Writing Articles And Submiting Them To Directories

By Author: Diego Ponce de Leon
Total Articles: 5
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Writing articles is probably one of the most important SEO techniques, considered highly valuable by most people in the area. Some would even say that this is all you need in order to get good ranking in the search engine results. However you take it, is a very important step in the success of your website.

When you write an article, you're able to have it submitted to hundreds of Article directories, most of which will allow you to set a link at the end of it (or in some cases, in the middle of its content).

Why do I get a link?

Article directories are just that: a set of articles submitted by the contributors. So in this type of website, the main content is entirely composed by the articles poeple like you submit. That's why they allow you to have a link at the end; you're providing them with content and you get a link to your website in return.

Why is this link more valuable?

As you're the one writing the content for the whole page your article will be displayed at, you're the one who can control the keyword density of the page and, therefore, the relevancy between the two pages. The other ...
... aspect that increases the link value is that the only outgoing links in the article's page will be those you set up and those the article directory has as layout links (there won't be a list of 25-50 links per page, as in regular directories).

In some article directories the link can be placed inside the article's content, giving you the chance of surrounding your link with relevant keywords, and thus increase the link quality.

How do I write an article?

If you're writing an article to promote a website, you must first know what you're writing about. If it's your website you're promoting, then you won't have much trouble finding a topic you're comfortable with and that you have expertise in. If not, you can surely find an expert in the area that will do it for some money, but never try to write about something you don't know. People may note it and if not, they may ask themselves about the author and his expertise in the subject.

When writing consider some of these basic guidelines:
- If you're not good at writing, research. Read other articles to get ideas of the vocabulary used, the distribution and organization.
- If the subject or the target public allows it, try relaxing and writing with a friendly vocabulary; most times this will make the reader feel more comfortable and will increase his trust in you.
- Proofread your article until you're completely sure it is well written. People can be very critical.
- Check your document for spelling/typing errors (with programs and/or by reading it).

How do I submit it to the directories?

The submitting process can be easier if you consider a few hints before starting.

Preparing the article

The first step in the submission process is to prepare the content of the article to be submitted to directories with different rules. Some of them, for example, won't allow any HTML tag in the content of the article, while others will only allow some of the tags. To deal with it, you should have two or more copies of your article ready (in case you want to use tags like headings, emphasis and so), one without any tags and the others with some of them.

Some other stuff you need to get ready are the texts (with your link) to fill other requested fields in the submitting form. Depending on the directory they will be:
- The biography box: You'll need two copies of your biography (or the author's biography), one short and the other longer. This will help it fit the specific requirements of each directory.
- The resource box: Prepare two copies of the content for the resource box. This can also be the biography itself, but sometimes the length limit will be so short that no biography will fit there. A good phrase for this spot could be "Diego Ponce de León writing for WWDirectories.net, the leading directories network on the Internet", where WWDirectories.net will be the anchor of the link. The second phrase should contain, instead of a link, a simple URL of the website (that will become a link after submission), as some directories won't allow tags even here.

As a last request write two introductions, one less that 150 characters long, and the other less than 300. Remember that these introductions must describe the content of the article very accurately and briefly.

Making a list of directories

As for regular directories, one good start is to make a list of article directories to automate the process. A good and easy way to do it is to find a regular directory (by, for example, searching for "directory" in the search engine) and go to its category "Article directories" (usually found at "Computers & Internet / Web directories / Article directories" or similar). There your should get a nice list of article directories to begin with.
The more directories you crawl, the bigger your list will be.

Submitting

Now you're ready to actually submit you article. The process here is easy and repetitive: Enter the directory, find the appropriate category for your article and hit the "submit" link. Once you're in the submit form, fill all the fields with the data you already prepared and submit it. To be sure that the content will be displayed as you require, try to make a preview first (whenever the preview button is available).

This could be a hard process, but in the end the benefit is rewarding. Write carefully even when searching for links, and never forget it's the readers you're writing for. In the end, they will be the ones who judge your knowledge of the subject.

Diego Ponce de Leon writing for the http://wwchannel.com web directory