I’ll let you in on a little secret – for traffic generation purposes “traditional” article directories are all but dead. Early in 2011, they had a nasty encounter with a raging Panda; the Google Panda, to be specific. Gone are the days of getting thousands (if not more) of article reads on article directories, as well as masses of traffic through our resource boxes.
Here’s a personal anecdote – between 2008 and the start of 2011, I wrote and submitted around 450 articles to Ezinearticles.com (under various noms de plume, I might add) At the turn of 2011 I had amassed over 1.1 million views of all my articles, and around 350,000 resource box clicks. Fast-forward a year, and this figure is just over 1.25 million views and 372,000 click throughs. What happened? Google Panda happened.
So does that mean that there are no easy ways to get traffic by submitting simple articles to 3rd party websites?
Of course not, and today I’m going to show you one of my “hidden gems” of traffic generation. I’m talking about getting traffic with document sharing sites.
These are sites like:
- Scribd.com
- Docstoc.com
- Slideshare.net
- Calameo.com
- Here’s a list of 29 document sharing sites (I can’t personally vouch for all of them, but take a look for yourself)
They allow users to upload documents in a variety of formats, including Word (*.doc) Open Office Word (*.odt) and the venerable PDF (*.pdf)
Now most people use document sharing sites for, well sharing documents with friends and family, or finding papers and research documents for college or university work. Think of these document sharing sites as “public” cloud storage for basic text-based files.
Over time, these document sharing sites have grown to become very large, and have a lot of inbound links. This means they have high PageRank, and often rank very well in the search engines for keyword phrases.
What I’m saying here is that you can upload your keyword-based articles to document sharing sites, and rank highly in the search engines.
Here are what I see as the benefits of posting your articles to document sharing sites:
- You can get indexed in Google very quickly
- Add images and flashy formatting to your articles (this can boost click through rates)
- Create your document and upload to multiple document sharing sites for more traffic and views (I’ll explain why this ISN’T duplicate content in a second)
- Easily add affiliate links into your articles.
Document Sharing Sites & Duplicate Content
I mentioned above that you can write one article, let’s say I’ve written an article called “Muhammad Ali Memorabilia”, and submit it to multiple document sharing sites. My “Muhammad Ali Memorabilia” article could quite feasibly rank for multiple positions on the front page of Google on more than one document sharing site, even if I don’t reword any of the content.
This is due to the way that search engines look at documents on sites like Scribd and DocStoc – they don’t place so much emphasis on the article itself, because of the way they are displayed in a special format. Instead, search engines tend to look at the description, tags, title, and any accompanying notes/comments. This means you can write one article, submit it to 3 document sharing sites, and then use variations in title, description, and tags for the lot of them.
You should still keyword optimize your articles properly, as there are some arguments to suggest that search engines are learning to read these specially displayed documents, and keyword-researched articles tend to have better click through rates anyway.
Document Sharing Sites & Backlinks
One area where document sharing sites fall short of the mark is in providing backlinks. Because search engines cannot properly “read” an article posted to a site like Scribd, any links you create back to your own site(s) will not be counted.
What I’m saying here is that there is little SEO benefit in submitting articles to document sharing sites; your aim should instead be generating lots of traffic to your main site or affiliate links.
How to Create a Document
Creating a document-based article to upload to sites like Scribd or DocStoc is easy. Here is a step-by-step guide:
- Research your keywords, like you would with a normal article.
- Create a blank Word or Open Office Word file.
- Write a quality article of at least 400 words. Remember that list-based articles are very popular.
- Write a resource box at the end of the article, like you normally would. Remember to add a strong call to action to encourage people to click through to your website or affiliate offer.
- Add links throughout the document. With my Muhammad Ali Memorabilia article I could add an Amazon Associates link for each product I mention, for example.
- Add images to spice up your document; make sure you use text wrapping. You can hyperlink images as well.
- Use fonts, colors, and text highlighting to draw attention and make your article more attractive to read.
- Save it and upload to document sites like Scribd, DocStoc, and SlideShare (even though SlideShare is meant for Powerpoint presentations, it still accepts Word files without needing any editing)
- Rinse and repeat for more keywords.
It really is that easy.
Document Sharing Tips for More Traffic & Sales
Here are some of my best “insider tips” for getting more traffic with document sharing sites:
- Save your file name as your keyword. For example, my “Muhammad Ali Memorabilia” article could be saved as something like Muhammad-ali-memorabilia.doc
- Experiment with different file types. Sometimes you will find that PDF files tend to rank better than DOC files, or vice versa. I can’t understand the logic or process behind this, but have noticed myself.
- Write a detailed document description that is at least 100 words long, and features your main keyword + variations. Remember that search engines will look here to understand what your document contains.
- Add plenty of tags (keyword variations)
- Write a descriptive and interesting title. For example, something like “7 of the Greatest Muhammad Ali Memorabilia” (boxing fans will understand this little joke, and be more inclined to click)
- Put links throughout your article – not just in the resource box at the end. You should have a link or two near the start of your article, as well as a prominent resource box.
- Use a larger font when writing (at least 16 point) as your documents will display much smaller online, unless visitors opt to view in full-screen mode.
Getting traffic with document sharing sites really isn’t that difficult. I wouldn’t spend hours and hours every day submitting to them, because there is little SEO benefit for your main website. However, if you spend 30 minutes a day for a month writing and submitting to document sharing sites (and make sure you optimize your articles for high rankings) then you should definitely notice a big boost in traffic and sales!
An article submitted to somewhere like DocStoc, and that has been properly optimized, can easily rocket to the front page of Google in a couple of days.
One final tip – start by hunting out low competition, long-tail keywords to build your confidence and see faster results.
I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions on using document sharing sites to generate traffic. Just leave a comment to join the discussion!
jack flagg • 13 years ago
Samuel Frost • 13 years ago
You've got to learn to walk before you can run!
Post And Courier • 13 years ago
Eric • 13 years ago
James Pruitt • 13 years ago
this is one way that I leverage some of the spun articles that I have from mass syndications.
Samuel Frost • 13 years ago
Thanks for your kind comment. You're definitely right that document sharing sites are a good way to leverage spun articles as well!
paulie69 • 13 years ago
As usual we have nothing but brilliant quality coaching presented here on Affilorama! :)
Samuel Frost • 13 years ago
Ankan Kd • 13 years ago
Ken Paxton • 13 years ago
Backlink Service • 13 years ago
Ken Rumbarger • 13 years ago
website submitter • 13 years ago
I would love to have automated the website syndication.
Nicholas Bryant • 13 years ago
Carla Easley • 13 years ago
Goh Yau Kuang • 13 years ago
Clint Butler • 12 years ago
Jason Greene • 12 years ago
Philip Keller • 12 years ago
Gabe • 12 years ago
Peter Lages • 12 years ago
I recently began making use of doc share websites and get observed a uptick in site visitors after having a very small amount of time.
passive income • 12 years ago
I came across your article because someone in my FB group posted a reference to it.
I have started to use Scribd and my results are pretty good. Your post is a perfect addition to my "good references" swipe file.
Cheers,
Dita
Amy • 12 years ago
One more resource is Hashdoc.com, for document sharing, etc. The tagging system is different and the document can be viewed in plain text which is also picked up by search engines.
Nima Parham • 12 years ago
Vitalka • 12 years ago
Yes, using document sharing sites is a good strategy. As for me, I would advise to make unique titles and descriptions to all favorite sharing sites. From my experience - it's enough 3 sites to manually submit files, with absolutely different title and description.
But, as we know that a lot of other sharing sites are existing on Web. Does anyone knows any free tool or service that could help in quick upload files to other (not so strong as favorite 3) sharing sites? Something like PixelPipe, but for documents only (DOC, PDF)? If you have any idea on that subject - all subscribers of Affilorama would be happy!
shamsudeen • 12 years ago
anu mandava • 12 years ago
Joseph Ofori Danquah • 12 years ago
Siim • 12 years ago
But I can use it in my other projects. Thanks mate!
Top mini sewing machine for sale • 12 years ago
Thanks for your nice post. This stragery is effective, I follow and it help me get more traffic.
robin huang • 12 years ago
• 11 years ago
Is my idea correct? So creating unique article or get spun for each site is not a better idea?
Tim Aucoin • 11 years ago
Coupons Masti • 11 years ago
thanx for sharing these tips, i've implemented these tips on http://www.couponsmasti.in and found increase in visitors.
all the best..!!
mike poland • 11 years ago
Clyde Thomas • 11 years ago
Elvia • 11 years ago
Cecille Loorluis • 11 years ago
We recommend using Wordpress for your blog. They have good security, which you can make even better by using additional security plugins to your site. Most webhosts have Wordpress on the control panel or under CGI scripts so its easy to install on your site.
Hope that helps. Have a good day!
Nolan Wilson • 11 years ago
Dan • 7 years ago
Karisma • 7 years ago
Thanks for your valuable article. It is nicely explained.Before I had a lot of misunderstanding about document sharing. but now you have cleared my all doubts.
lettersbyliz • 7 years ago
Cecille Loorluis • 7 years ago
Always follow the instructions of the websites you'll be submitting the documents to.
Hope that helps. All the best!
RNB kumar • 6 years ago
• 4 years ago