Submitting articles to Article directories on the internet is an effective way to get more traffic to your websites. There are a few problems with this system that I will point out so that you can become more proficient in this strategy.

The weakness of the article submitting techniques is that it is very time consuming. I have submitted articles in three different ways: by Hand, and with Article Submitter and Article Submitter Pro software. Many directories require a login (ID and password) so each directory must be visited and a login established before submissions are accepted.

When submitting by hand, you have to cut and paste each section of the article into the individual directories. There are a lot of sections; first the Title, then the Category (very important – I’ll get into this later), Author, Author email, Website Address, Keywords, Article Summary, Article Body, and About Author box. That is nine cut and pastes to submit to ONE article directory. If you wish to submit to 150-200 directories, a good part of your time is spent doing grunt work which does not allow you to pursue other avenues of traffic generation.

Now we come to the “semi-automated� submission software programs. Yes, they are easier, some more than others, but you still must go to each directory individually. It is crucial that you select a Category for your article. If this is not done the article directories will know you are using automatic submitting software and will treat your article as SPAM. Many directories especially frown on the “Automated Article Distribution Services� like iSnare, and Article Automater, for just that reason. Therefore you will not be published and not only have you wasted your time writing your article but you may be classified as a spammer.

Within the “Article Submitter� Software, they have 138 auto fill and 25 manual fill directories listed. A visit to a majority of the directories must be done first in order to establish a login. You have the option of adding other article directories on your own, which is a nice touch.

The software will open to a page that is a form for “User Information�. Typical information requirements you would find in any sign up sheet like, name, company, email, website, etc. Then hit the tab for “Articles� where you will place the article for submission. You will fill in the Title Section, Article Body (including About Author), Summary and Keywords. Then choose the “Websites� tab. You can “select all� or pick and choose. Click on “Auto Fill� and it will take you to your first directory. A flaw here is that you can only have one article posted in the article section at a time.

Sounds easy, right? Well with “Article Submitter� you must be very careful. Once you have chosen your Category check each section. This software does not always put the right information in the right box and leaves some boxes blank. Again, if the directories feel you are using software carelessly they will delete your article. The manual sites are just that, manual top to bottom. It took me a full day for each article so it is still a time consuming process.

Then my partner found “Article Submitter Pro� which I just finished testing yesterday. It is by far the easiest and quickest available at this time. Set up is still a bit tedious, once again you have to establish your logins, but only once. And I found them much more accurate in filling in the necessary submission forms. Yes, you still must choose your Category but there is no getting away from that.

They have 780 Article Directories listed but there is a tab where you can mark your “Favorites�. At first I was a little intimated but it is easy to follow and saves you a lot of time. I submitted to over 150 directories in about 4 hours and that was my first time using the software so I was on the learning curve.

A plus on this program is that they have a pop up window that warns you if you have already submitted that particular article to a directory. The directories consider multiple submissions SPAM and you will be deleted. Be careful not to hit the “Next Site Button� until after you have the confirmation that your article has been acknowledged. If you accidentally push the “Next Site Button� the program will record that site as having received your article.

So that has been my experience with these three systems for submitting articles to the Article Directories. I do not recommend hand posting – it is much too difficult. I also don’t recommend the “Automated Article Distribution Services�. A lot of directories refuse their articles.

For me the most convenient and least cumbersome was Article Submitter Pro for getting my articles out there to many Article Directories in the least amount of time.

Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved.

This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.

About the Author Mary Hanna writes eBooks, Software Reviews (for people who are technically challenged like her) and Practical Articles on Internet Marketing, Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at: WebMarketingReviews, CruiseTravelDirectory, or contact her at [email protected] For more information on Article Submitter Pro go to FastArticleSubmit