I get some really great questions from beginners about how to submit articles and what they can expect. It’s natural to want to know what you’re getting into and how soon you can see results.

We would all like to have overnight success with just about anything we do, whether that be physical fitness, our business, or our websites. Recently I received this question and maybe this thought has passed through your brain too:

I haven’t started submitting articles yet, but can you give me an idea of how many links I will get if I search in Google after 5 days of article submissions?

I know, I know–we want to see huge progress, not today but yesterday!

It’s impossible to say how many links your website will build in a period of 5 days of article submissions, but I want to steer you toward a better question, and that is: “What is the best way to measure my article marketing success?”

What you should be looking at…

When you see your articles showing up in a Google search for the title in quotes, you are seeing the places where you article is published. You know the links are there, but it usually takes Google anywhere from 3-6 months to calculate the links and adjust your website’s ranking for your keyword terms.

So, having a certain number of backlinks after 5 days doesn’t really mean anything–the thing that means something is where your website is sitting in the rankings for the keyword terms you are targeting.

Article Marketing is a long term marketing tool–you should plan on consistently submitting articles for several months before seeing the first fruits of your labors. Of course it’s not unusual to see encouraging results before then–you may get clicks coming from the articles themselves or if your article is published in a major ezine you may see a flood of traffic for a short period of time after the ezine has been sent out.

But remember–what this is about is getting a higher search engine ranking for your website. If you can get to the #1 position for the keyword terms associated with your website, then there can be a huge traffic potential there. It takes consistent work, but it’s doable and quite worth the effort.

Think Bigger. Think Strategically.

So, forget about 5 days–start thinking about an article marketing strategy and goals that you can shoot for.

“I want more traffic for my website” isn’t a specific enough goal. Think in terms of getting a higher search engine ranking in Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. for specific keyword terms.

Your first step will be to figure out what those keywords are. You do this by doing research. You’ll gather hard cold facts–by the time you’re done you’ll know what type of traffic you can expect if you achieve the #1 ranking for a certain keyword term.

That’s a lot more helpful than a vague wish for having more people looking at your website!

In case you need some information on how to do keyword research, this resource may help:
A Beginner’s Guide To Doing Keyword Research

After you’ve compiled your list of keyword terms, make a note of where your website is ranked for each of your keywords. That’s the most tangible way to see how you’re gaining momentum and getting closer to your goals. Put this info in a spreadsheet or something–then, every month update your spreadsheet with your website’s current ranking for each of your keyword terms.

I think it’s safe to say that you won’t reach your goal in 5 days.

This is a process, but the payoff is huge.

With consistent effort, you should start to see your website inch up the rankings. How long it takes your site to get to the #1 spot depends on what ranking you had originally, how consistent you are with your marketing campaign, and how much competition there is for your keyword terms.

Here’s some encouragement–I think that most people don’t take the time to seriously market their websites. That means that it is entirely doable for you, with the proper effort, to rise up in Google’s rankings and get in on the traffic that Google is referring to the top websites.

From Steve Shaw 

Owner of  www.submityourarticle.com Visit his site for more valuable information.

Interested in more marketing  strategies for success then take a look at the 7 Day Marketing videos just request a copy above.

Vanda