Article Directory Marketing

Article Directory Marketing

Article directory marketing refers to the process of writing articles for top ranked directory sites. These directories don’t really have a theme…they are a virtual playground of knowledge where practically anyone can write on a topic and receive expert accreditation.

In a way, they are no different from blogs (at least when it comes to writing technique) besides the fact that they are located on a neutral site and thus cannot blatantly advertise the user’s company. (Instead, writers/site owners receive one or two links in exchange for an article) Within a matter of months, a site could create hundreds of backlinks, and thus earn the attention of Google. (Oh yes, you will get their attention… but…)

Just a few years ago, article marketing was the all the rage. Linkbuilding (which is basically the process of building links across the Internet that lead back to your site) was of vital importance, and while links do matter, recent algorithm updates have changed the way links are counted—particularly “low quality links”.

One of the easiest ways to identify low quality links, or so thought Google in May 2012, was to discriminate against the article directory website. It’s easy to see why Google made that assumption, even though it might not be entirely fair. While there are some quality features on article directory sites, many other low quality pages can pollute the site and bring the search rankings down.

Article directories claim to have an editorial process, and truth be told, you can still find some top rated SERPs from article directory pages. However, experts within SEO have noticed a trend of article directory penalization. So, the safest thing to do is to diversify your linking strategy, perhaps investing a little bit in article directory marketing, as well as blogs, guest blogs, and press releases.