As a small business owner, you're aware of the huge marketing potential of the Internet. Like everyone else, you probably use the Internet as a valuable resource when deciding where and how you're going to spend your money. Clearly, times have changed; the Internet is now the most important marketing tool for businesses of all sizes.

But, have you ever Googled the service your business provides? If so, was your business near the top of the search results, or were you buried below pages and pages of larger companies? If your answer is the latter, then you might have wondered how to elevate your business in the search results.

The most efficient and budget-friendly solution is article marketing. With this strategy, the market size of your small business can grow even larger than that of the big companies.

You probably already have your website -- maybe you love it, and you can't understand why it doesn't get more visitors -- but the most well-designed website in the world attracts no visitors if it makes no noise. Article marketing is the perfect way to generate a buzz for your business, and to move up in the search results.

But where to begin?

It's easy. You're an expert in your field, correct? If not, you'd probably be doing something else. Your field is your area of expertise, and you know everything about everything. Why not use this as a marketing tool?

Write an article. Write two articles, or fifty. The more, the better. You're intelligent, you can write well -- use this. Write articles that everyone in your field will wish they'd written. Use research, if necessary; simply make it interesting, and make it informative.

In a moment, I'll tell you how to put these articles to lucrative use -- but first, there is one condition: These articles should not be advertisements for your business. These articles should be written solely to inform your potential customers of things they should know about. Yes, They should also know about your specific business, but we'll get to that.

After you have an article or two, or 50, search Google for "article marketing," and sign up for an article distribution service. After you've signed up, submit your articles -- but think carefully about how you want to categorize them. When asked to select categories for your articles, imagine the terms that your potential customers are likely to search for. If you pick the right categories, customers will have no problem finding you.

Once you've submitted your articles, it's likely that the service will suggest revisions and changes to your work. Don't be offended; these folks know what they're talking about. Take their suggestions seriously. Remember, while the quality of your articles is important, you are working to increase the market size of your small business, and these services are only trying to help.