There isn’t a simple yes or no answer to the question, “Are article directories still beneficial?”  The short answer is yes, but that answer does not come without a long list of disclaimers.

The value of article directories has rapidly declined over the past few years because they were used  primarily as a tool to manipulate the search results.  When article directories are over-used, the end-result is a litany of ill-advised tactics that Google frowns upon, including duplicate content, link manipulation, and scraper sites that are stuffed full of ad-sense ads and duplicate content.

Google has accounted for this type of abuse in their algorithms and the majority of links from article directories are now devalued.

You might be asking yourself, “How do article directories still hold some value?”  That’s a great question.  They can still be helpful if you are in an industry where you have little to no competition, but you have to be careful not to rely on article directories too much.  If you rely heavily on them, you might as well be standing outside of Google’s headquarters holding a sign that reads, “Hello! I’m a Link Manipulator.”

You should also avoid submitting your articles to low quality sites, and don’t submit the same article to multiple article directories.

The best way to get the most value out of article marketing is to develop relationships with industry-related websites that are looking for writers.  Then, write articles for those niche directories with unique content that has value to your readers.