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Do article writing formulas work? There is no easy answer – or right answer. It all really relies on how good your SEO copywriter is. There are at least seven different styles of article, and dozens of ‘optimization formulas’ to work with which are effective to varying degrees. For an experienced SEO copywriter, they can be a little tricky – for  novice they can be torture. There are some who claim keyword density is everything, while others are adamant that it is all about keyword placement. Others still, will insist until there dying breath it is all about the right keywords. What we believe is it has something to do with all of those ideas, but none of it means anything if it is not readable and relevant. Here are the common types of articles you will mostly deal with.

How to articles are good for SEO because people search using the term ‘how to—’ and also because the articles at least infer direct step by step instruction. Provide a source or two for more info, or to other articles you’ve written on the topic. Doing this is a quick way to give you a reputation as an online expert in your field.

People love lists, so think of top ten lists or best whatever lists or 20 ways to such and such lists. Start with a short introduction, do your list, and wrap up with a comment. Put the numerals in the title. Five, seven, ten and top twenty lists get the most searches so try to focus on those.

Play devil’s advocate by setting up a premise – then demolish it in order to show your own, better way of approaching the question or problem at hand. Think along the lines of “Is waxing really better than shaving?” and then demonstrate why your side is superior after providing the meager positives of the side you oppose.

You can answer questions with examples – such as ‘Should I Outsource My SEO Work? and inform your audience by telling a few short success stories then offer your help. Use stats to give your piece authority. Again, think like a person searching the web. What would they ask? Identify that and then answer it.

Interview – Interview an expert for an article, and interject your own points you want to cover. You can style it as a traditional article with heavy use of quotes, or as a Q&A. These are less common than they used to be, but are highly effective despite the extra time they take.

Keep up on fads and do quick Press Release style articles tying in relevant trends or news to your own topic or field. These have a chance of being picked up if you do a good job! SERPS love whatever is hot at the moment – exploit that to your own advantage. You can always play an angle if you look hard enough.

Inform people about the ‘release’ of a new completed study or survey. You can base a whole article on the results of case studies, and then add an authority site to increase the credibility. These are both very search friendly and newsworthy which is a great combination to strive for.

Whatever method you choose, make sure you use the right keywords. Be careful not to spam them out, and then write a solid piece of relevant content that is informative and engaging. That is the best formula for success there is!

Social media marketing is quickly becoming one of  most important search engine marketing strategies that can be engaged in. A good SEO campaign in conjunction with a well run social media campaign is one of the best ways to get a product up the search engine rankings and seen by the greatest number of people possible. As importantly, a strong social media campaign can help improve targeted traffic returns.  If you have not been concentrating on social media marketing so far, it is high time that you started concentrating on social media marketing to promote your website.

You will be able to find both general social media sites as well as niche specific social media marketing sites to work with and each carries with it a specific value. Some of the top social media sites include Twitter, Digg, Delicious, Flickr, Mixx, Stumbleupon, Technorati and hundreds of other similar sites. The key is to identify where your target audience gathers so you can get your product in front of them where they hang out rather than hoping they find you on the SERPs.

Among the many benefits of using social media, you will be able to make your brand visible to the online community. If you are launching a new business or taking your existing business online, people will not know your brand online. You have to take the initiative and deliver it to them for the quickest results. Sure, great SEO will get them to you eventually, but who wants to lose potential conversions waiting for Google to update? Even the best SEO takes time to develop.

There is also a traffic advantage when you promote your website in the best social media websites. You may get a few people that look and leave when you drive traffic through social media, but you will also get people that stay, share and convert. The key is to make sharing easy for them. The increased traffic will also help you with getting your search results up and even page rank in some cases.

Search engines love social media sites, so having a presence on them is to your benefit. For many, social media is easy to ignore because it seems like too much work, but it really only takes being a regular – meaning say 5 days a week making a few posts or comments as you go along. It also helps increase your reputation as an authority in your field.

Something else social media marketing can do for you is increase your number of links on the web. People love to share something good – give them something good and you’ll see more and more links popping up.  By submitting your website to no follow social media sites, you will not be able to get back links though you will be able to enjoy the other benefits such as online visibility. As you can see, there are numerous benefits associated with social media marketing and you should not ignore these benefits. Your competition is doing it and so should you.

If you’re preparing to take the dive into the world of Twitter but have no idea how or what really makes for a successful Twitter campaign you’re not alone. Most people are lost when they start out – and that is okay, but being informed is better. When most people think about what makes for a successful Twitter account they generally think of it in terms of one thing – how many followers do I have? Having a load of followers is nice and it surely can win some bragging points, but is that really all it takes to be a Twitter king? Doesn’t the quality of your audience count too?

Think of Twitter in terms of a car dealership. Your account is equivalent to car showroom. You try to tweet as many interesting and relevant things as possible to not just get the attention of people passing by, you want to convert those visitors into clients. It’s not that much different than the guy with the wacky inflatable arm waving prop on the corner of his lot trying to draw you in.

Just as having 1,000 people visit your showroom without making a sale is a bust. Having 1,000 Twitter followers that do not re-tweet your posts or ever put a penny in your pocket are pretty useless. The whole point of Twitter is getting people engaged so you can get them to a conversion point. Would you enter any venture that saps your resources to get zero return? So what do you need to do to make Twittter work for you?

Start with a professional profile. Use your corporate logo as the photo and then come up with the most engaging description you possibly can in 160 characters or less. Make sure you include a link to your website in the field provided for it. Allow people to direct message you. It helps encourage engagement. If necessary, hire someone to do it for you. This is going to your company’s outward presentation to the world so it is worth spending a few dollars to make it the best it can be and running professionally. Keep in mind that Google will index this, so it is definitely not something you want to play around with and skimp on. SEO does count! Even with the birth of G+, twitter does have a Google presence.

Next, get to know your competition. Too many people never even consider looking for who on Twitter is competing for the same keywords as they are. To do this, type http://search.twitter.com  Type in your keywords and see who is hitting them and how effectively they are doing it. Figure out what you ned to do in order to do it better than them. Next, begin tweeting articles from around the web related to your target audience using titles you have optimized. Be sure to credit the original source! This is a great way to get industry specific followers. Once you get them reciprocating, the odds are you will get some of their followers as well. This makes it easier to get your business tweets shared around later – reciprocation is big.

It is important to tweet on a regular basis so people keep your name and product fresh in their mind. If you aren’t there, it’s almost like you don’t exist. If you are asked questions, make sure you answer all that are relevant. Don’t waste time if it is a, excuse the phrase, “stupid question.“ Your odds of converting increase greatly if you actually are social when using social media. While Twitter has not banned the use of hash tags in tweets, it is best to keep them to a minimum. People that use hash tags in their tweets all the time are often looked upon as spammers – and it simply does not pay to get that tag. Playing nice and keeping it clean goes a long way.

When you begin following people, make sure those that you follow are people that can do something to raise your corporate profile on Twitter. Avoid bots and people that you wouldn’t want associated to your business in the real world.  Keep in mind that the people you follow on your personal account may be of no value to your business account – keep them separate! Like anything else, keep your eye focused on quality and your campaign will be all it should be. You’ll be a twitter king, or at least a prince, in no time at all!