A lot of us have been confused whether article directories are worth the effort. In this video, Matt Cutt said he’s not a huge fan of article marketing. What does this mean? I think he meant that links from article directories will only have little effect on your ranking. What do you think?
I’m not A Huge Fan of Article Marketing – Matt Cutt
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I'm not much of a fan of article marketing either, when it comes to doing it for my own purposes. However, as a writer who specializes in creating SEO enhanced content for others, my monthly income relies heavily on everyone else believing in it.
I think the use of article directories used to work great, back in the day. With so many changes coming to light now, they just don't seem to have that same effect anymore though.
I think the use of article directories used to work great, back in the day. With so many changes coming to light now, they just don't seem to have that same effect anymore though.
Uggh. I think that in order to keep our sanity, we should all take everything Matt Cutts says with a grain of salt. He (and Google) are very good at spreading "intentional misinformation". Article directories, like dozens of other types of sites have been affected by Google's algorithms over the past couple of years. Their backlink value goes up and down. The secret is to diversify your links. Don't sweat the exact value. Just keep building. 
Spintax actually gives excellent advice. Diversity among links is definitely important. If you are serious about building quality backlinks, don't put "all of your eggs in one basket", so to speak. It is true that the internet is full of people spreading misinformation on purposes. It is usually a scare tactic that benefits these people financially and convinces others to buy their products. Continue to gain some backlinks from article marketing, but you really should expand to other places as well.
True. You should never place all of your eggs in one basket. If you place all of your investment into one medium alone, you are carrying a very high risk. All means of internet marketing have their own share of risks and limitations. When you diversify, you lessen the risks.
Uggh. I think that in order to keep our sanity, we should all take everything Matt Cutts says with a grain of salt. He (and Google) are very good at spreading "intentional misinformation". Article directories, like dozens of other types of sites have been affected by Google's algorithms over the past couple of years. Their backlink value goes up and down. The secret is to diversify your links. Don't sweat the exact value. Just keep building.
I agree with this comment the most. Even if article marketing weren't as useful as other methods, it surely still has its own uses or otherwise no one would ever do them. I also agree that it is much better to just lower a certain method's priority if you feel it won't yield as much results, but it's never a good idea to just completely dismiss one based on the fact that it isn't as effective as other methods.
When it comes to article marketing, it should never be your "be all end all" for SEO, it's as foolish as relying on any one other aspect of SEO exclusively, so I also agree with Spintax in that people should branch out and diversify their methods. Not only this, but they should divide their efforts evenly into the different types of SEO, making sure to focus more on the methods that are proven to give your site authority, like Social Media. Matt Cutt mentions the fact that article marketing with conventional methods creates junk and duplicate content - the exact opposite of what Google's engine strives for - and should therefore be common sense that it will have very low weight on your rankings. There are sites that are not directories that love to share high quality articles written on the site in question, however, so it should not be shunned altogether.
People should still write articles, just ones that have actual substance and are shared not for the sole purpose of gaining traffic, but to be an excellent resource on the topic at hand. This is what Google looks for. If it's rehashed content that can be found elsewhere, the engine will pick it up. If it is unique and original, it will have more weight on your rankings, that's the point of that Q&A.
People should still write articles, just ones that have actual substance and are shared not for the sole purpose of gaining traffic, but to be an excellent resource on the topic at hand. This is what Google looks for. If it's rehashed content that can be found elsewhere, the engine will pick it up. If it is unique and original, it will have more weight on your rankings, that's the point of that Q&A.
Just don't believe everything that Matt happens to say 
mao: He says a lot of things but its mostly just how he wants things to be, and not how they actually are. You can't be sure about what he says is true or not until the next big google update comes out. Until then, just continue doing what worked for you before.
mao: He says a lot of things but its mostly just how he wants things to be, and not how they actually are. You can't be sure about what he says is true or not until the next big google update comes out. Until then, just continue doing what worked for you before.
I also think that article marketing is slowly losing its luster.
Back then, it was very effective because it was one of the only few ways to promote your business(online or otherwise) but now there are just too many alternatives that are much more effective and easier.
It's always best to diversify your ways in getting traffic or get your business known to minimize the risk altogether.
Back then, it was very effective because it was one of the only few ways to promote your business(online or otherwise) but now there are just too many alternatives that are much more effective and easier.
It's always best to diversify your ways in getting traffic or get your business known to minimize the risk altogether.
I think what he says is true as many people write up quickly written low quality articles and publish them on article directories with the sole purpose of getting backlinks. I believe Google has noted this new trend and it is therefore reducing the amount of points you get for this, unless it is a reputable article directory such as ezineartilce.com and eHow. But the rest of the PLR sites might not bring in the much needed juice.
I believe article directories still work great! All depends on which ones you pick. Make sure you choose the appropriate categories and make sure that these directories have high PR to pass on the link juice and establish some relevance.
I use web directories regularly and they work. But, i don't rely on directories alone... i mix up the portfolio and also get links via other means.
I use web directories regularly and they work. But, i don't rely on directories alone... i mix up the portfolio and also get links via other means.
I too do not believe everything that Matt says, but this particular angle has a point to think about. He is right in saying that article marketing isn't a great tool if you wish to stay longer in the Serps, possibly on higher rankings. Article marketing was successful in the past, but then the blackhat marketers began abusing the whole system and created low-quality junk articles simply to misguide readers and potential customers. Their linking strategies too were unnatural and bad, and thus, brought the entire article marketing system into disrepute by Google and general readers.
Now Google is concentrating on good and ethical content and will not give much importance to those thousands of article marketing sites that have sprung up in last few years. This also means that buying content which is not relevant to your site's theme topic will not be useful in SEO system, IMHO.
Now Google is concentrating on good and ethical content and will not give much importance to those thousands of article marketing sites that have sprung up in last few years. This also means that buying content which is not relevant to your site's theme topic will not be useful in SEO system, IMHO.
Interesting points that Matt made, but not enough to persuade me to lean away from article marketing. He only mentioned the cons of it, that people will post duplicate content on low-quality sites, but there may be a chance someone can pick it up, post it on their website that has tons of traffic. I think article marketing is good every once in a while, but you should definitely not make it as your main source of traffic. Write organic content like he said.
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