Link Building with Article Marketing

Link Building with Article Marketing – Revisited

June 8th, 2010 | 38 comments

article marketing and link building For years I’ve made one statement very clear when it comes to Article Marketing: “The primary benefit to Article Marketing is the direct traffic you get as a result of your articles ranking in the SE’s for the keywords they target. NOT the backlinks your sites get as a result of the articles being published in article directories.”

I’ve probably said that 500 times here, there and everywhere. And I don’t say it because I don’t believe the backlinks are worth anything, because they are… I say it because it seems like most people who market with articles are always talking about links, links, links, links.

BUT, I want to bring up this topic once more and talk a little about it.

Yesterday I was submitting a few fresh articles to promote a review site of mine. This, like many of my niche sites, targets several long-tail phrases. These long-tail phrases don’t have huge search volumes with Google, but they have consistent monthly search volumes with some fairly weak competition.

This site in particular, which I will not specify because it is somewhat “risqué” (no, not porn) converts very well, but many of the articles haven’t gained traction in the Search Engines. However, the pages bring in consistent search traffic for the review keywords they are targeting.

However, the only forms of promotion I have used for this site are Link Directory Submissions and Article Directory Submissions. The web directory links certainly helped, but those article directory links are typically a bit stronger and they definitely helped.

This story is similar to several other sites I’ve promoted in the past. Not every article is going to gain traction in the SE’s and not every site is going to be a success. But many times, those sites that are being promoted by articles which don’t drive much traffic, are often times still profitable in the long run simply because of the incoming links the sites have received from those articles pointing to those internal pages targeting long-tail phrases.

So my “updated” thoughts on the whole Article Marketing as a Link Builder can be summed up like this:

My own thoughts on it have not changed at all. It’s really more of the advice that I provide that I want to update. I think over time I’ve kind of pushed the primary benefit too hard, when in reality the link building aspect, in many cases, can be just as important and valuable as the direct traffic you receive as a result of your articles ranking in Google for the keywords they target.

If you’re using article marketing to promote a more authoritative site, which targets keywords that have a good deal of competition, those backlinks aren’t going to be nearly as important as that direct traffic. But if you’re promoting niche sites, which target long-tail, less competitive keywords, those backlinks can still make a pretty noticeable difference and should definitely not be ignored!

38 comments

Mike Roosa
8th June, 2010 at 8:29 pm

I actually have a post coming out tomorrow talking about using articles only for backlinking. Guess we’re not on the same page on this one.

I actually admit that you may be able to get good targeted traffic from article marketing but it sure doesn’t work that way for me. I know I must be doing something wrong.
Mike Roosa
8th June, 2010 at 8:30 pm

Actually as I re-read your article I think we do agree. My article marketing post is based on long tail keywords for niche sites.
Josh Spaulding
8th June, 2010 at 8:32 pm

Target a long-tail (low search volume/competition) keyword in each article title. If you aren’t getting any direct traffic then your articles aren’t ranking and if they aren’t ranking you’re choosing bad keywords to target.
Calvin (6 comments.)
8th June, 2010 at 8:55 pm

@Josh:

I’ve done what you said (I only submit to EzineArticles), but unless I build links to those articles, they do not bring traffic for long.

The keywords I get are from the Adwords Keyword Tool. The same thing happens whether I choose a keyword with 500 monthly searches or 5000 monthly searches. After the initial surge of traffic, visitors stop coming.

Am I doing something wrong, or does this mean I’m in the wrong niche?
Josh Spaulding
8th June, 2010 at 8:57 pm

@ Calvin – There are alot of variables and it’s not just about search volume… need to do competition analysis too to week out the keywords that aren’t obtainable.
TriNi @ Make Money Online Free (1 comments.)
8th June, 2010 at 11:15 pm

You’re absolutely right! I had one article that I wrote at the spur of the moment, that I really intended to be a “backlink” to my site.. really pick up in search engines and rank #1 for the main keyword and that brought back over 800 hits to my site on the first day it was published!

If you can figure out a good keyword, and write some good content around that keyword phrase.. you can hit a gold mine!
Ajith
9th June, 2010 at 12:19 pm

Josh,

Is it only for long tail keywords that you should focus on?
Does it not increase the overall authority of the pages by some factor for more competitive terms, that it is a worthy method when used in combination with other link building methods?

Ajith
Joe Brennan
9th June, 2010 at 12:22 pm

Article marketing is mostly all I do now. Been at it about a year. Slowly but surely my site has risen to the top pages of SE’s which has steadily increased my traffic.

I’m in a service business with a super high niche (insurance claim disputes). Article marketing has been the number one marketing tactic to increase the interest in my service to visitors as well as the increase in clients hiring me for the insurance problems.
Kent F (4 comments.)
9th June, 2010 at 12:44 pm

Of the few folks I trust in this business (and you’re one of them Josh), many are presently suceeding with the method of spinning a good, original article, and using services to submit and backlink the heck out of those articles through a variety of services.

Possibly good, unique content is taking a temporary backseat to volume – the ebb and flow.
Mark Mason (78 comments.)
9th June, 2010 at 12:44 pm

Yep — I agree with you exactly now. Glad you clarified that for people. You are right that it is important people understand how much direct traffic you can get (it can be a lot). But the backlinks are great too — especially with a program like AAS in your toolbox.

Thanks for the clarification boss.
Rika Susan's Juicing For Weight Loss (28 comments.)
9th June, 2010 at 12:46 pm

I try to target a good longtail keyword in the title and body of the article, but make sure that I also use a variety of other related terms. I still get traffic from articles I submitted years ago.
Susan Greene (5 comments.)
9th June, 2010 at 1:37 pm

One of the benefits of article marketing I’ve realized is getting multiple page 1 search ranking results.

For example, one of my sites promotes condo hotels. For my main keywords, I take the #1 and #2 spot on page 1 of Google. Articles I’ve posted on article directories take up 2 other lower spots on page 1. Therefore, I have 4 opportunities in total to get the searcher’s attention. Best of all, I’ve knocked 4 of my competitors off page 1.
Maggie (1 comments.)
9th June, 2010 at 1:57 pm

Hi Josh

I’ve been on your mailing list for more than a year. First of all I like the clean look of your blog – you really brand yourself well and the graphics are always eyecatching.

Thx for not bombarding me with offers day in and day out. I’m also an article fanatic and 2 of my articles ended up in the most-viewed section (EZA) by sure luck – is there anything I should do to boost them or should I just leave them alone?

Regards
Maggie
Eric Manila Blog (5 comments.)
9th June, 2010 at 2:16 pm

I got curious with your post because I always believe that article marketing is 99% for link building only, same with link directory.
Barbara Bruce
9th June, 2010 at 2:17 pm

I’m new to article marketing, but I love your articles about it! You encourage me to try, and you give me insight as to how to do it. Thanks!!!
Brian
9th June, 2010 at 2:35 pm

I have actually tested this in one of my niches. I have different review sites in the same niche. I had one site get ranked up there with no article marketing and another site get ranked with article marketing. The site that got ranked with article marketing led to a lot more sales than the site without. So even though I manage to get about the same rank with and without article marketing, I made more money with article marketing. Proving the point that article marketing is not just about backlinks, but bringing quality (buying) visitors to your site from your articles. Yeah, it takes more time, but which would you rather have? You decide.
mark
9th June, 2010 at 3:09 pm

Thank you for the clarification on the value of link building vs. traffic on the niche sites. This seems very clear now that you’ve explained it. I have just recently ramped up my article writing. Appreciate the info.
Ceecee
9th June, 2010 at 3:26 pm

Thanks for the info, Josh. I’ve written some articles and only a few ranked well in the search engines, and did bring a lot of traffic. The others I was hoping were just bringing in the backlinks to help increase the strength of my sites.
Jeff
9th June, 2010 at 3:44 pm

Great stuff Josh! Also thanks to everyone who has commented.
I am also still on the new side of using article marketing, I find all this (comments included) to be insightful and helpful to know. I mostly just want to say THANK YOU to all of you. It’s obvious that Josh is a good guy and attracts like minded peeps.

To EVERYONE’S success and good fortune!
Paul W. (2 comments.)
9th June, 2010 at 4:14 pm

It’s interesting to read this post considering I’ve followed all your other articles about this subject and even wrote a rebuttal to one of them. I completely agree with your updated stance. With article marketing backlinks it is all about the longtail keywords.
Sara
9th June, 2010 at 4:35 pm

The backlinks from article directories are actually very strong.

I’m not suggesting that anyone do this or not, but I have written articles that are not even related to the topic with anchor text link to a site.

I do have sites with 100% of backlinks from article directories alone that are ranking in the top 5 for the terms I picked.

These backlinks really work well. Since I enjoy writing, this is one of my primary methods for building links.
Sean Breslin
9th June, 2010 at 5:18 pm

Josh, I agree with what you’ve said… But isn’t that the whole point? Two way benefits with long and short term gains!
Kamran Chowdhury (2 comments.)
9th June, 2010 at 5:41 pm

Josh, are you using Milan’s automatic submitter for article submissions? If yes, are you using the spinning feature? From my own experiments, I haven’t found any noticeable difference (in the amount of backlinks or traffic) between spinning and not spinning, but I would love to hear you thoughts and results on this.
Jason Clegg
9th June, 2010 at 5:42 pm

“The primary benefit to Article Marketing is the direct traffic you get as a result of your articles ranking in the SE’s for the keywords they target. NOT the backlinks your sites get as a result of the articles being published in article directories.”

Josh — I do agree with this statement somewhat but I do think it’s important to point out the long-term power of those backlinks, especially if you can create and submit content compelling enough to be picked up and re-published by syndicated blogs and websites.
Krsnendu Knight (1 comments.)
9th June, 2010 at 5:51 pm

Thanks for this post. I am about to start my first article marketing campaign and your points are very helpful.
Linda (20 comments.)
9th June, 2010 at 9:05 pm

I couldn’t agree with you more Josh. I have found the backlinks I get from submitting articles to quailty directories is an important aspect to my backlinking campaign – esp for my niche sites
Mike @ Legitimate Home Business (1 comments.)
9th June, 2010 at 9:28 pm

Josh,

Thanks for clarifying. I’ve been following and using your products. Have been successful getting page one rankings on articles.

Thanks for all your advise and tips.
Anthony Wakefield
9th June, 2010 at 11:24 pm

Hey Josh,

What is your take on article spinning and mass submitting to hundreds of directories?

Its been promoted like crazy, personally I’m happy just to ezine one original article and be done with it…

Love to know your thoughts,

Anthony.
Bonnie Jo Davis
10th June, 2010 at 12:08 am

The benefits of article marketing and submission are varied but the bottom line for me is that all my current virtual assistant clients found me through my articles!
David Martin (7 comments.)
10th June, 2010 at 7:30 am

Hey Josh

Regarding my experience of article marketing it is certainly the direct traffic from high ranking longtails rather than results from backlinks. It seems to me that a lot of backlinks are required to convince Google, and most article respositories dont hand over too much authority because they are literally packed with thousands of links to almost everywhere. The longtail site I am ranking for in Google through articles (an addiction site) gets regular visitors every day directly through a few Ezine submissions.
Quincy (6 comments.)
10th June, 2010 at 2:52 pm

@Anthony – Unless he’s updated his stance on that, Josh lays out what he does – regarding spinning and mass article submitting – in his $5 formula guide, found here: http://www.5dollarformula.com <—– it's free!

Spinning has its place, but it can take a bunch of extra time (even with tools), IMO.
Tim Gorman
13th June, 2010 at 6:11 pm

When conducting your article marketing campaigns there are many tangible benefits besides the backlinking that can be gained.

They include the following:

1 – The ability to drive targeted traffic and pre-sold traffic to your website.

2 – The ability to brand yourself on the Internet, which can be used for both online and profiting purposes.

3 – Anchor text manipulation so you can tell the search engines what a specific page on your website is about.

4 – The viral effect created by your articles should they become extremely popular and syndicated all over the Internet.

5 – The cost benefit associated with an article once it has been created and published decrease on a daily basis as it continues to drive traffic to your site day in and day out.

6 – Infinite site exposure for your website as your articles stay online indefinitely sending traffic for years to come.

7 – Increased site value for your website based on the amount of articles you have leading back to it should you decide to sell your website.

There are at least 3 ways to conduct a backlinking strategy with your article marketing but only one of the methods truly provides a bonafide ROI for your article marketing campaigns. The other two methods are for backlinking purposes only.

Respectfully,
Tim
Welly Mulia (10 comments.)
14th June, 2010 at 1:42 pm

Hey Josh,

Thanks for sharing this. I’m not a niche marketer, and I’m only involved in 1 niche, which is the IM niche.

This is why I don’t have a lot of sites to maintain (I only have 3 authoritative sites). But in my niche, I go deep.

I don’t submit articles to article directories nowadays. I’d rather submit articles to my own domain because of a higher CTR than article directories. Sure the article directories may have authority in Google’s eyes, but on a number of occasion I have even outperformed Ezine Articles in Google’s rankings.

Anyway nice post!
Welly Mulia
Tim Gorman
14th June, 2010 at 5:40 pm

Welly,
You might consider writing some original articles for other bloggers or webmasters within your niche so that you could offer them an original article to be used on theri website in exchange for a link back to a page on yoru site.

Unlike the blog spam that takes place and offers little value in order to obtain a link (that may or may not stay online) this technique is more valid.

It assures your link is available for anyone wanting to use it based on the exposure your article receives on the other webmasters site along with the quality backlink you receive just for writing the article.

Respectfully,
Tim
Rieke
15th June, 2010 at 6:19 am

Hi Josh,

thanks again for you great info. As I’m still exploring Article Marketing I’m wondering myself how does it come, that for a week my article appeared on page 1 of Google (place 3 to 5) and then disappeared…

Ok, after a week an article isn’t ‘fresh’ any longer speaking in Google-Terms but on the other hand there are still articles on page 1, dated from 2008 or even older.

Here I have to learn and understand s.th. May be it depends on the theme? My niche is in the ‘health nutrition’ section.

Of course, I can edit my article. May be I should think about changing the headline and adjust the first paragraph to it?

A wonderful day to you and the readers of your Blog her.

Rieke
Ric (5 comments.)
15th June, 2010 at 1:36 pm

Josh, would you link the web directory to the articles of your site? or do you have another method for backlinking to your backlinks?
John Burnside (4 comments.)
28th June, 2010 at 12:41 pm

I have always used article marketing for both backlinks and the targeted traffic and articles have helped me with both but Unless you use the automatic article submitter then it can be hard to get enough articles out there to make a difference.
Steve
7th July, 2010 at 11:12 pm

hi Josh,
I agree with you. While I think one should pursue multiple forms of link building, I think article marketing is one of the best. It is a way to get relevant links, which seem to have more value these days. It also has the realistic potential to bring in human traffic. The key is to write quality, useful articles though… something I don’t always see.
Steve
PS. This post has several very good comments!