Every time Google updates its algorithms, the article directories drop in the search results. Ezine Articles has long been the king of article directories, but even it doesn’t pull the traffic it used to.
The article directory model worked great in years past. You write articles and submit them to free directories, and they have links back to your site. You get search engine power for your site as well as readers who enjoy your articles and click through for more.
If you think outside the box, there are some excellent alternatives to article directories that still get traffic and in my opinion always will.
Niche Directories
Ezine and its ilk are directories that have articles in every category imaginable. There are also niche-specific article directories that only offer articles on certain topics. There are self-help directories, health directories, B2B directories and others online catering to particular audiences. These are sites where people in those industries or who are interested in those topics go to find content. They have the same type of submission process as regular article directories.
Press Releases
Most people don’t realize how easy it is to turn an article into a press release. Press releases announce some type of news but they can be about anything. They have a certain format you have to follow, but other than that it’s basically the same. You can write articles and turn them into press releases. There are a number of press release directories where you can post them, and some of them generate a fair amount of traffic.
Guest Blogging
Guest blogging is slightly more complicated than article marketing, but the basic idea is the same. Instead of submitting automatically to one site, you have to seek out blogs that accept guest submissions in your niche. Some of them have a simple form you fill out to submit your article. With others, you have to contact the blog owner and submit your article manually. But the authority and traffic you get from having your articles all over the blogosphere is priceless. It’s definitely better than the standard article directories.
Forums and Social Media
Instead of submitting to directories, create content for online forums and social media sites. Many forums have categories exclusively for articles that members submit. Although you can’t write articles for Pinterest or Twitter, some social media sites let you publish articles on them. One of these is LinkedIn in its Groups feature.
Branching out
With the article directories dying a slow death, it might be time to get into producing other kinds of content. Videos and podcasts, for example, are extremely easy to produce once you get into the routine of doing it. There are video sites like YouTube (which is MUCH more popular than any article directory) and podcast directories where you can submit your audio files. Many marketers start producing multimedia and discover that it’s much easier than writing.
Tony
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