by Andre Sanchez

If you know how to use a resource box in article marketing, you have the secret of how to drive traffic to your website. Although article submissions can provide you with one way links back to your website from the directories that accept them, they will not immediately work to provide you with traffic.

The immediate benefit of article marketing is to provide you with visitors to your site, and if you know how to use your resource box properly, then they will visit the page on your site that will be most productive for you. That might not necessarily be your home page. However, what exactly is a resource box, and how do you use one?

Most, but not all, article directories provide you with boxes into which you can enter the various elements of your article. Practically all offer a single line box into which you enter the title of your article that should include the keyword that defines its subject. Always make sure that you understand how to use keywords in your articles. Without the proper use of keywords, your articles will have little chance of appearing in search engine indices and providing you with the traffic that you are capable of getting.

This starts with the title box, where you enter the title of your article, containing the main keyword for your article. The second box that a directory provides is the article body box, where you enter the article itself. Some also provide a box for a brief description, or summary, of the article, and another for a keyword list in which you should enter four or five keywords that appear in the article. If the keyword does not appear in the article body, then there is no point in listing it in the keyword box.

Finally, most also allow an ‘author’s resource box’. This is where you should say something about yourself, and provide a link to your website. If it is not offered as a separate box, then you are generally permitted to add the information after the body of the article. This box should never be used as a direct advertisement for your product or for your website, so you should not write, for example "Buy my ebook about basket weaving – it is the best on the net!"

You can however, after an article on basket weaving, write "Get more information on the marvellous art of basket weaving on my website xxxxxxxx." That is perfectly OK.

However, far better is to write something along the lines of "Mark’s love for basket weaving is exemplified by the energy he puts into his website and his energetic training of newcomers to the craft. For more expert information on basket weaving, visit his web page xxxx. Mark is very busy, but can be contacted on his website yyyy".

You provide a webpage on xxxx and your home site on yyyy if you are allowed two links, otherwise stick to the links to the page that deals with the topic of the article.

If you are allowed to use anchor text, then use that rather than provide just a URL. Anchor text is where you use a text link to your site, but not just a "CLICK HERE" link, but a "BASKET WEAVING" link, that has been linked to your ‘basket weaving’ web page by a HTML tag. The search engine spiders then associate your link, and hence web page, with the topic of ‘basket weaving’, and so give relevance to the page.

Whatever the subject of your article, whether it be basket weaving or how to catch a giant squid, the page that your link sends your reader to must be relevant to the subject of the article. If your article is on the difficulties that giant squid fishermen face in the course of their jobs, don’t send readers to a page on catching shrimp. Not only are they different sizes, but people interested in the architeuthis do not want to be sent to a page on shrimp!

If they are, you will lose potential customers. Another point that you have to consider is that once you lead readers to the website page of your choice, you have to either get a sale first visit, or make them visit again. What is the chance of them making a first time purchase? Actually, it is a lot smaller than you think, no matter how persuasive you believe yourself to be. Studies have shown that it takes an averge seven or eight exposures to a product before people buy. Hence the repetitiveness of TV advert campaigns.

It might be better to lead them first to a ‘squeeze page’, designed to get their first name and email address in return for something of benefit to them. In fact that might be an even better marketing move than immediately leading them to a sales page and asking for money. Why not give them something free on their first visit, in return for an email address so that you can send them their free gift? Your visitors might appreciate a free gift related to their interest rather than a sales pitch. You can give them the sales pitch during subsequent emailings once you have their email addresses. You could never do that if you didn’t have their address.

Another benefit of that is that you can also make special offers on other products as they come along. You should do all that you can to keep in contact with everybody that visits your website, and that is how to use your resource box in article marketing: to make sure that you can keep in contact with any readers of your article that are interested enough in the subject to click on your links for more information.

How to Use a Resource Box in Article Marketing was originally published  at http://www.affiliatemarketinglife.com