According to the recent release of the Google Patent Application, many of the things you're doing to get better page rank and increase your position in natural search are about to be history. It's frightening how much things are going to change.

All of those folks trying to "beat the system" with doorway pages and invisible text are about to be (or have already been) punished by the Google Algorithm.

Why are things changing? Because Google wants to remain the premier search engine, which means returning content that matters to people doing the searches. It's true, marketers are not Google's primary customer. People using search engines to find information will always remain Google's #1 priority.

Think about people using search engines for a moment. Wait, forget about them ? think about yourself for a moment. When you turn to the internet for answers, what do you want? I may be an oddball, but when I'm looking for an answer to my question, I want, yes - an answer to my question. Your prospective customers are no different. To quote Dr. Phil, "People want what they want when they want it." Are you giving it to them?

If you're not giving them what they want, they probably won't give you what you want ( their attention, their contact information, and their money.) But there is one thing you can do that will inspire them to visit your site, make them open your offer, and improve your search engine positioning all at the same time.

So what is the one thing thing?

Provide content. Content is King and content means articles. Content means the information that addresses that web searcher's issues and needs.

And it's what Google expressly wants from you. It's what Google needs in order to remain the premier search engine. It's what Google will return in the very top positions of search results, even for the most popular keywords. The Patent Application makes it clear that doing this one thing is going to have a bigger impact than all the keyword stuffing and optimization you can do.

All you have to do is write a short (400-800 words) article on any topic that might be of interest to your target market. If you sell computers, write a review of some recently released technology. If you are a consultant, explain how companies can improve using some of the handy tips and tricks you know.

Your tips and tricks don't have to be the "magic" of your offering. You don't have to give away the store. There are some things that you consider quite fundamental in your industry - and there are thousands of newcomers who don't yet know the fundamentals. Through your articles, you will be the expert who shows them the ropes. Imagine how much this elevates their opinion of you. You become an instant guru.

You become known as an expert in your field, someone who really knows what's going on in your space. What kinds of problems might your target market be trying to solve online? Write an article to explain a solution to them.

For instance:

I use Article Marketer (www.articlemarketer.com) to distribute my articles to thousands of newsletter editors for publication. It costs me $39.95 to distribute as many articles as I want for three full months. It's a great bargain.

I use a hosted service from Sales Force (www.salesforce.com) to manage my leads. It costs me $65 per month for a full-featured sales force automation and lead management system that I can get to from any computer with internet access. Like my American Express card, I don't leave home without it.

I use the free service from PRWeb (www.prweb.com) to send out press releases to the media for my clients. Their paid service is about $400, but I've always been happy with the results from their free version.

Can you see how telling people about these tools takes nothing away from my own service offering? Giving away this information does one very important thing: it makes my target market happy.

After all, how many people don't even know that www.articlemarketer.com is a tool they should be using or that salesforce.com offers a web based lead management SFA offering? When they read my article, they get valuable information about something they can use right now to get more traffic, find more prospects, and increase their sales volume. They are satisfied.

Then the magic happens.

When they get to the end of my article, if they like the free information I've provided, they will want to know more. I put my website address in the resource box (yep, see below) and I get a flood of traffic to my site. Not just any old traffic though. The people coming to my website are pre-qualified. It's what Ken Evoy says is crucial in selling online, these visitors are "open to an offer" from me.

They have already proven to have an interest in what I'm talking about, and they already feel somewhat comfortable with me, my style, my approach, etc. When they arrive at my web site, they get a lot of information absolutely free. They can also purchase things I have for sale.

I've seen dramatic spikes in my Simplified Selling book sales after distributing an article. The conversion rate is better too ? meaning I get more sales "per capita" than using pay-per-click or buying ads in newsletters.

Of course, it's not that expensive to buy an ad in a newsletter ? but does anyone have enough money to pay for advertising in every newsletter that reaches a particular target market? Of course not, there are hundreds of thousands of ezines published on the web and in print.

However, publishers need content and they are willing to publish your free reprint article (meaning they don't have to pay you for your writing) and in exchange they provide a link to your website.

That link shows up in newsletters to be seen by your prospective customers. You also get permanent links on websites - something else that the Google Patent identifies as important when ranking sites.

So sit down, draft out an article on some topic you like, and get it published. Watch as the world beats a path to your door.

Chris Ellington gives effective and easy to implement marketing strategies to small business owners and home business entrepreneurs. His Simplified Selling System has been a favorite of salespeople around the world. Get your free marketing strategies at http://www.simplifiedselling.com.