Article Marketing Mistakes to Avoid (Part II)

We covered a number of article marketing mistakes in part 1. We'll continue that discussion below, but first, if you haven't read part 1, please do so. If you've already read part 1, I'll just remind you of what was covered so you're up to speed.

• Improper expectations

  Failure will result unless you're focused on what article marketing is meant to accomplish.

• Poor keyword selection

  Each article marketing campaign should focus on one or more keywords.

• Linking to an affiliate site

  Build your business, not someone else's.

• Submitting non-unique articles

  You'll get much more mileage out of submitting unique articles.

Those mistakes from part 1 are some important ones. A smooth and effective campaign, however, can also be damaged by these...

Additional Mistakes to Avoid

• Not creating unique resource boxes

  A unique resource box is vital. Even if you submit the same version of your article to multiple article directories, you should be creating a unique version of the resource box and varying your linking when you do. Failure to do this will produce less than optimal results for your site.

• Not using the correct mix of links in the resource box

  This is related to the unique resource box concept. It's extremely important that you create at least two links in every resource box. Typically, one should be to your home page, and the other should be a deep link. For a small percentage of these, you can switch up the keywords so that the home page inherits the reputation of the deep linked page, and vice versa.

• Failure to deep link

  Just to hammer this point home, ensure that you deep link in your resource box.

• Failure to create an appropriate landing page

  Just as in Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, you need to have a landing page for your article. If your landing page is lousy, inappropriate, or off-theme, then your efforts will be diluted. You should be telling a story of sorts. The story starts with the headline of your article to attract the reader and goes all the way through to the page on your site. Don't write an article on "the 7 myths of dog training" and then send people to a page on recipes for home-made dog biscuits. Yes, you can argue that the topics are related, but you have to admit that there is a break in the continuity there somewhere.

  Also, for search engine purposes, we're trying to rank for particular keywords. While biscuits can probably be used for dog training, we really want to keep the theme consistent here for both engines and visitors. Don't break theme. Consistency and continuity are important.

  This applies also to your most wanted response (MWR). Take that into account when you create your article and the page it leads to. If you're collecting email addresses, then that is where it leads. If it's Adsense clicks, then that's where it leads. If it's to get more exposure to other pages, then that's where it leads. This article is not about how to write for your most wanted response, so I won't go into detail. If you're an SBI! owner, you already know how to do that because it's a big part of the training you receive when you build your site.

• Linking without anchor text

  Possibly the most widespread article marketing mistake I see is not using anchor text. All that unique resource box creation and deep linking goes to waste without anchor text. If you get everything else right and this one wrong, you defeat the purpose. Linking to your website with your url and no anchor text is like writing a letter to the President, but never sending it. You are wasting Web real estate unless you use your keywords in your link!

• Poorly written article - the biggest killer

  A poorly written article will get you no where, so you can't mess this one up either. We want to create our articles with the engines, visitors, and webmasters in mind. A quality article will do better all the way around, and a poor article can be a disaster.

If you can avoid making article marketing mistakes, you'll have a much better chance of seeing success. You can combine article marketing and social media to gain first page Google rankings, sometimes literally within days. Visit my article marketing success series at the Free Website Traffic Tips blog to find out how.

Topics Related to Article Marketing Mistakes

• Article Marketing Principles and Basics Explained
• Article Marketing as an SEO Technique