Here are the guidelines that Chris from Article Marketer posted in response to my questions about what type of links are allowed in article body of article submissions:
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Special Case #1 - Well-Known Sites
You may include links to Google, CNN, Microsoft, etc. Publishers are familiar with these sites and will not feel that the author is engaging in advertising.
Special Case #2 - Multiple Competing Sites
You may include links to competitive sites if your article is a review or comparison of an industry or solution. You must include at least three competitors, with fully qualified links, and you must speak with some authority about each one. Your site (even though it is a self-serving link) may be included as one (1) of the competitive sites in the article.
Special Case #3 - Multiple Complementary Sites
You may include links to helpful resources around the web if your article is a “helpful resources” article. You must include at least three resources and they must be related in some way to the theme” of the article. If you include (for example) a travel agency, a web template resource and the restaurant on the corner, the article must show how those three sites are related to help a reader solve a problem.
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I am going to consider the above guidelines and incorporate them into my submission guidelines as well. I am getting very irritated with the number of articles being submitted nowadays by authors who do not know these guidelines and who do not bother to read them. I should be enforcing them strictly….