Article Marketing 101: Don't Create Your Own Competition

Article marketing has grown exponentially over the last couple of years due to the now mainstream knowledge of the impact that it can have for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes and even for the author's name branding. Arguably the most common purpose for the article marketing method is for search engine optimization, which is ironic because the majority of people who employ article marketing tactics for SEO purposes are actually hurting themselves by creating more competition for their own websites.

Article marketing - what it is

Article marketing is just what the name implies; it's a marketing tactic that relies on the use of articles. To explain it in a simple manner, an article is written and submitted to article directories where hopefully that article will be picked up by other website owners and published on their websites as well.

The benefit for article marketing is derived from the "about the author" blurb where the article author can either build credibility for themselves as a writer or they can improve the search engine rankings for their website with the use of keyword focused anchor text on the link back to their website.

Article marketing is considered a viral marketing method because from a single article one can obtain dozens or even hundreds of references to their name and website, which is why article marketing is regarded as a highly effective marketing tactic.

Of course, success with article marketing depends on a number of factors. One's success with article marketing will depend on how well the article is written, the locations where the article is initially published as well as the overall demand for the topic that the article is written on. An article written about search engine optimization will likely garner more attention and be picked up by more website owners than an article about the mating habits of African bumblebees because information about search engine optimization is in greater demand than the mating habits of bees.

Article marketing for SEO - the biggest mistake

The biggest mistake that is regularly made by novice article marketers is that they are actually creating more competition for their websites. Unfortunately, this mistake is not limited only those who are new to article marketing; this mistake is being made every day by well meaning, but severely misguided search engine optimization firms, which can negatively affect their clients' websites.

Effective SEO article marketing relies on creation of an article that is topically related to the submitter's website, but not in direct competition for the keywords being targeted on that website. As an example, if you have a website that is about web hosting and your website's target keyword phrase is 'Best web hosting services', you absolutely do not want to write an article for use with article marketing that focuses on the phrase 'Best web hosting services'.

You can write about any number of web hosting topics such as reseller hosting, shared hosting, dedicated web hosting, but you do not want to submit an article that will compete with your website for the keyword phrase you are targeting.

The reasoning for this is simple; prominent article directories likely have a higher value to search engines than your website. If you submit an article to a website that has a higher value to search engines than your website does, the article submitted to article directories will likely outrank your website for your intended keywords or phrases; i.e. you've created competition for your website.

This is not even taking into consideration other website owners that may pick up your article for placement on their website; you may inadvertently create hundreds of competitors for your keywords or keyword phrases from a single article submission.

Don't create your own competition

The best advice for those who are using article marketing for SEO purposes is to not create competition for your website. By writing a topically related article that is not competing for the keywords you are optimizing your website for, you will avoid creating new competition for your website and likely enjoy a bigger benefit from your article marketing endeavors.