Article writing is an excellent way of getting traffic to your website because you’re not only providing people with valuable content, but you are also handing them a roadmap that leads directly to your home page.

Here’s How Article Marketing Works

Here’s how it works. Let’s say you sell information products, and your product of the month is an e-book that shows stay-at-home moms how to start a medical coding business. You know that there are several topics of interest to women in this particular situation:

• How to earn a medical coding certificate online
• How to start a home-based medical coding business
• How to advertise your medical coding business
• How to get clients for your medical coding business
• How to juggle motherhood with a home-based business

These are just a few ideas for articles that you could write to appeal to mothers who want to work from home. Once you’ve brainstormed for ideas, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and start typing.

You don’t have to be an “A” student in English to write good articles. In fact, it’s a good idea if you can write them conversationally, just as if you’re talking to a friend. Structure them in a way that explains—in simple language—what the reader needs to know. Short articles work best; they should be between 300-500 words at most.

Once you’ve written your article, the next step is to publish it. There are many online article directories that allow authors to publish their work free. These directories are a virtual storehouse for people who want to publish their articles and for people who want to read them. Article directories store thousands of articles from thousands of authors each and every day.

Which Article Directory Should You Publish In?

Some article directories allow you to publish duplicate content, but others want only original material. Before you start submitting articles, you’ll have to register with the site and agree with their rules for publication.

Here is a list of ten of the most popular article directories you’ll want to check out:

• ezinearticles.com
• articlebase.com
• goarticles.com
• articledashboard.com
• searchwarp.com
• ideamarketers.com
• isnare.com
• e-articles.info
• upublish.info
• articleblotter.com

You should submit your articles to as many databases as possible. You may even want to hire a virtual assistant to do this for you. The more articles you submit, the more visibility that you’ll have online.

Here’s the real kicker: Whenever an author publishes an article, it is followed by a short bio box—an “about the author” paragraph. This is where the magic begins. Since this bio box will be used with each article that you publish, you’ll want to be sure that you establish yourself as an expert in the field for which you are writing and include a link to your website. Readers who like your articles will naturally click on the external link to learn more about you and your business.

Getting traffic to your website with article marketing is a quick and easy way to attract new visitors to your website. If you submit articles to these databases on a regular basis, you’ll soon discover that attracting targeted visitors costs you nothing but the time it takes to type a few words about something with which you are already familiar.

The truth is that despite harsh economic times, many affiliate marketers are thriving. They refuse to let a little thing like “the economy” stand in the way of affiliate marketing success. Here are 5 ways that you can use to attract lots of website visitors and earn a pile of money:

1.    Don’t cut your marketing lifeline.
If you’ve been investing in high-impact marketing, this is not the time to cut costs. Continue to promote your affiliate products aggressively. Marketing is the lifeblood of marketing. The goal is not to do less of it; the goal is to do it better than your competitors do.

2.    Demonstrate value for the dollar.
There is a big misconception that everyone is broke. This is another marketing myth. People may be more discriminating about where they spend their money, but they are still spending it. In your marketing campaign, it’s crucial to demonstrate–without a shadow of doubt–that when customers buy your product, it will be one of the best marketing decisions they will ever make.

3.    Develop a presence on social media sites.

You’ve got to pay attention to what your customers want, and in today’s world social media is part of the marketing game plan. There are literally thousands of sites out there that you can join, but here are just a few ideas:

√  Niche-specific forums
√  YouTube (and other video sharing sites)
√  MySpace
√  Facebook
√  Squidoo
√  Digg
√  EzineArticles.com (and other article sharing sites)
√  Twitter (and other Twitter-like sites, such as the Spanish version known as Birddi)

Don’t underestimate the value of social networking. If getting traffic to your website is your goal, you’ve got to go to where the people are instead of waiting for them to find you.

4.    Establish confidence with your customer base.
Since people aren’t likely to part with their money as easily these days, it’s important to establish yourself as an expert with your customer base. More than ever, people are looking for authenticity in the information they seek. Customers are more skeptical these days, so BE the answer they are looking for.

5.    Build relationships with customers.
Practice the theory of reciprocity. When you give something of great value to people for free, they are more likely to buy something from you. When people opt-in to your list, offer a free report, a sample product, or a trial offer that they simply cannot refuse.

Getting traffic to your website, even in financially-shaky times, is not as difficult as you may think. The key is to be the solution your prospective customers are looking for. Give value in everything you offer, regardless of whether it is exchanged for money or given away for free.

Often overlooked by affiliate marketers, Metatags are HTML elements that are used by search engines to index web pages. In essence, when you add Metatags, you’re cataloguing your site for people who want information about what you have to offer. Here’s the good news: If you use some creative strategies, you can significantly increase your web traffic.

Metatags are used to communicate important information about your website to the search engines. Since people are uploading websites daily and the competition is fierce, it’s important to use relevant keywords in your Metatags to give your site more visibility. This, of course, can vary among search engines. While they are very important to some search engines, others do not give Metatags any importance because of the onslaught of Internet spammers. Therefore your ranking results will vary, depending on the search engine.

There’s an easy way to find good keywords or keyword phrases: You can use Google’s free Keyword Tool to search popular keywords and keyword phrases for your niche market. This tool is particularly helpful because it will help you create the most suitable tags for your website. While it does not work very well with long keyword phrases, it does a good job with one or two-word keyword combinations. Using the right Metatags could easily double or triple the footsteps of your visitors on your website.

When you create the tags for your website, keep them short. They should be no longer than 1,000 characters. The tag should be descriptive because it works like a virtual roadmap to your site. To be most effective, follow these strategies:

1.    List the most important keywords first.
2.    Use important key phrases in the Metatag.
3.    Don’t use the same keyword repeatedly in the Metatag.

For instance, you may add something like this: Joe Smith is an affiliate marketer located in Memphis, Tennessee who specializes in how-to books.

You may prefer to write something like this: Affiliate marketing e-books, CDs, and DVDs are available at Joe Smith’s AffiliateMarketingdotcom.

If you follow the criteria set forth by the search engines so that your site does not look like spam, you can use them successfully to increase your visibility on the web.

Using Metatags is like flagging down traffic. Your goal is to get attention and direct potential customers to your landing page or blog. Of course, you’ll want to experiment with different tags to see what combination of words is most effective for your target market. When used strategically, Metatags create a one-way street for getting traffic to your website.

1.    Article Marketing. The good news is that you don’t have to be a professional writer to take advantage of free article marketing. Use this approach to establish yourself as an authority in your field by providing tips and tricks for your industry. Write how-to articles to help customers solve problems. You’re the expert, so you can choose topics relevant to your target market. These short articles always contain a bio box at the bottom of the article to direct readers to your website. When readers are interested in what you have to say, they are more likely to follow the trail back to your website.

2.    Join Industry-Specific Forums. Joining virtual communities of other like-minded marketers and/or customers can turn into a cash cow for your business. Focus on marketing forums as well as forums frequented by people interested in your product or service. For instance, if you’re selling video games on your website, you can easily find forums frequented by avid video game enthusiasts. Just use your favorite search engine and type “video game forums.” You’ll find pages of direct links to forums that serve video game enthusiasts. If you become a valuable contributing member of the community, they’re likely to check out your website.

3.    Interview Experts in Your Field. Contact experts in your industry and feature interviews of them on your website. You can find experts in forums or contact them individually and ask for an interview. It adds credibility to your website, attracts visitors, and enhances the visibility of your guest. Then, allow your guest to interview you as a featured guest on his website to enhance your visibility.

4.    Make Video Blogs. Video blogs–also known as vlogging–is more popular than ever. If you want information about your product or service to go viral, vlogging is the way to go. The advent of YouTube has made it easier than ever for the everyday marketer to get worldwide exposure. You may want to demonstrate how to use your product, offer how-to videos, or answer common questions from your customers. Don’t forget to provide a link to your website in the video.

5.    Start Tweeting. Unless you’ve avoided the Internet altogether, you know the popularity of Twitter. As you build a list of followers, you can use Twitter to announce product launches, direct people to your blog, or get ideas from your customers.

Getting traffic to your website does not have to cost you a lot of cash. In fact, if you take advantage of these 5 strategies for driving traffic to your website, you’ll be able to keep more of your hard-earned cash in your pockets.

If you’re looking for a way to quickly increase your number of subscribers, swap lists with another Internet marketer. Newbie affiliate marketers are often unaware of this tactic, but veteran marketers do it all the time.

First, find another marketer who has a list that is comparable to your own. Now, you’re going to promote each other’s offerings. It’s best to find a marketer that is promoting a product that compliments the one you’re selling. Next, you’ll send an e-mail to his list that’s designed to drive traffic to your squeeze page. Then, he’ll send an e-mail to your list designed to drive traffic to his squeeze page. The more people that you can swap lists with, the faster you’ll build your own list.

Another effective way to build your list is to give away something for free. Using reciprocity to keep your profits in motion is an effective way to build long-term relationships with customers. Here’s how it works. Use your squeeze page to promote your giveaway. You can use this tactic before, during, and after your product launch to build excitement for your product and attract new customers. Offer incentives to subscribers who bring in new subscribers to your list. Offer bonuses for customers who get several friends to sign up. This technique has a snowball effect and can be quite profitable in the long run.

Finally, go viral. There’s a lot of power in the viral report. Knowledgeable affiliate marketers know that the more you give away, the more you’ll receive in return from your customers. Write a report that discloses vital information to your target audience. Don’t stick with the basics. Go in-depth and offer industry secrets that they’ll want to pass onto others. Most importantly, don’t charge for this report. Instead, allow subscribers to pass on this information to others via e-mail or to use it as a giveaway in their own promotions.

The goal of the viral report is to establish yourself as an expert in your niche. That’s why you’ll want to give away exclusive information that is normally reserved for high-end consultations. Once you’ve built credibility, people will naturally want to opt-in to your list to see what else you have to offer. Include a link to your squeeze page so readers will be inspired to sign up for future offerings.

When it comes to listbuilding, be prepared to think outside the box. It takes more than a squeeze page to increase numbers. You’ll want to drive traffic to that squeeze page by offering subscribers something valuable. Swapping lists, giving away freebies, and going viral will exponentially increase the size of your list and your profits for years to come.

The first mistake that many newbie marketers make is to choose a product that offers weak commissions. Think of it this way. You’ll be putting a lot of time and energy into marketing products for others. Unless you’re selling a high-ticket item, you won’t make much money on a 25% commission. Don’t let this dissuade you from pushing the popular $7 reports because, historically, these can generate a lot of income for you. These reports often have high sale rates, so you can make a good profit by promoting them. The best approach to take is to find a product that will pay you 50-75% commissions on each sale.

Second, don’t be persuaded by big promises. Be discriminating in your promotions. If you hop on the bandwagon with a product that is touted as the next big thing and it turns out to be a bust, your credibility will die along with the campaign. Be sure to thoroughly review anything that you promote. Buy the product. Use it. It may be tempting to jump on the bandwagon and strike while the iron is hot, but until the product launches you have no idea how the public will receive it. Once you’ve reviewed the product, you can write a comprehensive product review and post it on your site. You may be promoting someone else’s product, but anything you get involved with puts your name on the line.

Finally, don’t neglect to collect qualified leads. Treat them as clients not customers. You sell to customers. You look out for the best interests of clients. While your ultimate goal is to make the sale, you’ll want to do right by your prospects. Be sure that anything you promote to your list is personal and newsworthy. If you can tie a current event into the product you’re selling, it will grab your readers’ attention. Successful marketers will often pull ideas from celebrity headlines and tie them into their offerings. Don’t merely promote products. Using this approach will most certainly turn off a lot of the people on your list. People like to buy, but they don’t like to be sold to.

Creating a successful affiliate marketing campaign is easy if you temper your enthusiasm with an ounce of common sense. Promote products that offer a healthy commission so your efforts and hard work won’t be in vain; thoroughly review any product that you want to sell before you release it to your list so you can be sure it delivers on its promises; and continuously collect leads so they you grow and build a list that will create a healthy profit windfall for your business.

Join Technorati. Technorati is a virtual “warehouse” of blogs. It is like the Google of blogs. Here’s how it works. People use Technorati to search for blogs in categories of interest. Once you join Technorati, your blog is categorized so that others can find it. What’s better is that when you add a new post, others can see it. Because Technorati organizes and indexes blogs according to categories, you can extend your reach to others who may have been otherwise unreachable.

Join Digg. Social networking sites like Digg are great avenues for getting traffic to your website. The key is to post blogs that are newsworthy and relevant to your target market. People who subscribe to Digg can “Digg” your post and link it to their blogs and websites. This will naturally increase your exposure as others share your posts with their readers, thus driving more traffic to your website.

Pay attention to trends. If you know what’s hot, blog about it and blog often. Since search engines love fresh content, your site will climb in the search engines. Take advantage of this technique so that your blog will be indexed in the search engines. This is not only a great way to drive traffic to your website but also an effective tactic for establishing yourself as an expert in your target market.

Optimize your site with popular keywords. Find out what words customers are using when they do an online search and incorporate them into your blogs. Your best bet is to put the keyword in the title of your blog, in the first paragraph, and the last paragraph. You may use it once or twice within the body of the blog but don’t overdo it. The key is to create good content while incorporating keywords. Keep your blogs readable or you’ll turn off your customers.

Start vlogging. Video blogging, also known as vlogging, is an effective technique for getting traffic to your website. Vlogging is effective for establishing yourself as an authority in the target market as well as sharing a part of your personality with your readership. Mix up your video blogs. Make some entertaining, others useful. It’s especially helpful if you can use your videos to answer frequently asked questions about your product or service.

Using blogging for getting traffic to your website is an easy but effective means for increasing your readership and your customer base. When it comes to affiliate marketing, you don’t have to be an Internet marketing expert to attract a lot of visitors to your website.

1.    Add deep links. When you exchange links with other websites, don’t use your home page because it is considered a “shallow” link by search engines. Links to blogs rank favorably with the search engines, and website visitors prefer content pages over sales pages. Blogs are a means of positioning yourself as an expert and developing a rapport with your audience. Remember, customers like to buy but they don’t want to be sold to. First-time visitors are less likely to click away from a blog than a sales page.

2.    Optimize your site for the search engines. Do a little research to see what keywords potential customers are using to find your product or service. You can do this easily by looking at your top three competitors’ websites and see what keywords appear most frequently on their landing pages. Be sure to incorporate keywords seamlessly into your sentences. Search engines don’t favor websites that use keywords excessively, and your website visitors will click away if your copy is so full of keywords that it is difficult to read.

3.    Use social bookmarking. If you write timely and newsworthy articles and submit them to social networking sites like Digg, readers can link your article to their websites, giving you more far more exposure and visibility  than you could have on your own. Other bloggers reference and link Digg articles on their websites.

4.    Take advantage of Google Video. If you want immense exposure on the Internet, record your own videos and upload them to Google Video. You can answer common questions, add how-to videos, or provide cool tips for your target market. The best part is that it is absolutely free to take advantage of this Web 2.0 tool. Don’t forget to add a link to your website in the video.

5.    Join Technorati. Technorati is a virtual database of blogs. It categorizes blogs for people who want to read them in markets like technology, business, entertainment, lifestyle, politics, sports, gaming, celebrity, IT, film, music, and advertising. In essence, it brings readers to you. Once you join Technorati, members who are interested in your blog (or blogs in your category) will be automatically updated when you add a new post. More than 112 million blogs and more than 250 pieces of social media are tracked by Technorati. The best part is that readers can add their personal comments to the blogs and link them.

Don’t allow a tight budget to keep you from getting traffic to your website. You don’t have to spend money to increase your visibility on the Internet. Think beyond your website to take full advantage of all the free marketing opportunities available via Web 2.0.

Buy a URL with your main keyword or phrase in the title. It’s best if you can do this without hyphens, but that’s often not possible. If you can’t buy cheapcars.com, go for cheap-cars.com.

Have each page’s keyword in the title. For example, your page on finding a cheap Camaro (via eBay, for example, where you can include your affiliate link) would be cheapcars.com/camaro or cheapcars.com/chevy-camaro.

Make sure you get specific–and organized. The page above will be great for anyone searching for a Camaro in general, but there will also be plenty of people searching for specific models. So you’ll also want pages like this: cheapcars.com/camaro-1984. Or you can put them all of a certain make, under the same directory, so that you have cheapcars.com/camaro/1984, cheapcars.com/camaro/1984/z28.

Build a site map. If you’re going to build multiple directories and sub-directories, you’ll want a site-map to make sure the spiders go all the way in to your links. Site maps don’t guarantee all of your pages will get indexed, but it makes each one much more likely to get crawled, especially if your linking scheme goes several pages deep.

Use your meta-tags. These aren’t as important as they used to be, but you don’t want to ignore them. Put your keyword(s) in your title tag, and put them as close to the beginning as possible (use each one only once, if possible). The text in your description tag will show up in your search engine listing, so make it relevant and interesting.

Use alternate text for your images. Alternate text is the text that shows in an image box while the image is loading. Make sure you use this opportunity to place a keyword. It will help your page ranking.

Use appropriate anchor text in outgoing links. I.e. if your page is about the 1984 Camaro Z28, you’ll want to include that text in links that leave your page (although, if you have more than a couple of links, putting that anchor text in every single one might be overdoing it.)

Make sure every page on your site is linked to by at least one other page on your site. This isn’t just about SEO, either. Your site is easier to navigate if each page links up into its main directory. You’ll also want to make sure your readers can get back to your home page from any page on the site. If your webpage is user-friendly, the search engines will take note of it and will boost your rankings for it.

Make sure you have relevant, unique content on every page. This one speaks for itself. And don’t let its place on the list fool you–it’s the most important SEO aspect of all. Google’s mantra is “Content is King,” and for good reason. People will quit looking if you’re not relevant.

Search Engine Optimization, when it’s all said and done, is anything that can improve your ranking in the search engines (usually Google, but also Yahoo, Bing, MSN, etc.) so that people who are looking for what you have to offer can find you easily. And, hopefully, find you standing out as King of the Hill.

An awful lot has been written about search engine optimization. Some of it has been written by people who knew what they were talking about the time. Some has been written by people who didn’t. And some has been written by people who were out to make a buck from offline businesses who didn’t know any better. Even the folks who knew what they were talking about, often had knowledge that was only valuable until the next Google search engine update.

Typically, SEO involves a mixture of having quality content, making sure your website coding is clean and is properly marked (”tagged”) for your keywords, and being linked to by plenty of other linked-to sites.

At one point, you could get high rankings in search engines by repeating your keywords way too many times on your pages, and doing some tricky things with your web page coding. While keywords are definitely still relevant to placing well in Google & Co., you can’t rank well these days just by repeating your key term every ten words or so. It used to work, but now it’ll send your site to the bottom of the list. It can even get your site banned.

One of today’s most important elements is how many links you have coming in to your site from other site’s pages, and how much authority (in GoogleLand, this is known as Page Rank) those pages have. The theory is that the more sites linking to yours=more people finding your site useful/relevant. This isn’t always the case, as I’ll be showing you in the near future.

Should you hire someone to optimize your website? Ultimately, that depends on how much time and energy you want to spend learning and practicing search engine optimization. For some people, learning SEO is an excellent thing to do. Other folks would definitely be better off concentrating on other things they’re good at, and leaving their rankings to the pros (although there are plenty of simple, effective methods that anybody can practice).

If your web site is just two or three pages, you might consider learning SEO yourself–especially if you want to crank out several sites in super quick time for different campaigns. It’s basically a case of cutting out the middle man.

On the other hand, if you only have one site you want to promote, and it involves a huge initial effort with occasional tweaks for maintenance later, you might want to hire an SEO consultant.