What is the best strategy for writing articles?

It depends on what you need.

If you have enough content on your site for your keywords, you can focus on getting links. If you need both, do both.

So, Should I have unique articles on article sites not published on my site or on my website and not published on that sites?

Your best and unique content should go on your site. Your next best should go on the top tier article sites (EZA for example). Your lowest (spun for example) should go on the lower tier article sites.

You can use a combination, or a link wheel, which has been talked about many times here. Also, consider 2.0 sites like HubPages or Squidoo. If you have a quality blog, write a quality post and bookmark it. You can always write a different quality article and then put a link back to that blog post. There are many ways to do this, just understand that Ezine is getting more and more strict about backlinks.

There is a huge discussion in the past regarding this problem of whether to post article on own website or article directories

http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...eza-first.html

Many experience warriors have shared tons of valuable information in that thread. Spent some time reading the whole thread and it will dispel many of the myths about article marketing.

Hope this is useful

Zack

I don't think you'll find a single strategy or a best strategy, what really matters is your strategy.

Yeah, I know that isn't helpful at all. Let's try to fix that.

In my opinion, I think your priority and best content should go on your site. I'm a firm believer in developing your own internet property and not replying on other websites.

A popular strategy, and something that has been hurt with the recent google update was to use the authority of certain article directories for traffic. Articles posted on those sites typically ranked faster and higher than the same article posted on your own website. People would find your article while searching, click on the link in your resource box to a squeeze or sales page and you might make some money.

Now that isn't necessarily the case.

You can still use that method, it's not dead and it still works, just not as effectively as before.

Another popular use for article directories is for backlinks. I don't think their backlink value has dropped but I haven't tested this myself. Due to the sheer number of article directories you can get a lot of backlinks to your site. Backlinks are the key to search engine rankings.

Often, people who are using article directories for backlinks are more concerned with quantity over quality. This is your mass spin n' submit group. This group could care less if anybody ever reads or uses their articles, they are focused primarily on getting as many backlinks as they can to boost up their own website.

Now, you can combine both of those methods and submit articles that aren't respun 100 times and benefit from both the traffic and backlinks.

Finally, there is using article directories for what they are meant to be used for, syndication. You write great stuff, others who need content reuse your articles on their own sites. Hopefully they keep your resource box and links.

So, this is where your strategy matters.

I know I gave a simplistic overview of article marketing and I know I left a lot out but out of all of that, what suits you best?

Are you a writer or have the money to invest in having articles written for you? The quality route might be the better option. Take advantage of the traffic you could get from those sites, others might syndicate your content and you're getting some good 'ol backlinks while your at it. This is the best of both worlds option.

If all you care about is ranking up your own site, aren't a great writer or don't have a lot of spare cash lying around you might be better off grabbing a spinner and auto-submitter.

It's up to you, your resources and what suits you best.

However you go about it, I still think you should put your best content on your own websites and instead of simply having your articles linking to squeeze and sales pages, use article directories to build up the authority of your own real website.

Over time your website will develop authority of it's own and naturally start ranking higher and faster for a wider range of keywords and have far more value than a squeeze page would ever have.

Hey Wad (hope it's okay I call you that...makes me chuckle),

You certainly want amazing and unique content on your site.

BUT you also want amazing and unique content driving people to your site.

Think about it . . .

Someone reads your article with some solid information, and click on the link to your website because they want see what else you have to say.

Then, when they get to your website, they see a very similar article with similar tips and information etc.

Something I like to do is make sure I write really good articles for the directories, but make sure you leave them wanting.

Give them a few good tips, and then say something like . . .

"To see part 2 of this article with even more awesome tips, visit my website at:
www.leavingyouhanging.haha"

This sort of technique works EXTREMELY well on video and Powerpoint sites (slideshare.net).

Hope this helps!

Here's a question for you, Wadboram. Sorry to answer a question with a question, but it's an important one for you to think about - and especially important because of your observation that "of course the main objective is getting traffic" ...

When a potential customer "finds you" through a search engine by using one of your articles' keywords as his search-terms, what do you want him to find: an article on your own website, or an article in an article directory?

It's a huge question, and your answer to it dictates how you should go about "doing article marketing" and how you should use article directories (you can use them whatever your answer is, but you'll be doing so differently).

(My own answer is that I want them finding my own website, but what matters here is your answer, and your reasons for it.)

This important thread will answer many of your "article marketing questions", and explains a lot about the subject.

write your article and syndicate that content everywhere!

I've never understood when people give their best content away for free, keep your best stuff on your own site.

Use EZA and other lesser article directories for lesser content and build long tail links. I haven't been successful with article links for competitive terms.

@Zack: thanks for the reference post
@Christopher: good point in building authority
@vheissu28: sure it's OK to call me Wad - To be continued idea is amazing
@Alexa: of course on SE I want people to find my website first

To summarize from all your tips and my findings, here's my plan:

1. Post a unique article on my site
2. Tweak it a little and publish it to Ezine Articles
3. Bookmark my original article
4. Rewrite my article more than 30% then submit to it to major article directories

I do all of the above, mix-and-match.

I love to diversify, even with article marketing.

Using Nuance's Dragon NaturallySpeaking can have a vastly significant impact on your word per minute output, so you could give that a try.