What is article marketing ? How a great article quality will improve your business visibility on the web ?

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing, “ said Benjamin Franklin.
This inspiring quote applies to your personal life as much as it applies to your business. Including articles and blogs in your marketing strategy can help your website traffic, boost sales, and simply raise brand awareness.
Using writing as a tool to reach your target customers will make your company easy to search online. You can reach your ideal market if you just do article marketing right.

Article marketing explained

It might be self-explanatory, but this digital strategy includes two formats:

• Articles
• Blogs

They are often used interchangeably, depending on which directories have been chosen. However, these two formats aren’t the same. Still, they are both included in the article marketing umbrella. Articles and blogs are the products that you submit to your site, to advertise your product and service. The criteria for the best outcome are: word count, tone, and structure.

Articles

Word count: these are usually longer formats, at least 1000 words and above.
Tone: articles are more formal, and they often include sources, two or more of them. Sources include both interviews with professionals and outside articles, used as reference.
Structure: in this case, the structure is more fixed. There is an introduction of the topic, an explanation, and an ending to wrap it all up.

Blogs

• Word count: up to 1000 words, the ideal length is between 300 and 500.
• Tone: more colloquial, almost like a conversation. You can include memes to spice your content (you can do some for free easily with a meme creator online). A blog doesn’t need any sources, but for SEO purposes internal and external links are a plus.
• Structure: blogs are freer. The only sure point is the introduction.

Both formats are useful to your business’ marketing. You don’t even have to choose one. You can mix them to your needs and liking. Articles are ideal to explain topics in-depth, while blogs are smaller snippets, perfect to attract the reader’s attention.

The creative side of article marketing

Your business goals are clear: drive traffic to your website, boost sales, and raise brand awareness. While this digital strategy will help you reach your audience, it doesn’t have to be 100 percent promotional.
Your blog or magazine section might be on your website, but article marketing gives you freedom. Your company is free to choose topics, formats, and style. It’s time to be creative.

The style

You can decide to have a fixed structure for your articles, but you don’t have to. The only rule is to make sure that the content is relevant to your market and business.

The tone

In this case, your tone needs to be consistent. Your writing can be conversational, sarcastic, or serious. Once you have picked your voice, stick with it.

Categories and directories

It’s important that the blog section of your website is divided into organized categories. You want to include every relevant topic in your article marketing. Anything that links to your business is fair game. Still, the more topics you include, the more your readers might be confused. Make sure to include categories and tags so your audience can find it easily.

Add relevant visuals

You can add a creative feature image, a graph, or a video. The visuals that you feature in your articles attract the audience’s attention and spark interest.

The SEO side of article marketing

You can be as creative as you like. The tone and writing of your business will help you retain readers and gain a space in the market. But SEO optimization is just as important. This is how you reach new readers and customers, people who might have never heard of your business.
Here’s how you can implement SEO into your site and work.

• Choose a focus keyphrase. This is the word that needs to appear in your title, at least 3 times in your article, and in the meta description. If your article is about “black dogs,” that’s your focus keyphrase.
• The SEO title. This is the title that appears on Google search. It tells the audience what your article is about, in just a few, specific words. It’s a small recap that can often include your website’s title.
• Add a meta description. This is the short paragraph (usually up to two sentences) that appears on Google search. When people find your article, the meta description appears as a small snippet that explains what your article is about.
• Add internal links. These are links that take readers to more articles from your business’ website. You select a relevant word and link it back to your chosen content. You should add at least one link to your online work.
• Add external links. These are the sources that you used for your article marketing. When you quote other content or a specific research, you should include the link to improve your SEO score.
• Use relevant tags. This strategy will help your readers, more than your business. If you own a pet store, your tags can include food, training tips, and toys. Anything that is part of your business can be a tag.
• Customize for mobile. Make sure that your articles look good on smartphones. Most of your readers will come from mobiles, so your website should look good for them. People access content via their phone, so make sure that your work is accessible.

Having a clear and effective SEO strategy for your article marketing is key to ensure that readers can search and find your business.

How can you be successful in your SEO article marketing strategy?

Add an SEO plugin to your website’s platforms. Every program, from WordPress to Squarespace or Blogger, has this option. This plugin analyzes the SEO score of your articles in real time. Among many criteria, it analyzes your keyphrase density, the effectiveness of your meta description, and title.

These are the most popular and best plugins to generate traffic to your business’ website.

• Yoast. This is especially useful if your blog is on WordPress. It also helps you with reader engagement and boosting traffic from your social media networks.
• The SEO Framework. This plugin has a security track-record, perfect to protect your company’s data. It ensures your website is protected against any digital attacks.
• SEOPress. This marketing plugin includes a free version to allow you to experiment. If this is the right fit, you can upgrade to the Pro version, which features unlimited sites.

Depending on what blogging platform you use, you have different SEO plugins options. Experiment as much as possible, until you find the right one for your business.

Article marketing tips

To make sure that your strategy is successful, there are a few steps to take. And they are mostly free. Thanks to these tips, you can do your work as productively as possible.
Implement that SEO plan. Use all the tips and programs that you can. This is how you end up in Internet searches, boost traffic, and gain new customers.
Be creative. Make your website fun and add interesting content. You shouldn’t consider it only as a promotional tool. Sure, it’s an effective advertising strategy. It’s more than that. It’s a chance to show your market a different side of your business.

• Be consistent. Set on a schedule and on an editorial calendar. Decide how many times you want to publish on your website and keep the posting up the posting. Make it an appointment for your readers.
• Share your content. It’s not enough to publish articles on your site. To boost traffic to your business, you have to share the link. Add them to your social media and to your newsletter to make sure your audience can find your blog. Link your articles to your site and to your product.
• Focus on your analytics. Make sure you keep up with this important data. The analytics of your website will tell you what articles your audience prefers and what content they prefer to read.
• Add visuals. Focusing on your content is key, but adding the right images is just as important. Add a clear and relevant thumbnail. You can also add graphs, memes, or videos. There are free apps like Canva that can help you submit and create the best product out there.
• Hire a professional. You might be tempted to write your business’ articles. Well, don’t. Someone trained in writing will help you. Give them guidelines but also freedom. A professional who focuses on this type of marketing can help you reach your goal.

The benefits of article marketing

Why should you add a blog or magazine section to your website? Here are a few statistics from the industry to convince you.

• In 2018, the blog section of the Huffington Post earned $14 million monthly.
• 80 percent of Internet audiences interact with both blogs and social media networks.
• Businesses that have a blog section produce 67 percent more leads.
• Blogging is the third most common marketing strategy. Above it, only stand videos and eBooks.
• Companies with a blog section generate 55 percent more website visitors, aka more traffic.
• In 2019, marketers focused on written content, 77 percent of them.
• What do these statistics tell your business? They tell you the benefits of article marketing.
• They boost traffic to your website. Hence, your target audience can visit all your online pages.
• It can help you generate revenue. Readers visit your articles and they become curious. They find your products and services, often buying.
• It raises brand awareness. People who find your articles, then find (and follow) your social media accounts.
• Written content is popular with the market. People love reading almost as much as watching videos.

Every number confirms it: article marketing is a successful strategy.

What are you waiting for? It’s time to open a blog section on your website or to refresh and update the one you already have. Your business only stands to benefit from writing. As long as you keep it consistent and efficient, you won’t lose a customer. You will earn many.