Article marketing is a great way to generate traffic to your website.
It’s a simple method that anyone can do easily.
Plus article marketing has a few other advantages, yet there are some objections too.
Deborah Dera, a professional freelance writer, has summed them up in a guest post that you’ll find below.
I’ll let her do the talking.
Enjoy!
Article marketing to drive traffic to your website
Driving traffic to your website is crucial to every online marketing strategy. One of the best ways to generate web traffic is by creating numerous links back to your website. Article marketing is a popular method of bringing in new site visitors, but it has its own benefits and drawbacks.
Article Marketing Pros
Almost all websites that publish articles will allow you to place a direct link back to your website either in the body copy or a separate author’s bio section.
Every link you build helps boost your website’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and increases your position on Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs).
Links on large article directories are usually online for a long time and provide a continual source of traffic to your website.
Writing articles establishes your credibility as an expert. People who enjoy your articles are likely to remember you when they are looking for a service provider in your field.
Articles with your byline help boost your name recognition as well as spread general awareness of your talents and expertise.
Article Marketing Cons
Time spent writing articles takes away from time that you could spend creating content for your website or working on other parts of your marketing strategy.
Writing articles can be intimidating if you do not have a lot of writing experience and although many article directories have a less rigid editorial system than other user-contributed writing sites, many are adopting stricter quality guidelines.
If you don’t write your own articles, hiring ghostwriters can be very costly. You will have to evaluate whether or not the money you are spending on ghostwriters is showing an adequate Return on Invest (ROI).
Article promotion is an entirely different skill set you will have to learn and it is just as time consuming – if not more – than writing articles.
Finding ideas for articles can be difficult and frustrating, especially after you have already written dozens of articles.
Articles on directory sites often generate comments from users. If your article is not well researched or you don’t explain your point well, you can actually harm your professional reputation more than help it.
For most people the pros outweigh the cons, but everyone’s situation is unique.
You have to consider your own strength and weaknesses before you decide if article writing is a good marketing strategy for you.
If you are not comfortable expressing yourself in writing, or have poor grammar, there are better ways to build links and market your business online than article writing.
It is also important to realize that article writing is just as time consuming as creating content for your website. Good time management is essential. If you spend so much time writing articles that you are not creating quality content for your website, your marketing efforts will be in vain.
Deborah Dera is a professional freelance writer specializing in personal finance, bankruptcy, car insurance, blogging, writing, search engine optimization, and much more. She is the founder of Write on the Edge and offers unique content creation solutions to businesses looking to enhance their online brands.