Blog and Article Directory Marketing – Website traffic generation part3

blog and article directory marketing press release wikiagain.com

Welcome to the Blog and Article Directory Marketing part 3 of traffic generation.

If you do not read the old post, then read now. All part link of this post:

1. Successful Traffic Generation Plan – website traffic generation part 1

2. Seo Keyword and content optimization – website traffic generation part 2

3. Blog and Article Directory Marketing – website traffic generation part 3

4. Social Networking – website traffic generation part 4

5. Social media marketing – website traffic generation part 5

6. Email marketing – website traffic generation part 6

7. Creating Newsletters – website traffic generation part 7

8. video and audio content – website traffic generation part 8

9. Social Bookmarking – website traffic generation part 9

10. PPC Advertising – website traffic generation part 10

Creating a Blog(s)

That brings us to the next question. Should you start a blog or should you be content to
create multiple posts on your website? So Blog posts, in general, are company sponsored
articles that are often (A) conversational, (B) highly focused, and (C) of higher quality,
representing the company’s expert opinion. There is almost no real philosophical difference
between a blog or a web article (or a directory article for that matter). It’s simply seems like that some users hold their almost in-depth posts for blogs, as blogs have a certainly prestige to them when it comes to search engine friendliness. (According to many in the SEO industry, blogs are actually considered even more reliable source of information than article directories, as they have more quality control)

Almost Some websites will differentiate their blog from their website posts by either creating a subdomain within the same site, or by starting a blog at a free site seems like Blogger.com. True, creating an external blog site maybe help you create more quality links, but creating a blog domain within your own website will help you with domain leverage, very important in matching keyword requests.

When writing a blog, and with a specific eye towards traffic building, first of all be sure to tag your blogs, not only going after mainstream traffic but also targeted traffic, as if qualifying the readers who are going to eventually find your blog. They maybe stumble upon your site and then bookmark it, visiting it to see whenever you publish new content. They can even more configure their computer of choice to receive automatic updates as soon as you publish new content via an RSS feed.

rss feed wikiagain.com

Of course, this is also dependent on playing it smart and focusing your attention on your
blog. If your blog about random things, without any sense of structure, you will never
build a large audience base. By focusing your theme, and discussing one industry or
one avenue of your industry (even better), you can also build niche traffic and eventually
start a relationship with your readers, who will soon take your blog as a legitimate
source for new information.

Blog Commenting, Blog Hopping and Blog Guest Hosting

Starting a collective of ‘fans’ is what is meant by the term blog hopping. Seems like any niche market, you maybe find that the people who do discover you will remain loyal, and
perhaps even more befriend one another, as bonds form easily when there is a common
thread. Take full advantage of this and make every attempt to be accommodating.

We are going to consider social media marketing in the next chapter, and this is also where
we will really discuss being very outgoing. That said, even in the context of a blog,
where your main concern is also creating valuable content, do everything you can to
encourage the creation of a community.

Always create posts that ask questions of the audience and encourage interaction.
When someone replies to the post, make an attempt to follow up on that person’s
thoughts. Always remain respectful of others, even if you plan to use controversy and
disagreement to your advantage. People actually love to argue, they want to feel as if
they have a voice in this public forum. They can earn publicity through your blog while
also showcasing their own abilities. (The only exception, don’t be so generous with
spammers. Spammers leave nonsensical comments in the hopes of establishing cheap
links, they do no one any good and may actually chase away your real readers).

Not only should you try to follow up on comments, but you should also try to reach out
to the blogging community and comment on your visitors’ own blogs. If you use a
system like Blogger, or even WordPress, you can easily link your site to the other
bloggers’ sites, and everyone can benefit from the mutual exchange. Before you know
it, friends of friends bookmark your blog (or simply click their way to it through mutual
friends) and you have a big party line.

 

Make no mistake; this is the secret to blog traffic, not simply writing great content. Do
you ever notice how all the top blogs on the Internet (that is, quality writing blogs, not
celebrity blogs!) are filled with comments? They are on top because they stimulate
conversation among a devoted audience.

Article Directory Marketing

Article directory marketing refers to the process of writing articles for top ranked
directory sites. These directories don’t really have a theme, they are a virtual
playground of knowledge where practically anyone can write on a topic and receive
expert accreditation.

In a way, they are no different from blogs (at least when it comes to writing technique)
besides the fact that they are located on a neutral site and thus cannot blatantly
advertise the user’s company. (Instead, writers/site owners receive one or two links in
exchange for an article). Within a matter of months, a site could create hundreds of
backlinks, and thus earn the attention of Google. (Oh yes, you will get their attention…
but…)

Just a few years ago, article marketing was the all the rage. Linkbuilding (which is
basically the process of building links across the Internet that lead back to your site)
was of vital importance, and while links do matter, recent algorithm updates have
changed the way links are counted, particularly ‘low quality links’.

One of the easiest ways to identify low quality links, or so thought Google in May 2012,
was to discriminate against the article directory website. It’s easy to see why Google
made that assumption, even though it might not be entirely fair. While there are some
quality features on article directory sites, many other low quality pages can pollute the
site and bring the search rankings down.

Article directories claim to have an editorial process, and truth be told, you can still find
some top rated SERPs from article directory pages. However, experts within SEO have
noticed a trend of article directory penalization. So, the safest thing to do is to diversify
your linking strategy, perhaps investing a little bit in article directory marketing, as well
as blogs, guest blogs, and press releases.

Press Releases

Press releases are articles that are written solely for news purposes, and are intended
to get attention from editors, website owners, agents, and all sorts of other news
sources. Whereas writing a press release that gets picked up by a national magazine is
somewhat difficult, writing a press release that passes online syndication’s standards is
fairly easy.

 

Press releases have to be:

· In professional article format, not conversational text or sales copy;
· Newsworthy, as in a mainstream news story; and
· State an item and then provide increasing detail with a link and contact
information.

Press release distributors will not pick up poorly written press releases, and this is an
especially rotten feeling to experience, especially if you’ve spent big money on press
release distribution. (Some sources like PRWeb charge upwards $200 for each
submission). The good news is that a press release can easily make the ‘news’ tab and
receive maximum exposure in a small period of time, if it is deemed truly newsworthy.

Topics for news angles could include subjects like inventive new products, customer
incentives, celebrity endorsements, big name client signings, news trends, charity
partnerships, and the like. Stuff that would actually make the news and not just a
conversation between search bot and WordPress!

In fact, sources like Yahoo and Google only pick up popular stories that are published
and syndicated. Most of the top press release distribution sites don’t archive old press
releases, and so are limited to 30 days of maximum exposure. Some press release
sites do archive old stories permanently and these are usually free sites, not major
publicity companies. Still, free press release submission can certainly help you build
quality links, and certainly cannot hurt your standing as long as you keep the content
high caliber.

Choosing Your Links Wisely

Last but not least, let’s share an important lesson about linkbuilding before you start
spreading links everywhere you go. It’s not the quantity of links that matter but the
quality. This means not only paying close attention to the article writing itself, but also to
the anchor text (as in keyword placement and not just “click here to learn more!”) and to
the site you are linking to.

The search engines are looking for quality links all around so you do have to protect
your reputation. Search engines can also actually penalize you for hanging out with the
‘wrong crowd’, and that could include anything from poorly ranked article directories to
spam sites or content mills, backdoor sites, plagiarists (or ‘scrapers’) and even web
hosting companies that support such unethical sites.

So, think twice before you so generously accept a random person’s request to
exchange links. Your own reputation is on the line. Sometimes a new company site can
have more leverage than a site that has suffered massive search engine penalties. In
the next chapter, we’re going take SEO into the new age…the age of fast, accessible
and fun social networking.