Keyword density - Key words and key phrases are the means in which articles are seen by the search engines. Think of them as sign posts directing the engines to any given article. The key word average is ten to fifteen percent. Any less and the article may be ignored by the search engines while anything over fifteen will likely turn off, both the readers and the search engines.

Content - One of the brutal realities in the article writing business is the need for good, quality content. It is what readers demand. It is also what the search engines look for and reward. The maxim is stated simply that "Original content is KING" and in the world of article marketing that statement could not be more true.

Original content rules, while mediocre, copied articles are punished with being ignored or blacklisted. The search engines are particularly uncompromising on the issue as copied material is ignored and the referring site is blacklisted from their listings.

It is not intended as a personal decision, but a business one. Search engines' main business function is to deliver information as quickly as possible to their customers. Duplicate content only slows that effort down. To maintain their speedy flow of information, the search engines simply drop all search returns that are deemed to be duplicated from other sites.

Where your readers are concerned it is always important to put them at ease. It is also very important to make the article easy to follow and understand. It need not be loaded with technical jargon unless the information being presented requires it. It all depends on the audience the writer is trying to reach. When writing, it is vital to keep in mind that the article is not a sales letter. Such articles are scorned by readers.

Niche - When writing articles about any given niche, it is always important to determine the demand for that information. Researching the niche in question is always a good start. One might look in article directories, forums, discussion groups, or even the search engines themselves to get a feeling for the demand.

If there is no demand, then one should not waste time in writing articles on it. Chances are, they may never be read at all.

Article Directory Traffic - When submitting articles to any given directory, it is important to recognize that their traffic may have a direct impact on the result of the submitted article, irregardless of how that article is.

Articles submitted to high traffic directories have a better chance of being read than those articles submitted to article directories with lower traffic. When submitting manually, one may not always have the choices of where to submit so it is better to use a submission service for maximum results.