With every iteration of the Google Panda update, we see big changes in the SERPs and one of the groups of sites that has been particularly affected is article marketing sites.  In this article, we’ll investigate whether article marketing sites have been adversely affected by the Google Panda update and, if so, we investigate the question:  Does article marketing still work to promote your website or should you try another solution like this ultimate guest blogging solution?

Google Panda Update and Article Marketing:  Initial Impression

Article marketing has always been beneficial for SEO purposes for two reasons:  One, you receive direct traffic from the articles themselves.  Two, and more importantly, you get very good benefits from the inbound links, especially from respected article directories.  In fact, as an expert eZine author, I have many articles that have attained a pagerank of 3.  Thus, I have derived great benefit from the inbound links on these pages.

My initial impression is that the Google Panda Update has definitely affected article marketing directories. For particular searches, I have noticed not only a drastic reduction of articles directories returned in the SERPs but a complete absence of them.

In the past, I knew that if I wrote an article on a certain topic and posted it to GoArticles or ArticlesBase that it would show up on page 1 in the SERPs within a matter of hours.  That just does not happen anymore (the same holds true with certain PR directories).  Typically, it does not show up at all.  As for the the granddaddy of directories, Ezine articles, they appeared to have been adversely affected by Google Panda originally but are now back in Google’s good favor.  Many pages that I have on eZinearticles still show up in the SERPs where they did in the past.

Google Panda Update and Article Marketing:  What Happened?

Many people are upset about the Google Panda Update because it has drastically reduced the amount of money that they were making and can make in the future.  However, there is no fighting this trend so adjustments are necessary.

Google is a business and their main business is search engine results.  Despite all of the cool stuff that Google produces, they still make most of their money from the ads they place on their search engine results pages.  So, if they provide poor results and people use another search engine, Google as a business would be in trouble.

Their goal with all of these Google Panda updates is to weed out bad and/or redundant results.  Again, this has angered more than a few and literally robbed some people of their livelihood.

However, the fact is that many article directories are filled with redundant, “spun” content that has no originality and exists solely to generate backlinks.  We should not be upset that Google wants to filter these results.  They must do this  to continue providing quality services.

A New Approach:  Google Panda Update and Article Marketing

With Google Panda, is article marketing now dead?  I would say “no” but add that most people need to change their approach.

Here is what I will change about my approach.  I have always written unique content and submitted this content to just a few article directories.  It was always interesting to see which one Google would pick up first. Now, I will narrow my submissions even more, with just a few unique articles going to the most important article directories, and right now that article directory is EzineArticles.

For those who have used article spinners and/or automatic submission of articles, I think this approach is not entirely dead but dying a slow death in the Post-Panda world.

Google Panda Update and Article Marketing:  Conclusion and References

The question posed in the title of this article was:  With the new Panda update, does article marketing still work?  The answer is “yes”, but you you may need to change your approach with a product like Ultimate Guest Blogger.

The world of article spinners and automatic submissions is dying a slow-death with each Google Panda update.  However, unique content submitted to quality directories still works very well.

Much has been written on the topic of article marketing in the wake of these Google Panda updates.  Here are some more articles that you may enjoy:

How Google Panda Update Impacts Article Marketing: Is Article Marketing dead? Absolutely not! Even though you might still get a little bit of link juice from a handful of article directories, the smart thing to do now is to submit exclusive content to relevant sites instead…

Did Google’s Panda Update Smash Article Marketing?: The change wasn’t anti-SEO, it was anti-SPAM…

Google Panda: Are you still focusing on article marketing?: The Google Panda update ensures that article marketing is still a good practice if you produce quality content that your visitors will appreciate and help you syndicate and share it…

Freelance Writers: 10 Reasons the Google Panda Update Makes (SEO) Article Marketing Even More Effective & Means More Work for You: Not to brag (only to prove a point), but content written by me about “SEO writing” occupies four spots on the first page of Google…

Ranking Post Panda – Is Article Marketing Still Working?: Panda is nothing to fear, if you do SEO the right way…

Article Marketing: What Happened and What To Do: This article takes a look at why article marketing with article directories does not work anymore and what the solution is now.

Finally, it should be noted that Matt Cutts, head of Google’s webspam search team, is not terrible fond of article marketing as he states in this YouTube video. However, do note that he is referring primarily to low-quality articles on article directories.