There are several reasons to create a press release: to announce recent products, events, or mergers. However, you don’t want to fall victim to irrelevant press releases. If there is nothing important to announce then it is best to say nothing at all.
We have listed below 4 reasons why press releases could be a great SEO resource for your company.
- They trigger Google Alerts emails on particular keywords. Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on a choice of query or topic. Google Alerts allow you to monitor developing news stories, keep up to date on a particular industry or competitor, celebrity or sports news
- They gain added visibility and profile on search engines for your keywords
- They will appear in Google and Yahoo News for your keywords
- Press releases can create powerful anchor backlinks for your website. Search Engine Optimization professionals refer to this as ‘link juice’
Press Releases can be quite complicated as they require a high amount of skill and knowledge to develop. Press releases must be both compelling and interesting, but they also have to be informative.
There is major misconception regarding press releases. Many people think that SEO for press releases simply includes keywords, phrases, and meta tags. While these techniques may help, they will not make up for the lack of strong, concise information. Relying strictly on older search engine optimization techniques will sink your press release. Traditional copywriting has been replaced by SEO copywriting.
When writing a press release, keep in mind that a reporter has to read your content. If you make it easy to read and compelling, you save them an abundant amount of time in fixing it. They will also be more likely to run with your press release rather than coming up with something on their own which you could potentially not agree with. Keep in mind that press releases are taken “as is,” meaning you must be able to stand by what you write. Remember that your press release automatically becomes web content and you have a great opportunity to become news.
Another thing to keep in mind is that there is no way to remove bad press releases. Once the release hits the web it is published for all to see. Poorly-worded or amateurish press releases can really hurt your company’s reputation.
At SearchPro Systems when we meet with a client we like to first ask “What would grab your attention, what would you like to see if you were reading a press release from someone else?”
When creating press releases, it is preferable to get right to the heart of the matter. The best way to grab the attention of busy readers is to create a descriptive headline that includes important keywords and a hook that pulls them in to continue reading. Our recommendation is that the headline should contain 80 characters or less.
We make it a point to include interesting and funny anecdotes that will present an opportunity for obvious self-promotion. Quotes are a great way for a journalist to quote the press release itself and summarize the entire messages in a few short words. PR Web has recently introduced a new feature called “Quotables” that randomly extracts quotes from press releases and expands them in as an inset in the body of a press release. Be aware of over quoting, and try to create one dynamic quote that will convey your message to the masses.
A useful strategy when creating press releases is to include your big name competitors, because by doing this you will make your company name more visibly when users do searches for the bigger names.
Once a story or article is approved, we can begin to apply specific search engine techniques. Some of the techniques include formatting with the use of bold, italics, bullet points, short headlines and subheadings. Also included are photos, graphics, video links podcast RSS feeds, which will all contribute to successful search engine optimization.
