If you own a small business, you've probably heard of article marketing. Maybe when Googling "small business marketing," or "how to market small business," you've seen a few websites that labeled themselves as article marketing services, but you were uninformed as to what this was, and so couldn't pursue article marketing as a potential marketing strategy. That's why I'm going to tell you about it.



That you may have been internet-searching ways to increase the market size of your small business speaks volumes. These days, Google -- and other search engines, like Yahoo -- are essential to any marketing strategy. Nobody uses the phone book anymore; it's much easier to simply type in a few words and see what comes up.

Yet there's a problem with this -- have you ever Googled a phrase that describes the service your business provides? If so, did you see yourself? And if you did, were you on the first page, or were you buried far beneath all of those larger companies? The answer, unfortunately for most small businesses, is the latter. And if you can hardly find yourself, how will potential customers find you?

Article marketing is the best answer for small businesses. And it's easy. Obviously, you know everything there is to know about your field -- that's why you started your business. Article marketing allows you to put your knowledge to use.

The first thing you do is write an article, or a few articles -- the more articles, the better. Make them as insightful and informative as you can. In short, write articles that you would want to read if you were a potential customer of your business.

However, there is one caveat: In your articles, you want to present yourself as a credible authority on your subject matter. If your readers think that you are advertising something, it will undermine your trustworthiness. Thus, you must not mention the name of your business in your article. Your article must be honest about its intentions to educate and inform, not to pitch.

How does this help market your small business? This is where article marketing comes in. Google search "article distribution" and you'll find some very useful article distribution services.

When you submit an article, you will be asked to categorize your articles. Make sure you do this as accurately as possible. Think of what your potential customers will be looking for -- perhaps as a search engine phrase -- and categorize your articles in that direction. This is essential to increasing your market size. You want customers to find your articles.

Once you've submitted your articles, the service may suggest revisions -- take these seriously. These people know internet marketing, and they are there to help. Even if they suggest that you change what you think is the best sentence in your article, you should take their advice. It will only help you to market your business, in the end.

So, once you've written your articles, and found an article marketing service, where does the "marketing" come in? How do you raise your website in those Google results?

These article marketing services work hard to distribute your articles all over the internet. Think of how many websites there are -- there are billions -- and many of them update their content on a daily or weekly basis. Though it's not a guarantee, there is a good chance that your articles will be published, and when they are, they will include an "About the Author" box, which will have a link to your website.

In short, if a reader likes your article, and finds it informative, he or she will visit your website -- and the more clicks you get, the higher you rise in the Google search results. And it's not just Google -- most internet search engines use this system. The key is to generate interest -- to make waves in the internet world. Through article marketing, this is easy.