Working as a freelance writer and in SEO over the past few years, one thing became clear to me very quickly: link-building was going to be a big part of the job. One of the easiest ways to build links is by writing articles that contain anchor text (keywords that contain a hyperlink), and then submitting the articles to websites for publication. Building website links is very easy to do with article writing, but I have always been faced with two big problems.
The first problem is that writing articles for link-building purposes and then submitting them to websites is a time-consuming process and the second issue is that the writer does not often have control over where the content is going to be published. There are generally three main ways to submit articles to websites to build links:
- Submit the articles to article directory websites such as Ezine Articles and Articlesbase.
- Submit articles to blogs that accept guest posts.
- Use an article marketing software or service.
Article directories
Article directories are a good place to start building links, but link diversity is also important. Several links all coming from article directories are not going to be as valued in regards to SEO as incoming links from several different websites that are relevant to your website and that are ranked well with the search engines. Getting articles approved in the article directories can also be a time-consuming process and there are restrictions on where anchor text and links can be placed within the articles.
Guest posting
Guest posting is a wonderful option if a writer can find blogs that allow guest posting, but the search for blogs that allow guest posting is a time-consuming process itself and there is no guarantee that a blog will accept a writer’s articles. Guest posting cannot usually be done on an everyday basis and blog owners will often have the final say over any links.
Article marketing software
Using an article marketing software program or service is good for mass article writing and sending the content out to several different blogs at once, but this solution often results in a lot of duplicate content. Some article marketing services offer writers the use of an article spinner program as well, but search engines have a knack for recognizing spun content. Many article spinners are also very flaky and I found that I was spinning articles by hand more often than I was using the actual spinning program. This was a waste of time and I also did not have control over where content was being published, which often resulted in a lot of low quality websites using my articles.
What I wanted
What I wanted was a program that allowed me to write articles that contained at least a link or two that also allowed me to have complete control over where my articles were being used. I did not want to use a program that resulted in duplicate content and I wanted this application to be in an easy-to-use interface.
After a couple years of extreme frustration, I accidently landed on the Keyword Academy’s website and found some information about their Postrunner tool. The Keyword Academy is run by Court Tuttle and Mark Butler, who through videos, webinars, and articles, teach people how to make money online. As with any make-money-online website, I was a little hesitant, but I really needed to find a good link-building tool and the Keyword Academy made claims about Postrunner that prompted me to try it and I am glad I did.
What is Postrunner?
Postrunner’s interface is very easy to use and is built on the WordPress platform. You sign in with your chosen username and password that you receive when you sign up with the Keyword Academy’s PRO membership. Once in your Postrunner dashboard, you simply write an article in the standard WYSIWYG editor that is at least 300 words in length.
You can include up to two links within each article using anchor text and after the article is written, you then choose a blog that you want to submit your content to. There are blogs on just about any topic in the Postrunner system, ranging from finance to marketing and technology. You are provided with blog links so that you can visit each blog before you decide where you want to publish your content.
Blogs that you submit your articles to range from PR 0 to at least 5 (the highest I have found) and you can submit up to 500 articles per period, which is plenty and you shouldn’t need more than that.
Postrunner takes originality very seriously and does not allow content to be pasted into their system from outside articles. Article spinning is not permitted. Blogs that publish your content are also not allowed to change the links included, but they are allowed to make minor changes to the article and they are not required to publish the content under your name. Most blogs post the content as “guest poster.”
Blog owners can choose to reject articles, but if they choose to reject, they are encouraged to send you a reason why your content was refused. If a blog does not accept an article within 7 days after it was submitted, the article is returned to you and you can then choose another blog to submit it to.
Cost
To access Postrunner, you have to be a Keyword Academy PRO member, which costs $33.00 per month. Postrunner cannot be purchased without a TKA PRO membership, but with that membership, you get access to the forums, webinars, training videos, and articles on The Keyword Academy’s website.
Room for improvement
The search engine ranking of the blogs that you can submit to in Postrunner could be a little higher, but there is a good variety of blogs and their rankings are pretty decent for the price you pay to use Postrunner. However, as more blogs sign up to receive content from Postrunner, it would seem likely that this will improve. It would also be nice if a person could purchase Postrunner separate from the TKA PRO membership or be able to purchase yearly use of Postrunner at a discount, rather than paying by month.
Summary
- Postrunner is an easy-to-use link-building tool that gives you a good deal of control
- You don’t need to have a technical background to use the interface and submit articles
- Knowing exactly where content is going to be posted on the Internet gives you peace of mind; you do not have to worry about your articles showing up on low caliber websites that do not add any value
- If you want to learn how to make money online, you can easily do so using your TKA PRO membership to the fullest advantage
- Postrunner gives helps you get your content out on the web quickly and easily
- If a blog has certain requirements for their articles, they clearly state their requirements when a Postrunner user is selecting where they want their content to be published
Postrunner: http://postrunner.com