Guest Articles: Good for Some, Bad for Others

A recent debate started me thinking about how some marketing strategies can be right for one Web site, but wrong for another -- depending on the site's purpose and the underlying reasoning behind the action.

If an action doesn't directly and logically plug into site goals, then there are likely more profitable ways to spend that time and effort.

Publishing third-party articles on a Web site is one of those marketing strategies that can be right for one site, yet wrong for another.

Publishing Guest Articles as a Strategy

Publishing guest articles as one of your Web site marketing strategies can help broaden the amount and quality of content on a site, which in turn can lead to a more solid, stronger reputation. James Edwards of Umbrella-Consultancy explains:

IMO having quality articles on your site will show that you are...someone who embraces the industry and respects the work of others. Most research scientists post links to other respected scientists' work... I think it can only be good to have quality material by other people in your field posted on your site.

Helping Web Site Visitors

Another situation where adding others' articles to your site can make strategic sense is when a lot of visitors arrive looking for a solution other than the one you provide on your site. Rather than have them wander off, no closer to an answer to their problem, you can build goodwill and credibility by having articles on the Web site that give them more information.

For example, several types of people arrive at my site through the search engines:

* Some are people researching marketing consulting services.

* Some are students looking to write a paper or finish an assigned project for school.

* Some are looking for marketing software.

* Others are looking to buy printed material (e-books, templates, workbooks, etc.) in order to proceed, step-by-step, on their own.

The only ones that are going to be interested in what I have to sell are those in the last group. Instead of letting the majority of visitors go without a fight, I have articles on the site from handpicked individuals or companies.

Those articles are chosen according to how good the quality is, how well the subject matter fits, and whether I think the information will help site visitors.

Information Sites

If a site (or section of a site) is informational in nature, guest articles can be a viable Web site marketing strategy, for several reasons:

* Repeat, purchase-related visits. A good information library can help potential customers through the decision-making process. If they find the information on your site especially helpful, they will be predisposed to coming back later, when they are ready to purchase.

* Increased Web site revenue. Publishing others' work can generate more revenue for your own site. For example, when I publish a third-party article, elsewhere on the page I include one or more of the following: AdSense; an advertisement for my own products; a newsletter sign-up box; or a relevant affiliate link. That way, every path off the page satisfies one of my own goals (direct ad revenue, new newsletter subscriber, or product sales lead).

* Increased targeted traffic. Each new page of quality content has the potential to bring in a happy chunk of incremental traffic from the search engines.

* Future collaborations or other projects. An indirect benefit from publishing others' articles is contact and future collaboration with authors. For example, after one author received several new sign-ups to her newsletter through an article published on my site, she contacted me about collaborating on an audio product.

Poor Fit With Marketing Strategies

For some business models, including guest articles in a list of Web site marketing strategies does not make sense. For example, it can be counterproductive to include guest articles on Web sites where the primary goal is to sell.

Service Web Sites

If the goal is to generate direct sales and leads for your own services, it doesn't make sense to dilute the message and call to action with diversions. Karon Thackston explains:

The purpose of my site is to get those in need of copywriting services and SEO copywriting services to contact me in order to do business. People who come to my Marketing Words site are looking for information about copywriting. They are also looking to hire a copywriter.

Therefore, you will find only material written by Karon on her site.

Product Sales Sites

Some sites have a single goal: to sell product. Every page on the site is devoted to product descriptions or copy designed to move a visitor toward a purchase. In these cases, where the predominant call to action is "buy the product," articles could hurt sales by diverting visitor attention away from the products.

Visit your favorite online retail sites, and you are likely to find product descriptions, reviews, photos and other product-driven content -- but little or no guest articles. Their absence on many e-commerce sites is an illustration of the poor fit of such articles as a marketing strategy for those sites.

Understanding how different techniques support, or sabotage, Web site marketing strategies can be critical to a site's success. Align your strategies with overall goals, and your business is more likely to flourish.

About the Author

Bobette Kyle draws upon 12+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, Marketing MBA, and online marketing research in her writing. Bobette is proprietor of the Web Site Marketing Plan Network, http://www.WebSiteMarketingPlan.com, and author of the marketing plan and Web promotion book "How Much For Just the Spider? Strategic Website Marketing For Small Budget Business." ( HowMuchForSpider.com/TOC.htm )

Copyright 2004 Bobette Kyle. All rights reserved.

---

7 Steps Toward Successful Article Writing

As you write the outline for your next article, there... Read More

Article Queries That Sell

Queries are not written like business letters or emails; they... Read More

Turn Words Into Traffic

A large portion of your business relies on your ability... Read More

Ive Got An Article To Submit, Now What Do I Do With It? (6 Tips)

You submit it, that's what you do! And submit it... Read More

Make Money Online Using Keyword Articles

Routing traffic to your web page is incredibly important in... Read More

Publish Articles on Numerous Subjects and Attract More Readers

Writers have one basic need -- readers. We all want... Read More

Article Writing: Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from My English Teacher

By now you probably understand how important writing for trade... Read More

Want to Put Your Names on My Article?

There's a new sort of ghost stalking the digital landscape.They... Read More

Broaden Your Customer Base: Submit Articles!

If you are going to be writing articles to promote... Read More

SureFire Ways To Get Free Publicity Using Articles

Free publicity can help to spread the word about your... Read More

The Benefits Of Article Writing For Your Home Business

Once you learn the benefits of article writing, you may... Read More

Ezine Publishers Want These 5 Things From Article Authors/Writers

Want your articles to get picked up and reprinted by... Read More

Stick to the Subject and Your Readers Will Stay

Publishing content on the internet is not a hard task.... Read More

How to Use Articles to Generate Free Traffic to Your Website

Writing articles that are available for reprint is an excellent... Read More

What Makes a Freelance Article Writer Successful?

Knowing exactly what an editor wants.Unfortunately, many new writers struggle... Read More

Articles: How To Turbo Charge Traffic When Your Promotion Budget Is Tiny

Writing articles for your site and for the use of... Read More

Article Writing: 5 Tips on How to Pull and Hold the Reader

Okay, so you're getting a feel for this article marketing... Read More

Writing Articles

You say, I can't write an article, I have no... Read More

Branding, Control, and Results - Submit Articles in Your Own Name

Article distribution is currently booming on the internet. Authors do... Read More

How to Effectively Hire a Ghost Writer

In today's busy world, whether your business is large or... Read More

What Can a 13-Year-Old Kid Teach Us About Article Marketing?

Yesterday I met a 13-year old boy with a devilish... Read More

Publishing: Changing realities (I)

When you frequently post articles on ezines, you might be... Read More

Writing a Statement

You have decided on a great idea and researched a... Read More

The Best and Fastest Way to Get Unlimited Free Back Links Guaranteed!

Submitting Articles for redistribution is the best way to get... Read More

SEO Article Writing 101

SEO writing is very different from content writing, article writing,... Read More

So You Want to Be an Author - These Are the Easiest Types of Articles in the World to Write

Being an Internet Article Author is far and away the... Read More

Five Great Ideas For Your Next Article

It's amazing how quickly free articles can generatetraffic - my... Read More

Handling Rejection

Rejection is part of a writer's life. You must cope... Read More

Why You Should Write Articles or At Least Get a Ghostwriter to Write for You

Overture reports over 1 million queries for article keyword related... Read More

The Secret To Promoting Sites With Articles

Publishing articles on the Internet is a tremendous way to... Read More

Publishing: changing realities (IV)

How does a writing agency market itself effectively in a... Read More

A Writers Glossary (Part Three)

Find definitions from Q to Z... Query -A letter... Read More

Jump From Unknown to Widely Quoted in One Week

Start by Being QuotableIt's tough to stand out online. With... Read More