SEO Article Writing: How Can I Get A Higher Ranking For My Articles In Google?

I get the best questions from readers about doing article submissions, and this is one that I've received several times from different people.

They want to know how to get a consistently high search engine ranking and PageRank for their articles in Google, as they've noticed their articles can start off with a high ranking, but then they lose traction over time.

I'm glad to answer this question, as it gives me the chance to clear up a common misconception with article marketing--that it's the articles themselves that you're trying to get a high ranking for.

To clarify, what you're really shooting for is a high ranking for your own website when people search for keywords associated with your site, rather than the articles themselves.

The articles are just a tool--you're using your free reprint articles to get a higher ranking for your website. The articles themselves will not necessarily get or maintain a high ranking. If they do it's wonderful, but really it's icing on the cake and shouldn't contribute to your measurement of your success.

By the way, in case you're wondering why your articles start out strong in Google (and the other search engines) and then lose traction over time, it's because of the freshness of the content.

This is why a newly released article may appear high in the rankings, at least to start with. Google wants to provide its users with the latest information, and once the article is no longer considered "fresh", then content that's been around a while and that's based on those same keyword phrases can start to outrank it.

Incidentally, this works in your favor, because it shows that it's not always new content that gets the high ranking. There are all sorts of indicators that Google evaluates when deciding which sites to rank and in what order, and the authority or usefulness of a site is a main consideration.

The older a web page is, the more time it has had to build authority and power. You very well may see your articles that have fallen down the rankings start to climb back up after a while, if the article has proven to be consistently useful to the readers.

Now, back to the original question--if the ranking of your article is not the definitive thing to look for, what is?

Here are two stats that are great for indicating how you're doing in your article marketing campaign:

1 - Monitor the search engine ranking for your website for the keywords associated with your site.

That may sound technical, but really it's pretty simple. Every web page is about a topic. Some are more focused than others, but hopefully if you have a website that you're trying to market, you have a definite topic that your website is about.

Now, step into your potential readers' shoes:

When they go to Google, what are they typing into the search box when they're looking for information on your topic?

If your website is about dog training, you might discover that people are typing "how to train a dog" into Google's search box. That could be one of your "keywords" or "keyword phrases".

So, one of your first steps in marketing your website online is to compile a list of keywords for your website.

Once you've done that, then you would go to Google and type each keyword phrase into the search box, and see where your website is listed in the rankings. This is the ultimate gauge of success--your goal is for your website to be on page one of the results for your keyword terms, ideally appearing in the #1 position.

2 - Track your website traffic.

A related stat to the search engine ranking is your own website traffic. The reason why these two stats are related is that the higher your site appears in Google's rankings, the more traffic will be coming to your website.

Remember, all of this takes time, and this stats tracking you're doing is done just one time a month.

If you're just starting to market your website, it can take a few months of consistent article submissions before you start to see any positive change in the search engines--that's normal. But you'll eventually see your site starting to climb up the rankings, sometimes making big jumps and other times either holding its position or making smaller jumps.

You'll see how amazing it is that with article marketing you can actually influence Google's rankings for your website, and that's what will lead to the most dramatic results.

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Steve Shaw is a content syndication specialist. Do you own a blog? Need content? Join thousands of other blogs and get free high-quality, niche-focused, human-reviewed content from quality authors sent on auto-pilot - and it's all 100% free! Go to http://www.autoblogit.com for more information.

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