Building Websites with Articles

I've been blogging occasionally over the last two months about my ongoing experiment with writing articles. This is a super hot topic lately with the changes going on at Google and Yahoo that are impacting many websites and basically freaking people out.

Now everybody knows that writing articles is a powerful technique. You knew that, right? And everybody is writing articles, right? No. Did I? Not until recently, though I wrote a lot in blogs and did post some articles I wrote on my sites. There's two parts to this for me. Writing, which I have been doing. Distributing. Which I hadn't been doing.

I finally came out of that fog and decided that I had to see what distribution might really do. Content, such as original articles is still the basic currency of the internet. People come onto the web looking for information. Content provides that information.

But, if the content is just sitting on a blog or posted in an article directory on one website, it has very limited exposure without links. Content may be the flesh of the web, but links are the bones, the underlying structure that allows things to found and accessed.

It's in our faces right here - the two basics that you can combine to really power a successful website. Content and links. Write articles AND publish/distribute them. Simple, basic, old style site building.

One technique many are using to build sites is to get other people's articles and put them up on their sites to provide related content. I do it, you do it, nearly everyone seems to. Other people publish ezines, but can't possibly write all the content they want to provide. This is the demand that exists, right now, for your articles. There is a deep, apparently bottomless need for quality content on nearly anything imaginable. And it won't go away.

Original content on your site is a great traffic booster. Distributing your content all over the internet gets you lots of incoming links - which over time could well continue to increase as your articles are picked up and redistributed. Plus you are generating a name for yourself and qualifying yourself as an expert. Experts write about what they know and discover. They share their knowledge. I'm not talking about anyone being a genius and discovering anti-gravity (and finally eliminating rocket science). I'm talking about what's already in your head and what you can learn, research and write about.

I wrote three articles on some basics concepts to keep in mind in building and developing successful eCommerce websites. They aren't hot hot hot 6 steps to infinite wealth type writing. They're basic and based on research. Then I distributed them to a couple (not all) of the big article directories and to a large group of relevant directories and lists through SubmitYourArticle.com (which I do recommend if you're looking for an excellent and reasonable article submission service). Here are the results as of this writing (June 28, 2005):

======== Pages Reported
======== Yahoo = Google = MSN = Pub Date
Article 1 . . . 610 . . . 320 . . . . 436 . . May 19th
Article 2 . . . 253 . . . 246 . . . . 269 . . June 1st
Article 3 . . 2060 . . .1000 . . . .239 . . June 14th

. . Total . . .2923 . . .1566 . . . .944

That's a lot of pages. Now, some of those won't have any live link. Yes, it does happen even though it really shouldn't. A lot of the sites it's on won't have much or any page rank and probably quite a few sites are not relevant. People aren't always careful about selecting relevant articles. Some will be on pages that won't pass rank. However, what's left are relevant incoming one-way links - some of which will be from sites with at least some authority. Say even 20% of the links are relevant and/or from sites with some rank. That's a minimum (I believe I'm being pretty conservative with the 20% figure) of over 1000 useful incoming links based on relevant content.

I was astonished. And then I felt really stupid - I knew this, but I really didn't GET it or I would have been writing and distributing from day 1. You're looking at the truth behind the power of articles and article distribution. No tricks, no fancy high powered tools, no big expensive anything at all.

Are you telling yourself you can't write articles? I'm telling you that you can. If you can talk, you can write. If you need help, there are lots of resources about how to write - some very good ones are free, some are quite inexpensive. Other tools are more expensive.

Ghostwriters are another alternative. A little tricky and possibly slightly expensive for really high quality work, but there's also a lot of information available on how to do it right.

My advice here is - whatever it takes, start publishing your own original content on your website and start distributing it now. For building long term success, there's very little you can do that will have anywhere near the same results.

Copyright 2005 Richard Keir

Richard teaches, trains and consults, on and off-line, on business and professional presentations, programming, site building and eCommerce. Visit http://www.Building-eCommerce-Websites.com for eCommerce articles, information, resources and links and check our blog at http://www.Building-eCommerce-Websites/blog for opinion and ideas.

---

Using Anchor Text Optimization In Your Article Viral Marketing Campaign

What is Anchor Text Optimization?Anchor text optimization consists of the... Read More

Keyword Article Writing: the Key to Your Success!

Ready to jump on the keyword article bandwagon? Billions of... Read More

Article Writing: Breaking Writers Block

It is amazing to see how much we all still... Read More

So You Want to Be a Web Copywriter?

I get tons of emails from people who want to... Read More

9 Top Ways To Get Ideas For Your Next High Quality Article

Thanks to recent information that leaked by Google within their... Read More

1000 Ways to Improve Your Business

One of the best things you can do for your... Read More

Dont Miss These 10 Must Know Facts About Promoting Your Website with Article Writing

Most all ezine publishers need fresh content. Article writing is... Read More

Ive Got An Article To Submit, Now What Do I Do With It? (6 Tips)

You submit it, that's what you do! And submit it... Read More

Marketing Your Home Business in Just 30 Minutes a Week

It's all the rage. It's what everyone is talking about.... Read More

Ten Tips Articles

"Ten Tips" articles are the easiest piece to write because... Read More

An Easy Way to Write An Article: Get Someone Elses!

Every successful website needs to be, what the experts consider,... Read More

How To Write Best Articles

I've been able to distinguish 3 main categories that people... Read More

Reprint Article Headlines ? the Reader is Secondary

A great headline can be the difference between having your... Read More

In Search Of Ideas For Articles

Finding something to write about can be frustrating for all... Read More

How to Use Autoresponders With Your Articles

Now that you see that articles are the number one... Read More

Article Writing Made Simple

A great way for self employed professionals to enhance their... Read More

Article Marketing Keyword Parrots and Linking Fanatics in Web Content

It's stunning sometimes how far article marketing has come over... Read More

Writing Articles Sells Books

Are you a reluctant marketer for your book? Do you... Read More

Want to Put Your Names on My Article?

There's a new sort of ghost stalking the digital landscape.They... Read More

Everything I Needed to Know About Article Writing I Learned from My English Teacher

By now you probably understand how important writing for trade... Read More

How To Submit Your Articles To Article Announcement Lists

Get the Facts you need to start promoting you free... Read More

Direct Sales Reps CAN Write Articles - Heres How!

We all know that article writing is a great way... Read More

Writing Articles To Build Your Online Presence - A Beginners Guide

One of the most effective (and free!) ways to get... Read More

Top Seven Tips for Writing Articles on the Internet

Online readers love information, but be sure your information is... Read More

A Simple Suggestion to Improve Your Article Marketing

Article marketing is becoming more and more popular, especially as... Read More

How To Edit Your Articles As You Write

Increase your ezine subscribers by submitting articles once or twice... Read More

7 Important Elements of Any Article - Miss Just 1 Element and Your Article is Doomed

These 7 Important Elements are your Blueprint to Article Writing... Read More

Recycle Your Work

Recycling your work is a lot like doing your part... Read More

Internet Marketing: Secrets of Writing Keyword Rich Articles in Six Easy Steps

Determining keywords is a critical step in writing articles online... Read More

How to Write a Short Article Under 500 Words

Online publishers, ezine subscribers, and Web visitors want short, useful... Read More

So You Want to Be an Author - These Are the Easiest Types of Articles in the World to Write

Being an Internet Article Author is far and away the... Read More

Writing an Interview Script

Gathering information from interviews is really simple. You ask the... Read More

Articles and Internet Branding: 5 Steps to Success

Are you ready to become an internet marketing expert? Are... Read More