Once they have some information from you they can use and trust, the chances of them following through to your website to learn more increase.

• Use your bio box. This is one of the most helpful tools for free website promotion when writing and submitting articles to directories. Here, you have a chance to tell others what you want them to know about you and your business. And, you can include links to your website here for readers to follow.

Even with audio and video showing up more and more, written content is still royalty on the Internet. Drive traffic your way by submitting quality content to popular article directories, along with those other types of content for maximum exposure.

Here are some article announcement lists you can subscribe to then send your articles to on a regular basis:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Free-Reprint-Articles/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freezinecontent/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aabusiness/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/netwrite-publish-announce/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Free-Content/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/articles_archives/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EzineZone/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/publisher_network/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/QC_Reprint_Articles/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Free_eContent/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/I_Need_Content/

A few directory sites to submit to: