so if i have these custom articles, and i use them ONLY on my website, will that make them worth more to my site in the serps than if i also submitted them to article directories?
You run the risk of duplicate content is the article appears on other sites. I think google is working detecting the "original author" but I don't think there are there yet. Submitting it to article directories will create backlinks to your site and help you more with SERPS. Ideally, you would rewrite the article for your site because you could get the best of both.
ok cool, thanks alot guys. this is what i was thinking, either submit them and be happy with the backlink, or keep them to myself for content reasons. thanks again
I agree. Build content and the rankings will come. There are plenty of other ways to build back links without giving away the article you plan to use on your site. But original articles are a great way to do it for back links. Good luck.
I run an article submission service...here's my two cents... at the end of the day, the goal is to get your article read (and perhaps your product bought), so it really depends on where your own website is at....if you have some decent rankings and traffic already, I would suggest keeping the article on your own page exclusively... however, if your site is not ranking or is currently sandboxed, the article my be better used in article directories which might get the article more reads through the SERPs, as well as potentially help your rankings through a link back.... hope that helps... Sanzbar
As to your question, yes it lowers the value of that particular article in theory because it can be found anywhere. However, all is not lost because the article is serving a marketing function. As someone who has had great success with content marketing I can tell you that it should be part of your marketing strategy. Like everything else, if you don't know what you are doing, it won't work as well. It is something you must learn how to do right. I have not noticed a dupe content penalty, but that does not mean things can't changed. If you want to be safe, create articles specifically for content marketing.
A few years ago, writing articles and sending them out and also putting them on your website was fine, now I find it's not such a good idea. I create a website or blog with unique content, then I also create articles for the sole purpose of sending out to article directories. Sure its a bit of extra work, but its worth it just incase.
You could always "rewrite" your articles so you have one version for your own site and one version to submit to directories.
The real case here is what works for you. Everyone's skill set and situation is different. What is a great marketing technique for me, might not be for you, and vise versa. Find out what works for you and go with it.