One of the tried and true ways to build links back to your website is by creating content and sharing it with the online world.  This sharing, usually called ‘article marketing’, is a great strategy for getting more online exposure.

Before we get into the tips, I need to point out that there are actually two types of articles you should be creating for your online efforts.  The tips you’ll read below are for the ‘not so great’ articles that are referenced in the link above.

Don’t Target a Keyword

Any article that you are going to submit to various article directories should not be keyword targeted, or even keyword rich.  Remember, these articles are going to be published on other websites – you don’t want those sites to rank for the keywords you’re targeting, you just want the link back to your site.  If you write an article full of your keywords, that article may end up pushing your website down the rankings.

It’s important that the article be about something related to your industry, but shy away from the keywords you’re trying to rank for.  Save those for your byline.

Get the Byline Right

From a link building standpoint, the byline (often called Author Resource) is the most important part of your article.  The byline should just be a sentence or two, but should include a keyword targeted link to a page on your website.  The byline doesn’t have to be about the author, either.  It should just be a sentence or two that tells the reader about a ‘related resource’ to the article above.

Link to Various Pages

Not every article you write should include a byline that links right to your home page.  Linking to an internal page is a great way to help boost traffic to other pages on your site as well.  So if you’ve got an article about fixing brakes on a BMW, link to a page that has info or a video on just how to do it!

Post to EzineArticles First

Although recently penalized by Google updates, EzineArticles.com is still by far the most popular and important place to put your articles.  Since the site checks for duplicate content (if you’ve posted the article elsewhere), it’s important that you post your content to this site first.  Once it’s approved, then and only then should you post it to other article directories.

Spread Your Seed

Once your article has been accepted by EzineArticles, it’s time to start publishing it out to other article directories.  There are plenty of free article directories, and some that want you to pay.  I shy away from the paid ones because the value usually isn’t there.  Plus, there are hundreds of free directories.

Will Hanke is a professional SEO in St. Louis Missouri.  In addition to helping his clients rank at the top of Google, Yahoo! and Bing, he also teaches monthly classes on SEO and has authored several ebooks on the topic.