It all begins with a process called article marketing. This is one of those tried and true methods of small business marketing that has long been used in print, but really took off with the advent of the Internet. The Web has breathed new life into the practice of article marketing, making it one of the number one ways to promote a small business and build site traffic.

Article marketing begins with the business owner creating several short articles about their particular industry. These articles are informative and interesting, not marketing pitches. It is all about offering the reader some useful information.

Then these articles are submitted to an article distribution service. These services insure that the articles are in tip-top shape before they are sent to any publishers. Article distribution services know exactly what the content site owners want and they help business owners get their articles into the appropriate format.

The distribution services play an important role since there are specific guidelines provided by each and every publisher, making it nearly impossible for an individual to keep track of the various stipulations. In addition to that, the services help the writer edit each article in order to help the business owner put his or her best face forward. These articles are about gaining exposure and credibility. A bad article will reflect poorly upon the business as a whole, so professional editors play an important role.

Once articles are edited, the distribution services identify the most relevant publishers for each article. This means that the articles will be published in places where readers will likely take an interest in the information presented.

The ability that article marketing has to reach the target market every single time an article is published is among its greatest appeals to business owners. Why waste your time and money in marketing efforts that will be thwarted by the disinterested masses? By going straight to the source of your target market, you'll hit a home run every time.

Whenever an interested reader likes your article they will go back to check out your website. And it doesn't take a computer wizard to know that high traffic and high sales almost always correlate.