Hippo Web Solutions

Article marketing is a well established and effective method for promoting a website because it’s an easy way of garnering traffic and backlinks. Here’s how it works:

1. You write an original article on a topic you know something about
2. You submit it to one or more article directories
3. In return for your quality content, the directory allows you to place one or more links back to a site or sites of your choice
4. By submitting your article, you make it available for reprint by website and ezine owners seeking fresh content
5. Each time your article is republished, so are your links, resulting in a multiplication of backlinks over time – and we all know that this results in more traffic for your site, both via direct clicks on your links and via increased search engine rankings.

Or at least that’s how it’s supposed to work!

In reality when people republish your article they often either remove your links entirely or make them nofollow, thus negating most of their value to you. Or at least that’s my experience, but I suspect I’m not alone in this. When this happens, your first thought might be to complain to the article directory and expect them to do something about it, but you will not get anywhere with this – the article directories’ terms of service almost always state that it’s your responsibility to follow up any violations of your copyright.

So what can you do? Well, you could simply stop submitting content to article directories, but this is cutting off your nose to spite your face. And remember, there’s nothing to stop other site owners from illegally using your content even if you only publish on your own site, so whilst this approach may limit your exposure it doesn’t solve the problem.

Alternatively you could be vigilant and make it your business to follow up every infringement, first demanding that the relevent site takes the content down, and if that doesn’t work, by filing a complaint with their hosting service. Before embarking on this approach, make sure you understand the cost to your business in time and lost productivity, and also the emotional and psychological cost to yourself.

Or you could do what I do and simply accept that the practice will continue, but not let that detract from the benefits that article marketing will bring regardless. This doesn’t condone the wrongful use of your content, it’s simply an acknowledgement that we don’t live in a perfect world but we carry on anyway.

Two and a half months ago my Alexa rank was around 7 million; today it’s a shade over 335k. Unless my maths is way off, that’s a two thousand percent gain! And the good news is it’s still rising – the “official” Alexa rank for a site is an indication of its average traffic over the past three months, but they also show a one week average – this site‘s is a little under 200k.

So how did I do it? Extensive link building? Premium content? Long hours? Well, yes actually (I’ll leave you to be the judge of the content) – but that’s not what I attribute this rise to, at least not directly. In actual fact, it took all of about 10 minutes two and a half months ago to sow the seed that is now beginning to bear fruit – I’ll give you a little hint:

That’s right, I simply installed an Alexa traffic widget.
Continue reading ‘How I increased my Alexa Rank by 2k percent’

Links back to your site (or backlinks as they are commonly called) are a critical determining factor for the amount of traffic you will receive. But not all links carry the same weight – some are definitely more valuable, and thus more desirable than others. As is often the case, the most valuable links are also often the most difficult to procure…but that doesn’t mean the lesser types do not have their part to play.
Continue reading ‘All backlinks are created equal…not!’