Creating A Search Friendly Press Release Not What It Used To Be

Many business owners don’t realize that a press release is not just about announcing your latest news – it can also play a part in your search marketing strategy.

There is quite a bit of debate in regards to press releases and search with all the recent updates to Google’s algorithm, but in short, a well written, quality release can help your business gain media exposure and hopefully receive mentions from credible outlets while sending out search signals.

Ready to make your online press releases search friendly? Read on for our top tips…

Outlet matters

It matters which outlet you choose to send your release with. A highly visited, credible site will offer much more benefit than one that is low traffic and obscure. It’s true that there are many free options that tout getting your release online, but the fact of the matter is that search revolves around quality. There is a reason that the most popular online newswires charge the prices they do. They have the quality indicators that search engines are looking for and they also follow the Google guidelines of “no-follow” attributes to outgoing links and syndication.

Some of the most popular online press release outlets include PRWeb, Marketwire and PRNewsWire. (Our press release writing services here at eBridge include distribution via PRWeb).

Quality content

The quality of the content itself is of utmost importance. Your release must be well written and follow standard format and messaging rules for press releases. Your release must be about a newsworthy topic. Throwing something together just to get it up online for the links will not help you – if anything it could get you penalized. You should focus on delivering an interesting, press worthy release that media outlets will find enticing enough to pick up – that should always be the top goal for a press release.

Keywords

As you do with your web content, write your press release content with your keywords in mind. Focus on a few and repeat them a handful of times in the release in a way that feels natural – remember, absolutely no keyword stuffing! Choose keywords that make the most sense given the topic of the release. Ideally these should be researched separately and not just determined on an ad hoc basis.

Place your keywords as close to the start of sentences and paragraphs as possible and include them within the headline and sub-head of the release as appropriate.

Text links

Now that you have keywords in your content, it’s time to hyperlink some of them to your website. Online press release services allow you to include links to your site. The general rule of thumb is one link per 100 words.

Don’t just focus on your homepage – you should also link to an applicable internal page of your website as well, such as the specific product page for the new service you are announcing for example. Make the page you are sending someone to as useful as possible and relevant to what you are discussing.

Utilize all elements of the release

The options will depend on the service outlet, however you should leverage all the elements available to you when sending your releases. Some examples include tagging elements, graphics, links to social profiles, a highlighted quote area and the ability to place your release in industry categories or geographic locations – utilize everything that is offered.

By implementing the above considerations, your press releases can support your overarching search marketing strategy. If you don’t have a skilled writer in house that understands the elements and style required for press release creation, click to learn more about how our copywriting services can help.