Article marketing is extremely important to the success of your website. A couple of well-written articles can make a big difference to the number of visitors your website gets. Although 'targeted traffic' is best, more traffic is still better than less. You'll need to publish great articles on your website, and try to have them published on other folks websites as well, to get as many links as possible back to your site.

Articles are a vital element in getting visitors to your site. The more visitors you get, the better your Alexa rank and the higher in the search engine results your site will appear. The higher your rank in the search engine results pages, the more visitors you'll get. More visitors means more revenue, and the possibilites of new revenue streams, like advertising.

But you can't just stick any old article on your website. You need to ensure that any articles you write meet certain requirements. Well-written articles will keep your website visitors interested, and keep them coming back for more. They'll recommend your site to other people, bookmark it and promote it for you.

Here are some tips to consider when you write articles. There are 4 core elements every article should contain.

Excellent Article Content
There is a lot of complete garbage on the Internet. Many sites make use of private label articles, which read as if they were written by 8-year-olds for whom English is a second language. Make sure that the content you write is entertaining, informative and original. Check your spelling and grammar thoroughly - spelling mistakes detract from your content and reduce trust.

Use numbers and statistics when you can. People like complete, accurate information. Write in order to boost your reputation as a specialist in your field. If people trust you, they are more likely to buy from you.

Keyword Phrases
It's important to make sure that your article contains a proper mix of keywords and keyword phrases. When a search engine user types in a keyword or keyword phrase, the search engine finds and displays the pages it thinks are most relevant to the keywords used. You need to ensure that your article contains keywords which are closely related to your article topic so that it can be easily found. Try to make sure that the keywords relate to the topic of your website as well.

Tools like Wordtracker's free keyword tool or Nichbot Classic can be used to find the most popular keywords and keyword phrases related to your topic.

Keyword Density
Keyword density is just the number of times the keyword or keyword phrase appears on the page, as a percentage of the total number of words on the page. A keyword density of between 2% and 5% is generally regarded as about right. Too high a keyword density might be regarded as "keyword stuffing", which would tend to reduce the search engine ranking of the page.

Linking from your article
If you publish your articles in ezines or article directories, you will want to include a link back to your site. It is accepted practice to place a small resource box at the end of your article, with a brief description of you and your website and a live link to your site. Anyone republishing your article is expected to include the resource box. This is a vital method for getting backlinks, as well as visitors who have enjoyed your writing and want more.