Writing hundreds of articles in your related niche and making them available for distribution through article directories and ezines is one of the best strategies for increasing targeted traffic to your website. Considering getting your articles published online is free, article marketing is also most cost-effective strategy for increasing targeted traffic to your website.

Here's how article marketing through article directories and ezines drives traffic to your website:

* When your key-word rich article is published by established ezines that are highly ranked by major search engines, your article could very well zoom up to the top ten results for that keyword search. This is something you could hardly hope to achieve on your own. Anyone who clicks on to the link and reads your article will also click on the link to your website, which can be accessed from the author’s box that is featured at the end of the article. An added benefit of getting traffic using this method is that the traffic is likely to be highly targeted traffic, which is the only kind that matters in the end. Whoever arrives at your site via this route has clicked on the link to your article and read your article. Because they are impressed with what they read, they would have immediately acknowledged your proficiency in the area and have now come to your site looking for the more information from you.

* Writing a valuable and informative niche-related articles and publishing them with reputed ezines establishes you as an authority in the field. This recognition can give you the competitive edge against other businesses in the same niche as customers prefer to buy from someone who knows what they are talking about. An unexpected bonus- taking the time and trouble to write articles and get them published through ezines and article directories indicates that you are not some scam-artist or fly-by-night marketer out to make a few quick bucks on the internet. Publishing articles regularly with ezines and article directories gives you and your business extra credibility and also helps you build a rapport with your prospective clients. People who buy on the internet and who are looking for the product you are offering, would prefer to buy from you rather than somebody they cannot trust.

* Submitting your articles to the right article directories helps you to build up valuable back links by having these article directories link to your optimized web pages by way of your article. Obtaining several relevant back links helps you enhance your search engine rankings, pushing your web page to the top 10 rankings for your optimized keywords. While this may not happen overnight, it’s a sure fire way of eventually getting your web page right where it can be seen to all those who matter.

* Some ezine publishers even archive their ezine on their site. This offers potential customers the chance to check out back issues before they make a commitment to subscribe. Getting your article archived means it can be viewed over and over again several years down the line, increasing your exposure tremendously and driving traffic to your site several years after the article was first published.

* Another way to increase traffic to your website is by allowing ezine publishers to include your articles in their free Ebooks. This increases the exposure of your article even more and anyone interested in visiting your website can easily do so by clicking in the link contained in your resource box.

* Some ezine publishers allow their visitors to republish articles that are featured in the free content directory on their website, the only caveat being that the author resource box that accompanies every article is featured along with the article. There’s no saying where your articles are likely to end up and who will be reading them! Your article could pique the interest of somebody who had till that moment not the slightest inclination to buy whatever it is you are offering. And if the quality of your product matches the high quality of your article you will have converted yet another curious visitor into a loyal customer.

If you've been hesitating to submit your articles to ezines on the premise that you would like to get paid for articles that you write and publish, then it’s time you woke up to the extended benefits of article marketing through ezines and article directories. It drives traffic that too, not any old traffic but quality, targeted traffic stampeding to your site without costing you a dime. Think of all the money you would have spent to attract the same volume of potential customers by any of the more conventional forms of advertising.
Here are a few factors that will help you choose the right article directory to submit your article to:
* Look for article directories that have been in business for more than a year. Article directories that have been in existence longer would rank higher with the major search engines and would also have a larger reader base.
* Article directories that feature less than 1,000 authors have not hit the big time yet and are best avoided. Look for article directories that have over one to five thousand authors.
* Ideally, a good article directory should be powered by humans and should have the name of the owner or the person in charge clearly visible. Absence of either one of these factors indicates that the owner does not want to be held accountable and that the site is fully automated, which means there is nobody policing the quality of the content. Better to avoid being associated with such a site.
* If your e-mails go unanswered for more than 48 hours it speaks of dismal lack of service and is an indication of worse to come after you join up.
Getting your article published in a few carefully selected article directories and ezines will guarantee better exposure of high quality rather than getting your article published in several sub-standard article directories.