What Makes a Good Article Directory?
Author: Steve Gillman
Which is the best article directory for you? That partly depends on what you
are writing about. Buzzle.com, for example is one of the few article directories
that really gets the readers for poetry and articles about poetry, but my
business-related articles seem to be ignored when I submit them there. They do
cover many categories, but they have developed an audience that is inclined
towards certain types of articles.
Other article directories are not just
oriented towards certain areas, but are actually meant for a specific niche. If
you write articles on self improvement, for example, a great place to submit
them is selfgrowth.com. Other directories take only articles about the internet,
or only about outdoor topics. These niche directories may have fewer visitors,
but they are visitors that are more likely to be readers of your
articles.
The best general article directory, in my experience (I have
submitted over 550 articles to 30 or more directories), is Ezinearticles.com. I
could get all the traffic I need by submitting just to this one directory. There
are good reasons to submit to more than one directory, however. Here are some of
the things to look for in those other directories.
1. Direct traffic from
the directory. Submit your articles to several directories. Them several weeks
later, check your web site reports to see if the URLs for any of the directories
are showing up as "referrers." Some directories are better than others at
delivering direct traffic. Of course, if none of them show up in your reports,
you may need to do a better job writing the resource box to get the reader to
click through to your site (but that is a topic for another article).
2.
The site is popular. Specifically, you want directory sites that have high
Google PageRank. This is a proprietary measure of page importance that Google
uses - you can find out what the ranking is if you install a Google toolbar.
Regardless of whether they deliver direct traffic, I'll submit to a directory
with a PageRank of 5 or 6. The incoming links created help boost the popularity
of the web site.
3. Automatic home page placement. Some directories
automatically put your article on the home page once it is approved. It appears
under the "new articles" section or something similar, for a day or two. This
means good exposure, at least until it is bumped off the list by newer
articles.
4. The directory is easy to use. There is a simple reason why
this is important: Time. There are too many easy (and good) article directories
out there to waste time on those that want to complicate the process.
5.
It is easy for webmasters. You don't just want your article to sit there. You
want other site owners to take it and use it too. See if that is easy for them
to do. If so, they are more likely to get articles at this directory.
6.
Has clear rules. Article directories need to have clear "terms of use" or rules
for both those who submit articles and those who take and use them. In
particular, be sure that potential publishers are clearly informed that the
articles must be unchanged and the links must be active.
The above
guidelines are not all equally important. If a directory is strong in one or two
areas - as well as the last - this is enough. Article directories that are good
in all these areas are a blessing.
About the Author:
Copyright Steve Gillman. He lost money on his websites until he discovered the power of articles. Six months later he was making a good living online. To learn how you can do the same, and to see a list of the best article directories, get your free online writing course at: http://www.999articles.com