Google is the "800 pound guerilla" of Internet search engines and a page one listing on Google, for any popular keyword phrase, is the "holy grail" of online marketing. A page one listing on Google virtually assures an online entrepreneur of dependable, high volume traffic to their website and presumably, more money online.
Did you realize you can actually get those high rankings on Google, systematically, without spending a fortune on SEO (search engine optimization)? In fact, it can be effectively done without spending any money at all, and it can be done almost overnight. I'm not talking about a fly-by-night system that requires luck. And I'm certainly not talking about a "black hat strategy." I am simply talking about a proven technique that is straightforward, clear cut, and does not require a giant leap of faith to implement or countless hours to master. I'm referring to article marketing.
Article marketing is currently one of the most potent ways to drive volumes of targeted, qualified customers to almost any website. But there is a catch, you must use it properly or it will be a waste of time. The backbone of article marketing is "keyword relevancy." Understanding the concept of keyword relevancy is crucial if you want to use article marketing effectively. Once you have mastered keyword relevancy in connection with article marketing, you will generally not have to spend another dime to make money online. Here's how it works.
When a person performs a "Google search," just a few words are typically used to run the search. The person running the search will usually enter a short phrase of words in the search box to start the search and hopefully find precisely what they are looking for. These simple words are the keywords which Google uses to find related content on the Internet.
Furthermore, these keywords are the exact words or phrases you need to focus on when crafting an article designed to achieve high rankings on Google. Keep in mind, when choosing keywords or keyword phrases for article marketing, pick keywords that are directly related to your website. You should pick words that any ordinary person would normally use on Google to hunt for your particular website. Generally speaking, most people using search engines do not look through the search results farther back than page 3. So, you need to focus on the precise keywords related to your website in order to have a good chance of achieving a listing on pages 1-3.
I will use this article (to keep it simple) as an example for the proper way to use keyword relevancy. The keywords I have chosen for this particular article are "make more money online" which is a slight variation of "make money online." I have chosen these keywords because they relate closely to my website. I want people that are searching for ways to make money online to find my article on Google, read it, then go to my website and purchase what I'm selling. Notice that I have put my keywords in the title of my article. This is a must, and I will reiterate, always include your keywords or keyword phrase in the title of your article. Find a way to work them in and strive to be creative. Afterall, you need your articles to be widely read, and people do not normally read articles with boring, robot-like titles.
To help you in choosing the correct keywords for your articles, there are actually a considerable number of keyword tools on the web. These keyword tools will generate variations of your keywords and help you in selecting the ones that are currently most effective. I use the Google keyword tool because it's free and it gives statistical data on various keywords that people actually use on Google. So, (back to my example) I can simply pick and choose the most common keywords and variations of keywords people use on Google when searching for online money-making opportunities (my website niche). If you search for "keyword tools" on Google you will undoubtedly find plenty of options to select from. I recommend using a keyword tool to help you pick which keywords or keyword phrases are best suited for your articles.
Now, when writing your articles, the chosen keyword phrase must be inter-spaced throughout the entire body of the article in order for it to be keyword relevant. Again, using this article as an example, notice that I have included the keyword phrase "make more money online" (or a close variation) throughout the entire body of my article. This technique would be an indication of the "keyword density" of an article. The average keyword density of an article is important to consider because Google uses it as a factor in deciding what content to display for a given keyword phrase. Keyword density simply put, is the number of times the keyword phrase appears in an article divided by the total number of words in that article. My rule-of-thumb is to include the keyword phrase, or a close variation of it, 5-8 times per 500-800 words. Or to put it another way, the keyword phrase should be cited in every 100 words of your article. Do not go totally crazy and start putting your keyword phrase in excessively. This would be "keyword stuffing" and is considered a black hat strategy. It should not be used if you want to see your articles on Google. Google has methods for blocking content that is keyword stuffed. So stay away from this practice, it will do you more harm than good. Also, your article could begin to look like a blatant advertisement which is a strict no-no with most article submission websites. Just stick to the basic rule-of-thumb for keyword density and your articles will turn out fine.
When composing the article remember, you do not necessarily need to be an accomplished or polished writer and the article does not have to be a literary masterpiece. It should be 500-1200 words in length, make logical sense, be grammatically correct, and have proper spelling and punctuation. I occasionally have difficulty with spelling and punctuation so I recently went looking for some software online to help me with this problem. I found something that will do nearly everything for me except write the article. It's a piece of software that will check spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, style and word choice, plus it has a built-in thesaurus and a plagiarism checker. I often wish I had found this long ago because it is saving me a lot of extra time with my article writing. If you want to check it out go to: http://www.essayrater.com
Since our primary goal is to make more money online without spending more money (for advertising), one final critical step must be done in order for the article to be successful. The website or product links for whatever you are promoting must be included in the article. Otherwise, there will be no way for the masses of people reading these fine articles to get to your website if they are interested. Generally speaking, most article submission sites will not allow self serving or affiliate links in the body of the article. Self serving links are links to any website the author has a personal interest in, whether it be monetary or otherwise. These self serving links must be placed in the writer's resource box. Usually only 2-3 links are allowed per resource box. I recommend looking at some other author's resource boxes online to develop original ideas for how to write one. It is actually fairly straightforward and easy to construct a decent resource box. Just do not overlook your website links when writing the resource box. If you have no website, at least include an email address so potential customers can reach you. That's it, you are ready to write your keyword relevant articles.
Here are some articles I have written recently that are listed on Google. These articles can be used as examples to give a rough idea how to properly use keyword relevancy in articles to get positive results.
1) In this article I used the keywords "beginner make money online." It is currently (Jan. 24 2009) listed on page 1 of Google for those keywords.
Can Beginners Make Money Online? A Guide For The First Step
2) In this article I used the keywords "make money online ipc." I played around with the title and body of this article to create slightly different versions of it. I then submitted them to a number of different article directories. There are currently (Jan. 24 2009) 3 slightly different versions of the same article, all listed on page 1 of Google for those keywords.
A Low Priced Internet Business - IPC Instant Cash Can Make Money Online
3) In this article I used the keywords "unemployed make money online." It is currently (Jan. 24 2009) listed on page 2 of Google for those keywords.
Unemployed? Make Money Online - My Internet Success Story
These example articles clearly illustrate the potential of keyword relevancy when used properly in article marketing. Just a few fundamental principles need to be applied, and Google can easily be manipulated into giving high page rankings to articles designed to produce that very desired result. Article marketing with proper keyword usage can be somewhat intimidating at times, but is not a magic trick or complicated rocket science. It is simply a common set of rules and guidelines to be followed to produce a desired result, another tool in the online marketing toolbox if you will. And in the end, when article marketing is combined with keyword relevancy and used properly, almost anyone can make more money online without spending a dime.