Article Marketing And Targeted Traffic

Article marketing seems like such a straight forward proposition, yet a lot of people who try it seem to be a little fuzzy about what they are trying to accomplish through this awesome marketing technique.

Whenever you hear the subject come up, people talk about selling more, building rapport, adding credibility, etc. but most article writers fail to realize that all those things are simply part of the bonus plan... they're not the real goal of article marketing.

Don't get me wrong, increasing your sales, building rapport with potential customers, and improving your credibility are really terrific article marketing benefits. But those aren't the real reason to begin writing articles.

The goal of article marketing is to generate traffic!

Article marketing is simply a free marketing strategy intended to attract targeted visitors to your website, newsletter, or product. That's all - everything else is a bonus!

Article Marketing = Traffic Generation

So if the goal of article marketing is to generate targeted traffic, how does that change the way you go about writing and distributing articles?

1. Know who your target traffic is and write specifically for them. Obviously it makes sense to write articles that will appeal to the people that you're trying to attract to your website.

For example, if you sell rabbit hutches you'd want to write articles that speak to people who own or want to own rabbits. Cat care articles probably wouldn't really appeal to your target audience.

2. Don't forget to use keywords. It's no secret how search engines work and how important it is to use keywords in your website content. It's just as important to use keywords in your article marketing. How do you expect targeted traffic to find your articles if you don't use keywords?

It's like going fishing without the bait!

3. Give targeted traffic a reason to click through to your website. Even if you've written a really great article that's loaded with keywords and appeals directly to your target audience, they won't click through to your website if you don't give them a good reason!

Create a really great resource box for your article and make sure it includes an incentive and a call to action. Give that targeted traffic a compelling reason to click through!

Article marketing is a really great way to generate targeted traffic to your website, if you keep your eyes on the prize!