Article Marketing is hot. Every single day webmasters and program owners write and submit thousands of articles on any subject you can think of. The reason for this is that an article is content. And content is king. Before you start to think that this is another SEO technique that may or may not work depending on the current algorithms of the search engines, think about it.

EVERYTHING on the internet is CONTENT.

The internet is a veritable treasure trove of information. Good, bad, valuable or not, the internet is all about providing information to people. That is why smart internet marketers know that people want information from their websites, not just SEO enriched pages of advertising.

The loopholes that search engine optimizers have been trying to use for high ranking in the search engine has created a plethora of sites that boast high keyword ratios, thousands of irrelevant hyperlinks and sometimes even redirection. These redirected websites try to create an optimized web page that the search engines will rank high but actually redirect the viewer to a less search engine friendly site.

Well, the search engines caught on. The websites that were getting the highest placements were not always providing quality information or useful content. In fact, they not only lowered the ranking of these sites. They even removed them from the listings completely.

This sent a shock wave through the internet community and smart marketers realized that there is only one sure way to convince the search engines that they were meant to be at the top: Quality Content. And a quality way to provide content is through articles.

Not only do the search engines love content and articles, but visitors do too. By providing visitors with useful information and relevant links to other sites, they come back again and again! And that is not the only benefit.

Because website owners are now hungry for content, there is a huge market for informative articles that other website owners can use on their sites. By offering information to these sites in exchange for a hyperlink to your website, you get even more exposure, both to search engines AND customers.

So, if you want an easy way to provide content then start writing articles.

Ask yourself what kind of program you are promoting. What niche market does it belong to? What keywords are people searching for in the search engines to find your program?

If you have answered these questions then you are well on your way.

Next, describe the topics of your program. Use your own knowledge. Search for info in the search engines. Explore your hard drive. Maybe you will find an ebook you had forgotten about.

Are you ready to start writing?

The headline determines for a great deal whether someone is going to read your article. How to, Discover, Why, X ways to, are fine starting points.

In the title and first paragraph mention your keyword. Use this keyword a few times in the rest of the article.

Do not advertise in your article! Do not mention links or URLs!

An article is meant to be informative. It is not a sales letter.

And still the main reason why people write articles is to promote something.

Surprise: you have a resource box!

When you submit an article you may (MUST!!) include a resource box. This is your ad!

You have about 5 lines to mention your name, a link to your site and to be creative in order to attract visitors.

Do you see the value of writing articles?