Here's a brief primer on the why's and wherefore's of Article Marketing.

In the "real" world, a writer has a tough time getting published when they are new and inexperienced. But getting published on the Internet is a whole lot easier. The process of writing and creating an eBook is very simple. But then what? You need to get it out to the public. That's where Article Marketing is invaluable. If you write an article and market it with your links in the resource box, you generate much needed traffic.

But what if you're not a writer, but you have a product you want to sell or a web site you want to promote? Article Marketing is still a very easy and valuable way to go.

Because Article Marketing is so popular a method of promotion, Article Directories have sprung up like dandelions. Now, in spite of what some people think of dandelions, I happen to think they are quite pretty and guess what? They're edible as well! So, like Article Directories, they are quite useful!

Article Directories are invaluable as a place to publish. The general rule at most Article Directories is that the articles placed there become available as free content for WebMasters, eZine publishers and even offline concerns to copy and use for their purposes. The only requirement for them is that your information--a bio box or a resource box crediting you, your resources and even your web site link, remain intact. In actuality, letting people use your articles for content in their publications is a good thing!

WHY ARTICLE MARKETING?

Here's a short list, each of which I will explain further:

1. You get backlinks.

2.You get exposure.

3. Webmaster's needing content will use your article. This is makes the article "viral".

1. BACKLINKS -

What are they and why are they important?

I'm assuming here that you have a web site. It can be a website for either selling a product, promoting your eBook or it might just be about you and your hobbies. The purpose for promotng your web site should be obvious, but to recap--it helps you sell more, either yourself or whatever it is you are selling. The goal is to get the search engines to give you a high placing on their results page when someone types in a search query.

To do that, it's important to get Google and other search engines to notice your product. One of the ways Google, in particular, looks at your page is to note how popular it is. It determines this in a couple of ways, but, primarily by how many ONE-WAY links there are that link to your site. If you have a web site for your eBook or your product or just a web site about you and your hobbies, how many people link TO it is seen as "popularity" to the search engines. It used to be that exchanging links with other sites was enough, but most search engines now see this as inflated popularity and they don't put as much value on reciprocal links. So, getting one-way links are important. These one-way links are called BACKLINKS.

When you write an article and publish it to as many Article Directories as you can, you create backlinks--that is, you create one-way links from the directory to your site.

2. EXPOSURE -

This one's easy. You need people to read your stuff, right? Posting an article to as many directories as you can creates more exposure for your article.

But, writing an article and getting it published does something else, as well. It sets you up as a published expert on whatever subject you wrote about. This will be valuable in your future efforts.

3. VIRALIZATION -

When a Webmaster is building a web site, s/he needs good quality content. After all, s/he's trying to get the search engines to rank the web site high as well, correct? Google has taken a dim view of web sites that look like too many other sites out there, so unique content is essential. I'm sure you've read the phrase, "content is king." This is why. This is also another reason why Article Directories have sprung up like those proverbial dandelions. A Webmaster can go to any of these directories, peruse the offerings there and copy an article to his/her pages and voila! Instant and unique content.

Now, down the line, someone reads the page at the website where your article where has been published, finds it utterly fascinating AND CLICKS ON THE LINK TO YOUR PAGE! Not only did you get another backlink from the Webmaster, you got new customers! THAT is viralization, in a nutshell. Multiply that by the number of other Webmasters who use your articles... well, I think you can see where I'm going with this. Others who might also use your content might be eZine Publishers and it's even been known to happen that offline publications (magazines and such) use articles located on the Internet.

Viralization is a second reason why it is vital that you place links in your resource box.

Okay, that's the quick and dirty explanation of Article Marketing. I hope it helps. My best wished to you!

Okay, that's the quick and dirty explanation of Article Marketing.