Article Marketing 101 - Everything You Need To Know About Article Marketing In One Place!

Step 1 - Keyword Research And Implementation

A lot of people, especially IM beginners or newbies don't get the entire concept behind the 'keyword(s)'. There are many types of keywords, for this method we will be using one known as long tail keywords or keyword phrases.

To illustrate the process, I'm going to grab a random niche, a highly competitive one to show you that competition can only be good (because there is higher demand). The dating niche.

Now, head to your favourite keyword research tool (I use Seo Book Keyword Suggestion Tool myself).

Here is where you will be doing all the research.

Your goal is to look for any long tail keyword related to the niche that has at least 10 daily search results (the more the better obviously) and LESS than 10,000 google competition (the less the better). Allow me to elaborate.

I typed the search term pick up in the keyword tool and a long list of all types of keywords displays, since we are looking for long tails it should be a phrase containing 2 or more words.

Here is one sweet talk pick up lines (yes that is ONE keyword) it has over 650 overall daily search results (an average between the top 3 search engines) and a whopping Google competition of 131 websites (note scarcasm).

Hint: There are many more profitable keywords in that list alone.

Some people are going to kill me for revealing that keyword, it has the potential of driving 650+ visitors to your website per DAY with ONE article.

How did I measure competition you may wonder? I went to Google and did a search for the keyword under quotation marks: "sweet talk pick up lines"

Step 2 - Source Research For Your Article

Naturally, to write an article around that keyword you need to know some sweet talk pick up lines, so you will want to do some research on it unless you are some sort of Casanova or VegasVince.

This is the most simple process, go to Google and type sweet talk pick up lines (without quotations this time), check about 5 sources, grab your favourite pick up lines and you are good to go.

Hint: A source can be anything from an encyclopaedia to an article.

Note that in this case, that was very easy research, sometimes you will need to do a more in depth investigation in order to pull out a great article.

For this you can talk to Bev Clement, I believe she has a very solid research process.

Step 3 - Writing The Article

You don't have to be a professional writer to pull off an amazing article, simply write the article as if you were speaking to a client verbally.

Don't forget to make the article short (350-650 Words is my criteria), you don't want the reader bored to death and leaving half way through (that accomplishes nothing) by making them read your college thesis.

The basic structure of an article is composed of 6 parts. In order:

1. Title or Headline

The keyword MUST go here, for example: Top 10 Sweet Talk Pick Up Lines To Capture Her Attention. Headlines are used to caputure the reader's attention, in this case it is also used to optimize the article for the search engines.

2. Summary

The keyword doesn't necessarily have to go in this one, it's all about writing an appealing summary of your article. The summary is what will most likely show in the search engines under the title/headline of the article.

3. First Paragraph

Again, the keyword MUST go here once (don't flood it). Make it interesting and appealing or the visitor/reader will leave.

4. Body

Add the keyword in this part once again and insert the sweet talk pick up lines you chose during your research.

5. Last Paragraph or Conclusion

This is where you close the reader. Add the keyword one last time and present a subtle lead to the resource box (where you promote your website).

6. Resource Box

The best article directories will only allow you to promote or advertise something in this space, it has to be appealing and it MUST have a clear call to action. This is where you add the link to your website (ideally in anchor text for a keyword you have your website optimized around for SEO purposes (mainly backlinking)).

Just as an example: "If you truly want to get the girl, go to this website now: [Insert Link in Anchor Text] It is the top resource on dating advice and tips courtesy of the leading dating guru."

Step 4 - Submitting The Article

Great! Now you have created a very powerful article, it's time to submit it. You can submit to as many article directories as you wish without any penalties (duplicate content does not apply unless you submit the same article under the same domain).

The leading article directory is Ezine Articles. Their customer support may not be the best, but no matter what people say it gives the best ROTI (Return Over Time Invested - It's Free) and each day they become more strict on what articles to accept, so you won't get away with crap articles (which is good, crap articles are useless).

After submitting to EZA and getting it approved, feel free to submit to as many article directories as you want.

Step 5 - Securing The Article's Position In The Search Engines

Securing an article in #1 position for a specific keyword using the criteria stated above is VERY easy due to the low level of competition, you just need a few backlinks.

There is software out there (and services) that submit backlinks to over 100 social bookmarking websites, providing you with enough backlinks to secure the article in #1 position. The key to using these programs is: DON'T SPAM, just submit 1-3 backlinks per day at most.

I don't want to mention the backlink automation software I use because that would be promoting a product.

When you do a backlink make sure it is linking to your article IN anchor text with the keyword used in the article.

That close to guarantees your search engine rankings because the competition for the search term(s) is low. Add a killer quality article to the mix and you will be getting backlinks from people you don't even know for free.

Final Step - The Numbers Game

After all the steps above are met, it becomes a numbers game. Submit 100 articles using this method. Don't panic just yet, let me show you why.

Let's say all your articles average 100 views per day and you have a decent average CTR of 20% (these numbers are very common). 100 Views X 20% = 20 Unique Visitors Per Article X 100 Articles = 2,000 DAILY Laser Targeted Visitors (AKA Potential Buyers) to your website.

That is just an example using a below average scenario, the numbers may vary and if you stop submitting articles the traffic may go down (unless the keywords used continue to get the same number of daily hits).

Well that's about it my friends. This works for every single niche out there. And not only are you getting highly targeted traffic to your websites but you are also branding yourself as an expert in the niche(s) you chose. Enjoy!

Best of luck,

Daniel Molano

P.S: To find if your keyword(s) have commercial potential (In other words, if people are looking to purchase something when using a keyword to do a search) use this free tool in cross reference: Audience Intelligence