There are many reasons why people write articles and get them posted on the Internet. Some just enjoy sharing information with others, but there are those, like myself, who are interested in using their articles as a vehicle to generate leads for their business. The question to ask ourselves is whether it is worth all the trouble. I can assure you, that after you have read this particular article, you will be running to your PC to start your writing career!

There are many authors who write about a variety of subjects. Because of this they do not always use their own name. You can actually use as many different names as you wish. So, this is one of the first things you have to decide. Are you always going to use your own name? If on occasion you are writing about a subject far removed from your business, then perhaps you would want to use another name.

Obviously, if you are trying to brand yourself on the Internet, then you would want to use your personal name as much as possible. If the subject matter can be in some way related to the type of business you are in, then it is going to be much easier to transition with a link back to your website.

It is recommended that articles be between 400 – 600 words. That works out to be about 8 paragraphs, with approximately three short sentences in each paragraph. If it much better to write a few short articles, than one long one.

It came as a pleasant surprise to me to see how I could significantly increase my presence on the Web, by getting my articles posted there. I didn’t write and submit my first article until late December, 2008. That was three weeks ago from the time I am writing this article. At that time, if I searched my name “Jan Shimano” in Google I would come up empty. However, just a few short weeks and ten articles later, when I googled by name in quotes again, I came up with 2760 hits. Perhaps you would like to check for yourself and Google my name (make sure you put it in quotes) and see how much it has increased since then. It seems to increase on a daily basis.

So, are you curious as to how I was able to accomplish this? Well then, I’ll tell you!! It just took writing those ten short articles and getting them accepted by EzineArticles. This is the largest article directory and it should be the first place you submit to. By the way, Google search just loves EzineArticles and gives them a very high rating, moving you up the charts, so to speak. If EzineArticles accepts your submission, then you will have no trouble with any of the other article directories.

However, just getting published with EzineArticles is not going to get you the huge presence on the Internet that you are looking for. There is an important second step to take and that is to sent it off to a multiple submission company. The one I use, and which I highly recommend, is Unique Article Wizard (UAW). On their website, you type in three unique versions of your article, along with variations in the Resource Box. UAW then configures all the paragraphs and resource boxes and comes up with hundreds and hundreds of unique articles. This is very important, because the search engines do not like duplication and you will not be rewarded at all for it….in fact, they could punish you. One of my articles was submitted to over 1800 directories by UAW.

EzineArticles is a free service. They do have a paid upgrade, but for the majority of people that is not necessary. I personally only use the free service and I am allowed to submit as many articles as I like. If you are using UAW, there is a monthly cost of $70.35. If you are only planning on writing an article now and again, this might not be the way to go for you. However, if you are serious about creating a huge presence for yourself on the Internet, then I can’t think of a better way to do it.

You do not have to be a professional writer to get your articles published on the Internet. If you can sit down and write a letter to a friend or loved one, then you can sit down and write a short eight paragraph article. Remember, this is not an assignment from your old English teacher from years past. She is not looking over your shoulder checking your grammar. Your reader is looking at your article because you are providing him with valuable information. He is not there to critique you. So, please, make up your mind right now that you are going to give this an honest effort. Once you have that first article accepted and published, my guess is that there will be no stopping you!!

Here is a word of caution to anyone who is venturing into PPC advertising for the first time. Slow down! There is a pretty substantial learning curve with PPC advertising. Taking the time to learn some information about how Google AdWords and PPC advertising works can and will save the newbie advertiser a great deal of time, money and aggravation.

Before starting with a PPC campaign, it is wise to gain some knowledge and insight into how Google AdWords work. The initial lessons you get can save you a great deal of time and/or money. Google has some wonderful training right on their site. Also a great resource I found that is recommended by several of the top earners I work with is Perry Marshall’s, “The Definitive Guide to Google AdWords.” It is well worth the investment plus you get other invaluable tips to Google.

I am a very hands on learner so I went in full force to design my own PPC campaign with very little research. After spending hundreds of dollars with no substantial return, I decided to take a break and start from ground zero. I knew that PPC could drive a great deal of traffic to my landing page if done correctly. All I was doing was dumping money into Google.

Remember with Google AdWords, many times less is more. Lets talk about who you are targeting. If you target your ads to a very small niche audience, you will use a very narrow group of keywords that are specific to what your target audience is looking for. You will have a lower impression rate for your ad, but your audience will be clicking on your ad. Your click through rate will increase.

Why is that? Well, you are providing your niche target with ads that are directly aligned with what they are looking for. They are looking for something specific and you are delivering it right to them with your targeted keywords and ads. Talk about a win ” win situation.

Always run two ads simultaneously. You will have your control ad and your test ad. Once you hit about 50-60 clicks, you will know which ad is working and which ad needs to be dumped. Obviously, you will want to make the higher performing ad your control and revamp or completely dump the other to create a new competing ad.

The lower performing ad has one of two fates. You will either toss is completely (if it does absolutely nothing for you) or you will make some minor change to try and improve it. Keep in mind that in PPC, sometimes less is more. By changing one word, it could become your highest producing ad.

This is a great way to ensure that you are always working towards increasing your lead generation by raising the bar of expectation for your ads. This is a great example of a way to apply attraction marketing principles to your marketing and attracting the quality leads you are looking for.