Writing articles on the web is one of the best ways for solo-professionals to attract more clients and attention for their business. Strategically placing articles can literally explode your business. It's a great way to generate interest in your services and products and to establish yourself as an expert in your field.

Your articles can serve as a commercial to sell your services to new prospects. They are like road signs on the information highway directing traffic to your website.

Articles posted online give you essentially free publicity for your business and many other benefits. As a result of writing and distributing articles, you can gain lots more clients and help many more people with the information you provide. You can become a recognized authority in your area of expertise. You can attract thousands of qualified prospects who you know are interested in your ideas and your products and services. Your ezine list can grow every day, without spending money paying for targeted leads.

Your articles don't have to be very long. Three hundred and fifty to five hundred words are enough. In fact nowadays, shorter is better. People want their information in quick sound bytes.

Here are four great ways you can use your articles to drive traffic to your website and people to your business:

1) Publish articles at your website

Have a resources page with all of your articles. Create your own article directory. List the title of each article, and also include a few sentences to describe the content based on your site's keywords. This will raise your rankings with the search engines.

2) Post articles in other people's ezines or websites

You can reach a new audience by publishing your articles in other people's ezines or posting at their websites. You benefit from being exposed to their readers, and gain instant credibility as the published expert.

3) Submit your articles to online article directories

Look for online article directories in your favorite search engine. Search on article directories + the name of your area of specialty to find directories that cater to your niche market.

Go to the major list groups like Yahoo and Topica and type "article announce lists" in the search box. Look for large lists and also smaller lists in your niche to submit articles to.

4) Promote your articles to specialty sites in your target marketplace

To bring more targeted visitors to your website, post articles written for your niche market at specialty sites that cater to their needs. Offer specific information that demonstrates your knowledge in your area of expertise.

Writing and publishing articles on a regular basis is one of the most effective ways to grow your professional service business, attract new clients, and become a recognized authority in your area of expertise. Do these four things on a regular basis, and watch calls and emails from prospects and visitors to your website soar!