4 Key Points to Make Sure Your Article is Published

Many people are beginning to realize the benefits of writing articles and submitting them to article directories.  The back link benefits alone are worth it.  But, as more and more people enter the article writing arena, they need to realize that it’s not just a matter of throwing together some self promoting copy.

Article directories have standards and guidelines that you must abide if you want to make sure your article gets published.  There are literally hundreds of different article submission sites and they all have their own set of rules, but here are the four main factors most of them have in common.

First of all, don’t place an links in the main body of your article.  Although some directories may permit it, the majority don’t, so it’s best not to put them in. It can be tempting to load your articles up with affiliate links or links to your site, but this will keep your article from being published.

Secondly, don’t place more than two self-serving links in your resource box.  The resource box at the bottom of your article should be short and sweet.  It should be about 10% of the total word count of your article, but less in some cases.  Some article directories will limit you to a word count of say 340 or 500 words.

Thirdly, keep the word count of your article between 250-700 words.  People want instant gratification.  They don’t have the time to real long articles.  It’s also been proven that shorter articles have a much higher distribution rate than longer ones.  If you feel like you have a lot more to say on a subject, break it up into smaller articles.

Lastly, how is your article formatted?  You can have great content, but if it’s not formatted in an easy to read way, it may not get the traffic it deserves.  Try using numbered lists, bullet points, or short 3-4 sentence paragraphs that your audience can skim through.

Stick with these guidelines and your articles will be published quickly and easily.  Otherwise you’ll find yourself having to deal with rejection notices and having to make corrections to make your article suitable for publishing.