Writing and submitting articles is one of the most effective means of promoting and improving the search engine rankings of your website. The process is fairly simple. You write articles, forward them to article submission websites, and wait for webmasters looking for content to add them to their websites.

By writing articles other webmasters can use on their sites, you can help yourself in three ways. First of all, as more webmasters use your articles and your name is seen more often, people will begin to regard you as an expert on the subject of your articles.

The second benefit that will accrue to you is that some people reading the articles you have written will click on the link to your website in the author's article box and your site will receive additional visits.

The most important reason to write and distribute articles, however, is that each time a webmaster adds one of your articles to their site you pick up another link. And, the more links there are to your site, the higher your search engine ranking in Google, Yahoo, and MSN. And, if webmasters with sites on the same subject as yours carry your articles, the links you will get from their sites can be especially valuable in improving your search engine rankings. That is why it is important to write articles related to the subject of your website, although articles on any subject can be somewhat helpful in raising the profile of your site.

Be aware that it is the author's box that will describe you and provide the link to your site, so write it as carefully as you write the article itself. The author's box at the end of this article provides a good example and has been very effective for me.

If you adhere to the following guidelines, lots of webmasters will add your articles to their sites, and you'll be well rewarded for your efforts.

1. Write articles that solve problems or give readers useful information.

2. Remember that your title should create curiousity and draw readers in.

3. Proofread. Spelling, grammatical, and punctuation errors are the kiss of death. Webmasters do not wish to add articles filled with errors to their sites.

4. Be brief. If you can say what you need to 300 words, don't use 500.

5. Be aware of the audience you are trying to reach and give them what they want (or need).

Understand that even experienced article writers are not always successful. But, ultimately, almost all article writers become successful if they persist. In fact, many very successful website owners will tell you that nothing else they do has as great an impact on their enviable search engine rankings as writing and distributing articles.