You have probably seen them. The huge lists of 1000+ Article Submission Sites that claim to make your Google ranking rocket. You are excited, you spend hours sending your precious article to dozens of them, and… nothing happens. No traffic, no ranking boost, and a lot of wasted time.
Sound familiar?
The thing is that most of those guides are outdated and, actually, misleading. They regard submission of articles as a game of numbers; the more the better. In 2025, however, Google is smarter than that. It prefers quality to quantity each and every time. Posting your content on a hundred low-quality, spammy websites may be worse than good.
What then is the difference in this guide?
Simple. We are not simply going to hand you a huge list that has not even been vetted. I will not teach you how to submit articles; rather, I will teach you the strategy behind effective article submission. I will demonstrate how to identify the right sites that will actually move the needle, how to write content that will not only be loved by humans, but also search engines and how to use this method to get real, targeted traffic and build genuine authority.
This is your guide to using article submission properly. We can begin now.
What Are Article Submission Sites?
Think of some massive online library or a set of digital magazines. Everybody is welcome to add a book (an article) to this library. These libraries or article submission sites organize these articles by topic (such as business, health, technology) so that the visitor can read them easily.
These sites typically will give you free content in exchange for a small author bio at the end of the article. Here is where the magic occurs with SEO: you can add a link back to your own site.
These platforms include large platforms such as Medium and LinkedIn Articles as well as smaller, niche-specific directories. The principle is the same: you give them value (a well-written article) and they give you a platform to reach a new audience and a backlink.
You Might Like: Best Social Bookmarking Sites
Importance in SEO and Digital Marketing
In the olden times, marketers used to send the same article to as many websites as possible in the hopes of getting as many back links as they can. It was a spamish trick that succeeded temporarily. However, this is stopped by the algorithms of Google, particularly the updates such as Panda and Penguin. They began to punish websites that had constructed poor quality, spammy links.
Does that mean that article submission is dead? Absolutely not. It has simply developed.
It is not only about the backlink. It is an integrated element of a digital marketing strategy. When properly done, it assists you to:
- Construct Quality Backlinks: A backlink of a high-quality site can be viewed as a vote of confidence in Google.
- Drive Referral Traffic: Visitors reading your article on another site may like what you have to say and click the link to come to your site bringing you highly interested visitors.
- Gain Brand Authority and Trust: By posting informative articles on reputable websites, you or your brand will gain the status of an expert in your sphere. When they notice that your name is attached to quality content, they will start trusting you.
- Increase Online Presence: Your article should appear on Google independently, which means you will have more space on the SERP and expose your brand to a broader audience.
Instead of thinking of it as a cheap link-building tactic consider it as a content distribution and brand building strategy.
The Real Benefits of Article Submission Sites
Let us go a little deeper than the fundamentals. Being aware of these nuances is what makes the difference between a good strategy and a failed strategy.
In addition to Backlinks: Traffic, Branding, Authority
A backlink is an excellent technical SEO advantage, but the other advantages are equally as, if not more, important towards long-term growth.
- Targeted Traffic: Traffic is not random as the people who visit your site after reading a relevant article are not random. They take interest in your subject. This referral traffic tends to be more active and more apt to become customers or subscribers.
- Brand Building: Publishing high-quality articles on different platforms regularly is a free PR campaign. It puts your brand name in the marketplace. When a potential customer searches about your industry, they may come across your articles on various websites, which will help them to keep in mind that you are an important person in the field.
- Authority: By giving away your knowledge, you earn E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) which is an important aspect in Google quality guidelines. It demonstrates to the users and search engines that you are a master of your field.
How High-DA vs. Niche-Relevant Sites Affect Rankings
You will hear a lot about a metric called Domain Authority (DA). A is a number between 1 and 100 (created by Moz) that estimates how well a web site will rank. The larger the DA the better
- High-DA Sites (e.g., Forbes, Medium): The link on a site with a DA of 80+ is extremely powerful. It refers to a lot of link juice or authority to your site. These sites are however very general. A post on dog training on a general business site may earn a great backlink but the audience may not be interested.
- Niche-Relevant Sites (e.g., a popular dog training blog): A site with a lower DA of 30, but that is entirely on dog training, is also incredibly valuable. The link will give Google a powerful indication that your site is relevant to that particular topic. And the traffic you receive will be highly-targeted.
The Sweet Spot: The ideal end result is to find a site with high DA and that is also relevant to your niche. However, where you must choose, a link on a highly relevant, moderate-DA site is often preferable to a link on a generic, high-DA site.
Instant Approval Sites vs. Moderated Approval: What Works Best
- Instant Approval Sites: These sites will automatically post your article once you have clicked on “submit.” The positive side is speed and convenience. The negative is that they tend to be flooded with low quality, spammy content since there is no quality control. Google is aware of this and links to these sites have little weight and at times may be detrimental.
- Moderated Approval Sites: The articles in such sites are reviewed by a real person editor before they are posted. They examine quality, originality and compliance with their standards. Your article may be approved in a few days or even weeks. Although a slower link, one that is linked on a moderated site is infinitely more valuable since this is an indication that your content passed a certain quality test.
2025 Verdict: Never use unmoderated sites. Use instant approval sites with caution and only when they are well maintained and have a good reputation.
List of Instant Approval Article Submission Sites
Top Free Article Submission Sites for Different Goals
These sites are good to get started fast, but be careful. They tend to be of inferior quality. Give preference to those that appear to be clean and with recent content. They work best in getting your content out there quickly, but do not expect a huge boost in SEO. A couple of links away can help you diversify your link profile, but do not make them the main part of your strategy.
- sites.google.com: Create a basic, one page site to publish an article. Such a high authority of Google itself.
- telegra.ph: Very simple and no sign up is needed.
- medium.com: It does not need any registration, but it takes immediate publication.
- linkedin.com/pulse/: Same as Medium, must have an account but publishing is immediate and authoritative.
High DA Article Submission Sites for Backlinks
These are the big boys of the sites. A backlink here is very valuable and can have a direct influence on your ranking. Publication on these platforms can be very selective, and usually, very high quality, original content is required. The results are absolutely worth it because of the strong and valuable do-follow backlinks and authority they bring. Devote 80 percent of your effort to sites like these.
- Forbes.com (through becoming a contributor) – DA 95+
- Entrepreneur.com (through contributor program) – DA 90+
- HubPages.com – DA 80+
- www.google.com/search?q=EzineArticles.com – An oldie but a goodie. Needs good content. DA 85+
- SlideShare.net – Create a presentation out of your article and add links. LinkedIn owns it DA 95+
- Quora.com – This is not a direct article site, but you can answer questions in detail and then you can link back to your article. DA 90+
Complete List of Article Submission Sites
Sites That Actually Drive Traffic vs. Just Links
There are sites which are regarded to have a massive, active readership. Although the links may be no-follow (meaning they do not pass direct SEO value), they can send enormous amounts of referral traffic. Such sites are great to expose your brand and get your content in front of millions of eyes. They should be your top priority, in case you are pursuing instant traffic and brand awareness.
- Medium.com – Large in-built audience and superb user experience.
- Reddit.com – Post your article on a related subreddit (niche forum). Watch the community rules.
- Tumblr.com – This is a microblogging site that can bring a lot of traffic should your content go viral.
- LinkedIn Articles – Great B2B content. Your connections are notified when you publish
Niche-Specific Article Marketing Sites to Ensure Greater Engagement
These channels are ideal when it comes to targeting a very specific audience. Although their DA may be lower than the overall giants, the traffic they refer may be more valuable due to the fact that the readers are already interested in your particular subject. Submission to these sites is great to build up topical authority and be considered an expert in a smaller community. Search on [your niche] + article submission or [your niche] + write for us to find them.
- Tech: DZone, SitePoint
- Business2Community, Social Media Today
- Health: Healthline (contributor program), MindBodyGreen
- Design: Smashing Magazine, Creative Bloq
How to Choose Article Submission Sites That Actually Impact SEO
So what do you do to filter out the gold in the junk? Don’t just work on a list that is haphazard. Become a detective and do your own assessment of each site.
Intent-Driven Choice: Relevance, Authority, Engagement
Prior to site search, you should ask yourself: What is my goal?
- Powerful Backlinks: Target websites that have high DA/PA (Domain Authority/Page Authority).
- Targeted Traffic: Target specific sites that have a good, active readership (check comments and social shares).
- Brand Authority: Target respected websites and online magazines in your niche where publication is a stamp of approval.
Your objective identifies your standards.
Metrics That Matter: DA, PA, Organic Traffic, Indexation Speed
Here is your checklist to vet a prospective site:
- DA and PA: Get a free tool such as the MozBar browser extension to verify the Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA). In general, target sites with a DA of 30 or more.
- Spam Score: Moz also gives a Spam Score. Avoid it when it is high (more than 5-10 percent).
- Organic Traffic: Does the site receive any organic traffic out of Google? There are free versions of tools such as Ubersuggest or SEMrush that you can use to get an estimate. The red flag is a site with a high DA and no organic traffic. It may be an extinguished or punished site
- Indexation Check: Is the site indexed in Google? Go to Google and type site:examplesite.com. When you get a decent amount of results, this is a good sign. When you notice very few or no indexed pages, then the site has been de-indexed and you should not visit it.
- Content Quality: Read some of the articles in the site. Is the material well written and helpful? Or is it rife with grammar errors and obviously written to be search engine friendly? Go with your gut. It is what it smells like.
Avoiding Sites That Waste Your Time or Hurt SEO
Avoid places that have the following red flags:
- The site is full of glitzy advertisements and pop-ups.
- The subjects covered in the contents are all over the place and there is no focus.
- The most recent article is months or years old.
- The site does not hide the fact that it offers buy links or anything that goes against the Google guidelines.
- The user interface is cumbersome and it seems to have not been updated since 2005.
You are busy. It is more preferable to publish a single article in a high-quality site than to 50 sites that are low quality.
Step-by-Step Strategy to Use Article Submission Sites
It is not sufficient to have a wonderful list of sites. It is the way you execute that counts
How to Write to Submission Sites: SEO and human-friendly
Never, never use copied or spun content. Duplicate content will make Google punish you. Your article must be.
- Special and Unique: Although you may be writing about a subject that already has a lot of content, make it your own by adding your own twist, information, or tips. Provide people with a reason to read your article. It must be between 500-700 words, researched and actually helpful.
- Well-Formatted: Write in short paragraphs, with clear headings (H1, H2, H3) and use bullet points to make it easy to read and scan.
- SEO-Optimized (Lightly): Insert your primary keyword in the title, the first paragraph, and two subheadings. Do not cram it in all places Make it natural. Write in your own words using your own words. Ask questions. Appeal to the reader as to you.
Pro-Tip: Write an awesome post on your own blog. Write a variation of that article but make it a unique one to submit. You may alter the introduction, conclusion and add new examples to make it new.
Anchor Text and Internal Linking Strategy
The “anchor text” is the text the link is clickable on. How you apply it is everything.
Avoid Over-Optimized Anchors: Don’t always use your exact keyword as the anchor text (such as “best running shoes”). This looks spammy to Google.
Vary Your Anchors: Vary it to look natural. Use:
- Branded Anchors: “Learn more at [Your Brand Name].”
- URLs: “Go see our guide at https://www.yoursite.com/guide.”
- Generic Anchors: “Click here,” “Read on.”
- Long-Tail Anchors: “Learn more about marathon training.”
Your author bio is where you should put your link. For example: “John Doe is a Content Strategist at [Your Brand Name] where he advises businesses to grow with SEO.” You can read his latest guide on [Long-Tail Anchor Text].
Scheduling and Content Rotation for Maximum Impact
Do not send 20 articles in one day. This appears unnatural
- Create a Plan: It is advisable to submit one or two articles weekly. A steady stream of quality links is much more effective and safer than a sudden spike.
- Mix Up Your Content: Do not post the same article on all sites. Write 3-4 quality pillar articles and submit each one to a different set of high quality sites over time.
- Mix Up Your Links: Do not always link to your home page. In the case of your article being about email marketing, link to your blog post or service page about email marketing. This is more applicable and favourable to SEO.
Avoiding Common Mistakes That Kill SEO Value
These are easy pitfalls to avoid and you do not want to lose all of your efforts to them
- Duplicate Content Traps: It is always a big mistake to copy and paste the same article in several sites. This is a massive red flag to Google. Google will at best index one of the versions. At best it might be considered a spam tactic. Always have a different version in every significant site.
- Listing in Low-Quality or Spammy Directories: Avoid the temptation to list in a list of sites that promise “500+ instant approval sites.” They are mostly trash. Publishing to these so-called link farms can have your site penalized. Quality rather than quantity.
- Disregarding User Engagement and Conversions: You can never simply submit and forget. Check on your published articles. When people comment, answer them! This creates a sense of community and demonstrates to the platform that you are an active, valuable member. Also, be sure to monitor whether or not the traffic is converting on your site. Otherwise, you should revise either your call-to-action or the content itself.
Advanced Techniques for 2025
Ready to go to the next stage?
Combining Article Submission and Guest Posting: You can use your collection of published articles on sites such as Medium or LinkedIn as social proof when you approach larger, more authoritative blogs to guest post. Editors will be more inclined to take your pitch when they know you are a good writer.
- Maximizing Visibility through Articles Syndication: Syndication occurs when you republish the same copy of an article in another site. Large platforms such as Medium and LinkedIn are good at this. The trick is to make sure that they use a so-called canonical tag that links back to the original article on your site. This informs Google that it is simply a copy and the original source is elsewhere, which eliminates your duplicate content problem yet still provides your content to a new audience.
- How to Use Article Submission to Build Brand Authority: Don’t just get a link. Use your articles to create a story, present exclusive data and develop a powerful point of view. Establish yourself as a thought leader This creates a brand that people will remember and trust which is more important than any single backlink.
Conclusion
Article submission is not dead, but the spammy way of doing it is. The quality, relevance and value game is strategic.
Stop following numbers and start developing relationships with quality platforms. Write one fantastic article and have it published on one fantastic site, instead of splashing a mediocre article on 50 crappy sites.
Submit articles not only as a link building strategy, but as a means of building your brand, generating targeted traffic and establishing credibility as an expert in your niche. Do so, and you will get tangible and sustainable results that extend far beyond a mere rankings bump.
FAQs
Does article submission work on SEO?
However, this is only possible when you concentrate on posting high quality, unique articles to authoritative and relevant websites. Spamming to low quality directories is bad.
How many articles do I need to Question to submit per week?
It is better to have consistency rather than quantity Post 1-3 times a week to quality, moderated websites. This forms a natural and sustainable pattern of link building.
What kind of submission sites should I use, do-follow or no-follow?
Choose sites that will offer do-follow links as the most effective in terms of SEO. Nevertheless, the backlinks to well-known, but no-follow websites such as Forbes or Quora are still worthwhile in terms of traffic and brand authority.
Is it possible to republish an article in my own blog?
A unique version should be written to be submitted. When you have to republish, do so on sites that allow canonical tags (such as Medium) to give credit to the original article on your blog and avoid duplicate content problems.