From time to time I’d  expand on a blog entry and post it as an article to article directories.

Article marketing is still an effective way to build links and generate traffic to your blog or website. 

To be sure, the quality of articles has declined over the years as the article directories have been exploited for SEO purposes.  As a reader I often have to skim through several junk articles to find one worthy of reading.

I submit articles to 10 or 15 popular directories like EzineArticles, Article Factory, and Go Articles.

Don’t waste your time submitting to hundreds of directories that don’t even bother to review submissions.

Here are the steps I suggest:

1. Write your article.  Be sure to include your keywords in the text. Write for people, not search engines.  If you sound like you know what you’re talking about, readers are more likely to trust you and  follow the link to your site.

2. Google for popular directories on the web.  Pick 10 or 15 good ones.

3. Most article directories require registration. Don’t forget to upload your photo when requested.

4. Submit your article, taking care to follow all guidelines.  Be sure to include a “resource box” linking back to your site. You can use a semi-automated article submission software to hasten submission, but this is not really necessary.

5. Wait a week or two and then search for a string of text from your article to see which sites have published your article.

6. Keep note of directories that review and publish your article within a reasonable time frame.  Don’t waste your time submitting to directories that never review your article.

7. Rinse and repeat.

Popularity: 4% [?]

I’ve installed a “dofollow” plugin to promote more comments.  As you know WordPress adds “no follow” to all comment links by default to discourage spam. But I think it’s only fair to reward readers who take the time to write comments on my blog.  With the dofollow plugin installed, all comment links will provide the “link juice” to outgoing links to help them rank higher.

I must mention, however, that all comments must be approved before they are published.  I will not approve spam and “Great post, I agree” types of comments.

Popularity: 2% [?]