Important Facts about Article Directory Websites

For those who are just starting their online businesses, finding ways to reach your customers means using many different methods that include search engine optimization (SEO) is vital to your success. While posting content on your website is the primary means of drawing in new web traffic through search engines, you can also expand your reach by posting articles on established article directory websites.

What are Article Directory Websites

Also known as content farms, an article directory is a site that offers articles on many different subjects. Generally speaking, article directories may accept articles from any source. However, the article must be original, unique and not be published anywhere else.

Most articles are roughly 450 words give or take 50 words and there are usually guidelines in terms of using proper grammar, spelling and structure that must be abided before the article can be submitted. In addition, an article submission usually includes the name of the author and a link to their website as well.

Sometimes there is a waiting period for submissions that may be as long as several days before the article will appear. The purpose of the waiting period is to eliminate duplicate, spam, spun or poorly written articles for quality purposes. Once approved, the article will be placed in a particular category so that readers can find it quickly.

The Advantages of Using Article Directories
There are several advantages to using an article directory for those who want to expand their reach to find new web traffic.

Established Source: Article directory websites represent a well established site that has standards which means that your article will garner additional respect that would not be possible if you just posted on your website or blog.

New Readers: Although most people will find your article through search engines, there will be some who come across your article on their own. Article directories do have many readers who will look for new information about categories that are of interest to them.

However, it must be noted that establishing links to article directories is actually not good for your SEO. The Google Penguin release in 2012 basically punished sites that used article directories as backlinks, so do not use them for link building purposes.

Building SEO Credibility

In order to maximize the SEO potential of the article, you will need to create a good, solid, well written article that features at least 500 words with a keyword density of around 1% to 2%, but be careful of keyword stuffing. You usually can use links to your articles, but be careful as many article directories do have limits. Multiple anchor texts are encouraged as well, so include them as needed.

However, the most important part is to provide interesting information about a particular subject that is written in a solid, to-the-point manner. You don’t want to waste words or add unnecessary bloat to the article when simply getting to the point works the best.

Smart use of article directory websites can really help establish your efforts to build interest and web traffic back to your website.