It is a whole new ballgame. As Jeffrey I. Cole, director of the USC Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future said recently,"More than a decade after the portals of the Worldwide Web opened to the public, we are now witnessing the true emergence of the Internet as the powerful personal and social phenomenon we knew it would become."

If you are doing business online this is great news. The more the internet grows and becomes a regular part of everyday life the more traffic to your website. So how do you go about tapping into this emerging traffic powerhouse?

Marketing with articles.

Even with all the changes going on, writing articles is still one of the best ways to drive visitors to your site. It is also very cost effective since the article itself does the advertising. But more than that, it is viral marketing on steroids. Once your article is out there it will grow with very little follow up effort on your part. You can literally have people clicking the link in your resource box for years and years. If your website is monetized properly this will bring you continuous residual income. Sweet.

Why is article marketing so powerful and effective?

1. Exposure

That is the whole point. You want as many people as possible to read your article. Submitting to various directories and ezines will get you maximum exposure. This is especially good if you are just starting out and your site is brand new.

Many webmasters will also place your article on their webpage not only because it provides good information but it also fits the theme of their website. More exposure equals more web site traffic for you.

2. Free advertising and publicity

I mentioned before how cost effective article marketing can be. The fact is most small business owners are on a very tight budget. Paying for advertising is a hit or miss proposition. If it works than it can lead to more customers, sales and the ability to increase your marketing budget. If it does not work, you and your business are in real trouble.

Article marketing can provide you with massive advertising and publicity without the hefty price tag. They can also act as your own private sales force. By giving your readers good content, the chances of them clicking the link in your resource box increases. That means getting your website and product offers in front of more people.

3. The Connection

Never underestimate the power of the written word to move people. You may be writing an article on vacations and happen to mention a place you and your family visit regularly. Your readers may have visited the same place or it triggers them to recall similar incidents. People need to feel connected and writing that inspires common memories or ideas are a way of establishing an online community. Readers will be more inclined to seek out your articles if they feel a part of the experience.

4. Ranking and link popularity.

Articles with the right keywords and a compelling resource box can boost the ranking of your website. Do not go overboard when using keywords in your articles. The search engines will penalize you if they feel you are keyword stuffing your articles. You can easily avoid this by concentrating first on writing good, useful information and then using your keywords where appropriate.

A good article will not only improve your rankings but also generate links back to your website. As your articles spread throughout the internet, the link popularity of your website will increase. More sites pointing toward your webpages means more site traffic for you.

By combining free advertising, almost endless publicity and viral marketing, writing articles will keep your readers and the search engines coming back for more, while your business and profits continue to grow.