AdSense traffic tip: Article writing, Part 1
One of the best ways to attract traffic to your site is to write compelling content that makes them want to visit your site once they've seen what your writing is like. But how do they discover you in the first place? Search engines are the obvious traffic generator, but they're not the only way.
What many people don't realize is that you sometimes have to write compelling content for other sites in order to get traffic back to yours. The idea is simple: you write an article and allow it to be distributed for free by anyone, provided they keep your copyright notice and provide a link back to your site. Other people then post the article on their sites/blogs or send it to their newsletters (or “ezines”).
There are three major benefits to publishing articles for free in this manner. While you don't get paid directly, you do get:
- More traffic to your own site because some readers click the link at the end of your article to see what else you have to offer
- More links to your site in the search engines when the other sites/blogs/ezines add your article to their archives
- Reputation enhancement as an expert in the subject matter
The main disadvantages to article writing are that you lose out on exclusivity (your content is now available in multiple places, not just your own site/blog) and that it takes time away from other possibly important things. So you have to balance the article writing with updating your own site. Note, however, that the articles you write also make good content for your own site — nothing prevents you from placing them on your own site in addition to distributing them far and wide for others to use.
Also, not everyone writes well. A poorly-written article can be a turn off, even if you have some great ideas in the article. So it may make sense for you to hire someone to either write the article (based on your ideas) or to proofread it for you. You should have a good idea of your own skills in this area and adjust your expectations accordingly. Then again, if you're writing compelling content for your site you should be trying to write well anyhow, so this shouldn't be any different.
In Part 2 of this series I'll talk about the mechanics of article writing.
Eric Giguere is the author of Make Easy Money with Google, a real (printed!) introductory AdSense book for non-technical people, available at all fine bookstores. Be sure to download the free sample chapter for more information about the book.
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One Response to “AdSense traffic tip: Article writing, Part 1”
[…] based on a series I wrote in October, 2005, which were originally published as separate posts on why article writing can drive traffic to your sites, how to get started with article writing and how to submit your articles to article directories. […]