If you are marketing for a small service business, article marketing is an excellent method of promoting them so that their prospects will be able to find them more easily online.

Writing these articles does not have to take several hours. Instead, use a five paragraph article model that will take you less than an hour to write, edit, and submit to the article directory. The five paragraph model involves writing an introductory paragraph that explains a little about what your article will be about, as well as three main points that you will develop more fully throughout the article.

Paragraphs two, three, and four will each include more details about these three main points. Allow me to give you an example of what I mean by this so that you can get started right away.

If I am writing an article for an insurance agent, I may decide to write about homeowner's insurance in particular. The three main points I choose could be.

1)how to read your homeowner's insurance policy
2)when to make changes to your policy
3)what to do first if you have a loss and need to make a claim

For the second paragraph, the one on how to read your homeowner's insurance policy, write four or five sentences on how the typical homeowner can read their policy and understand what is being covered. You will do the same thing for each of the three main points.

The final paragraph, your fifth paragraph that will conclude your article, will tie it all together. Do not repeat yourself, but write a few sentences that will wrap up the information you have provided.

The idea is to use the keywords people will be using when they are searching for this type of business in the city or town where they live. Even though it is extremely difficult to include the name of the city in the article you will submit to the directory, you will still want to talk about it in your article.

The keywords that are particular to the business you are marketing for, such as 'how to read your homeowner's insurance policy', 'when to make changes to your policy', and 'what to do when you have a loss and need to make a claim', can all be included in the title of your article.

These phrases are referred to as long tail keywords and can be very valuable in your marketing efforts.