Article Submission Old Hat or Still Good hat?

[iprosoftware]

I have always used article submission sites such as ezine, article snatch etc...  I have always seen the big ones as a good way of getting relevant content out into the internet network with the bonus of building quality links back.

However I have now been reading a lot of conflicting information, since the latest update from Google that even an article being republished multiple times around the net will wipe out the positive impact of the article and bring no SEO benefit.

I wanted to get feedback from the SEOmoz community to see if you now feel this is a pointless exercise and we should now be even more careful as to where our content is published.

[HiveDigitalInc]

The biggest concern with these sites is that their distribution network can easily create anchor text over optimization penalties. If you promote an article on these sites and use manipulated anchor text, there is the possibility that by the end of the day you could have several hundred sites all with the exact same anchor text pointing to you. In a post-penguin SEO environment, this is not a good thing.

I can't see a strong argument against using these sites if you are creating good content and then using your brand or your actual name as the link, but I would be careful with targeted anchor text.

[AgentsofValue]

Article Submission was a good tactic years ago but I think that the recent Google updates have limited their effect on getting good rankings. That doesn't mean that it can't work. Some folks are still doing it and have observed that article submission works sometimes for a few months. This tactic sometimes work in the short-term but an algorithm change can wipe your rankings achieved through submitting an article to a bunch of article directories, article portals, article resource sites, etc... Then, there's the issue of duplicate content  and the submission sites can essentially cannibalize the traffic that you could have earned.

Google is getting smarter about content analysis so the classic or traditional forms of article submission are fast becoming old hat. We should now focus on real authentic alternatives that can get readership and trust over to our site.

In recent months, I have been focusing on guest blogging as a way to help build up my company's brand, earn recognition, and perhaps get some quality great links back to my sites. The time i used to spend on traditional forms of article submission are now being redirected into doing something authentic.

[TheeDigital]

I agree with Russ and Agents, it's an old hat trick and there's always the opportunity that Google could take a swing at you and claim you're over optimizing your website.

If you're producing good content, I would say maybe you should reach out and do some guest blogging.

[iprosoftware]

Thanks for all the feedback I think you are right, I think the best strategy is to write on sites which fit your requirements.  You are focusing on people rather than links then, this should increase click through and potentially improve your rankings.

[iprosoftware]

Thanks for all the feedback I think you are right, I think the best strategy is to write on sites which fit your requirements.  You are focusing on people rather than links then, this should increase click through and potentially improve your rankings.