Thousands of articles are initially rejected every month by article directories. In a 30-day survey to establish the true proportions of this problem, EzineArticles found that 22.5% of all the articles submitted were initially rejected. This amounted to over 28,700 rejected articles or nearly a quarter of the total volume of articles submitted.

When this occurs the author has to spend time correcting errors before their article can be accepted and published. This is clearly a colossal waste of time for both the authors and the editors.

So here are the 10 common reasons for article rejection and tips on how you can avoid them. While this list is based on the EzineArticles case study, the issues raised will apply to any article directory you are considering for your article submission.

1. Promotional URL in the first paragraph

Some ezine directories do not allow promotional URLs in the article body at all. Therefore, if you are submitting your articles to multiple directories, it is important to check the guidelines for each one. Generally, it is best to leave your promotional URLs to your resource box.

Focus instead on just giving your readers valuable information. Share the gift of your expertise with the reader. The better your article the more likely the reader will click on the links in your resource box.

2. More than two self-serving links

EzineArticles allows a maximum of two self-serving links and a total of four links overall. Ideally, your links should be placed in your resource box and not your article body.

Some article directories only allow a maximum of two links and so you need to check the guidelines for each directory you use.

3. Links in first, second or third paragraph

If you're going to include links in your article body, do so after the third paragraph. Also, there should be no more than one self-serving link in your article body.

4. Article title does not relate to article body

This may seem obvious but the title of your article must relate to the content of the article. This problem can arise as a result of composing article titles that are overly search engine optimised. If the promise of your article title is not fulfilled in your article body readers will feel let down and this could affect how they view your future articles as well.

5. Excessive use of keywords

Some writers, in their effort to write keyword dense articles, end up writing an article that lack flow and coherency. The use of keywords is important to have your article found by as many people wanting to know about your subject matter. However, if you stuff your article with keywords you'll lose your audience.

Aim to deliver content without focusing on keywords. If you know your subject matter well enough, the keywords will flow naturally.

6. Affiliate link violations

While AffSphere allows authors to use affiliate links in your article body and resource box most article directories do not. Generally, you can use affiliate links if you own the primary domain name. In other words, you can purchase a domain name and redirect it to your affiliate link.

7. Spelling and grammar mistakes

It's important to use a spell checker but this will not guarantee that your article will be free from spelling and grammatical errors. Read your article out loud. When you do this you'll notice where your article loses flow and you can amend it accordingly.

Remember, anytime your article loses flow or your reader stumbles over a spelling error you risk losing the reader altogether. If you're not good with spelling and grammar outsource this component of your article writing.

8. Broken links

You have the option of writing your URL out in full or using an HTML text link. There are advantages to both. When you preview your articles remember to check your URLs. Ensure that any HTML code is properly rendered and simply click on your links to test that they will redirect your reader as intended.

9. Excessive anchor text

Anchor text refers to a hyperlinked word or phrase. Generally, you should not have more than three words in anchor text of your links. There is some flexibility with this rule but if it makes sense to hyperlink more than three words do not hyperlink any more than five words.

10. Invalid URL in article body

Any URL in your article body must relate to the content of your article body and not simply be a link back to your site.

If you are mindful of these common errors and follow these article writing tips whenever and wherever you are submitting your articles, you can almost guarantee that they will be accepted first time every time.