Article marketing has gained a great deal momentum over the last two years. This is due to the fact that many websites, not to mention website rankings, are driven by quality content. As web site owners have learned more about search engine optimization and the value of quality content, they have gravitated towards article marketing.

Even if you are late to the game, article marketing can work for you. For those who haven’t started, I suggest you jump in. Article marketing is still one of the best ways to promote your website. No one needs to be concerned that many are using article marketing as a way to promote their website or blog. In fact, article marketing works regardless of who uses it or how many people author new content.

The reason why article marketing is so effective is because you are doing two things that create value for your site and search engines. The first is that you are producing keyword focused content that can drive interest to your website, products, and services. Additionally, you include links back to your website. These in bound links are powerful tools for search engine dominance.

When you post your article on article directory websites, your content receives additional exposure and is added to related content. As your article ages you benefit from the Google page rank assigned to your article. If you included article back to your website, the value is passed back to your website.

One error I see made all too often is when individuals, new to article marketing, is that they forget to include a link back to their website or simply link in the wrong way. The proper way to develop in bound links is with keyword rich link text. What this means is that your link is displayed with your keyword not the traditional http.

For those who are not sure of how to produce a link in the right way, find a tutorial on creating an html link. There are dozens of websites that provide specific instructions on creating links that display your keywords in the link text. Linking in the right way is essential if you want full benefit from article marketing.

Once you have written your articles and included properly formatted links, you can submit them to article directories. Make sure that the sites you are submitting to have a high Google PR and are popular. I used to think that the benefit of article directories was the fact that many web site owners frequent these sites for content. But the real value is the Google PR that the site provides and passes your website through your links.

Many online article websites are not that good at distributing content. To distribute your articles you would have to use a software package or an online distribution service. Therefore, you want to focus on article directories that can provide value in terms of the page rank they pass through to your links. Focus your efforts on the top article directories to put your article marketing in overdrive.

Develop articles in your area of specialty and include links to your website. These links can be placed in the author box or included in the article. Your keywords must be placed in the text of the link. Test your links to make sure they work properly. After you have validated that links are working properly, distribute your articles at will.