Local Business Article Marketing: A Beginner's Guide

Local Business Article Marketing: A Beginner's Guide

Article marketing is not hard to do once you get the hang of it, but I know that initially there is a bit of a learning curve as you are trying to get started.

A local business owner who is doing article marketing has the added hurdle to jump in that writing articles for businesses based out of a geographic location is a bit different than writing articles for an online business or website.

In this article, you will find a collection of 4 questions and answers that will help you do local business article marketing.

Question 1 - Isn't it enough just to have a website?

Answer: If you want your business to be competitive and get the full benefit that online marketing has to offer, then it is not enough just to have a website. Merely having a website does not translate into more customers, any more than having a box of business cards in your desk translates into more customers. In order for the business cards or the website to have any benefit to you, you must get them out in circulation.

With a website, you do this by marketing it. One of the most popular online marketing tools is article marketing, because of its reliable effectiveness and its ease of use for the average person.

Question 2 - Why is Google so important?

Answer: Google is the largest referral source that your business will ever encounter. It operates 24/7 and is the most popular search engine on the planet. When people need information these days, they do not go to the phone book any longer--they go to Google.

You have it within your ability and power to get a high ranking for your website on this massive referral engine called Google. When your website is highly ranked (on the first page, and eventually at the #1 listing) it can massively impact your business.

In order to get a higher ranking in Google for your website, you would do article marketing.

Question 3 - How does article marketing work?

Write articles consistently each month on your general niche. You do not need to try to put your location in the title or article body. In the long run, it is better just to write articles on your general niche, rather than to try to write articles that incorporate your city name.

Along with each article you will also submit a resource box, which is a short author bio that includes a link going back to your website. This link is very valuable--it is basically your 'payment' for letting people republish your article for free. By building links, you can improve your website's ranking in Google.

It is also very important that you create the type of resource box that will allow you to use your location specific keywords to form the link.

Question 4 - Do I need to have my articles published on websites that have viewers in my country or city?

Answer: Actually you just need to submit your article to article directories that publish articles on your general topic. Many directories cover a wide range of topics, so no matter what your business is, you will be able to find publishers interested in your articles.

It does not matter where the publishers are located or where the people who look at the publisher's website are located. Your goal is to get your article republished many times on the internet. You write articles on your general niche, and then you use your location specific keywords (Atlanta dry cleaner, London florist, etc) in your resource box, and be sure that those keywords form the link that goes to your website.

Your goal is not really to get people from your location to read your articles. You build links with your articles, and the resource box of your articles communicates to Google what your website is about.

It tells Google, in essence: "When someone comes to you searching for information on London florists, remember this website and rank it highly."

Then, when people in your city do Google searches for your city and type of business, your website shows up high in the rankings. That is what you are working towards.

These are some of the most common questions about local business article marketing, and I hope these answers are helpful to you.

Is there anything that is holding you back from getting started with article marketing today?

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-articles/local-business-article-marketing-a-beginners-guide-3674900.html