Articles have been used for marketing for years before the Internet was even born. Companies would hire a publicity director to work with hard copy publications in placing press releases in those publications. The press releases would contain information about new products, changes in management, awards or any other newsworthy company event. It's a win-win situation. The company gets increased exposure to potential customers through the readers of the publication and the publication gets good content. The Internet has taken article marketing one step further and leveled the playing field.

Article marketing is simply writing short, 350 to 700 word, essays and placing them in online article directories. The essay ends with an author resource box which includes a live link or two to the author's website or blog.

The author receives free exposure and a link back to their site and the directory gets good content. Often times other sites, blogs, and ezines will pick up the article and use it on their site. Since the author resource box has to be included it's a win-win situation.

The biggest mistake people make when using articles to market their website is not using relevant keywords in the title of the article and in the body. For example "Blast the Fat Off" is a great title for a weight loss article but nobody, well almost nobody, uses that phrase "blast the fat off" when searching for weight loss and that's how most articles are found. If no one finds your article, no one will read it, and no one will click on your link. A better title would be "Tips to Lose Weight Fast and Blast the Fat Off." People do use "lose weight fast' or "tips to lose weight fast" when they search.

The point of using articles is to get a high ranking in the search engines for the article based on the keywords being searched. People click on the article, read it, and then click on the website in the author resource box to find out more.

The second biggest mistake made when using articles for marketing is a boring author resource box. Every article directory allows a short bio, credit box, or author resource box. Don't put Jane Doe is the author of "Making Money Online" Her website is http://www.JaneDoeMakesMoneyOnline.com Use something like "If you'd like more tips on how you can earn money online visit Jane Doe at http://www. JaneDoeMakesMoneyOnline.com

The third mistake is boring articles. You have about seven seconds to snag a reader's attention. That's about how long it takes to read the title of the article and the first few sentences. Use that time wisely.

Articles can be a powerful weapon in your Internet marketing business. Click here to look sumber articles