If you are submitting articles to directories on a regular basis but not seeing an increase in traffic to your website don't just give up. There might be a simple fix. People on the Internet today are time poor, so you need to write your articles in a way that makes it easy for them to digest the information and take action. Here five things you must think about before you write your next article.

1. Make your title as engaging as possible

Your article title is probably the most important part of your article. You need to remember to think of both the search engine and the reader when you write your title because it will not only help your article to rank but will also encourage the reader to click on the link.

Include your main keyword in the title to tell the search engines what your article is about, but don't forget your reader. Your title needs to be persuasive and make them curious to find out more about what you have to say.

The first three or four words of your title are most important so instead of using 'How to Organise Your Office', try 'Organise Your Office: 7 Tips for Never Losing that $1000 Cheque Again'.

2. Invest in your introduction

Some directories allow you to submit a summary of your article, others just use the introduction as the summary. You can make your article more effective by using the first paragraph work as both an introduction and a summary.

You need to use the title to make your reader curious about what else you have to offer so that they keep reading. Remember that a good article will solve a problem for the reader so use the introduction to describe what problem this article will solve for them. Describe the problem and where you can use a personal example to establish yourself as a real person and build a rapport with the reader.

3. Use the body to solve the problem

The article body should be used to explain the solution to the problem that you outlined to the reader in your introduction. Focus on your topic and stick to it. It is very easy to go off on a tangent, especially if you are passionate about a topic. If you have more than one topic in mind then just write an article for each one.

Break up your article using subheadings and bullets to make it easier for the reader to follow but also to pull them into the text.

4. Encourage further investigation with the ending

The end of your article should summarise the solution to the problem; try and end with a quote or an interesting point that will encourage the reader to want to do some further investigation.

5. Make use of your resource box

Now that you've shown the reader how to solve their specific problem you can use the resource box to tell them what else you can do to help them. Encourage them to click on the link to your website by offering them a free report which will make it easier for them to implement the solution you just outlined to them.

By using a simple structure you will make your articles much easier to read, they are more likely to be accepted into the directories and much more effective at encouraging readers to visit your website.