Using press releases in search engine marketing

Newsworthy press releases help your business. What if you could get traffic and better rankings, too? The four easy steps outlined in this article help you get results.

By Pandia Guest Writer Laura Cunningham

(November 2004) First, let's discuss why it's important.

The standard method for press releases is pretty simple. You write your press release on something newsworthy -- a new product launch, announcement of new service, awards, or other item of interest.

Press release distribution

Usually, you run your press release through the proper channels, send it out over the wire, and it's complete. If it's a great release, it gets picked up on various sites and channels and possibly results in media calls.

Newsworthy press releases that are optimized with keyword-rich content are invaluable to your business. If properly optimized, press releases add the potential for increased traffic to your site from clients searching for your product and business, provide improved rankings overall and in News search engines, and increase your chances of additional press.

They may even enhance backlinks (links back to your site). Press releases also increase your brand awareness.

Once you release the press release over the wire, make sure to publish it on your website as well for double the impact. Not only is this smart for optimization purposes, it is good PR strategy as well.

Target editors

Once released over the wire, optimized releases help you get ranked in News search engines such as Google or Yahoo! News. Millions of visitors, including journalists searching for a story, search Yahoo! and Google News daily.

Since it is updated with fresh, new releases and articles less than 30 days old, the right target audience will find your relevant release with keyword-rich copy.

Editors looking for new fodder or information for a story may contact you as a source, or for fresh content, solely based on your press release being properly optimized and relevant.

However, make sure the press release is well written, to the point and easy to understand. Avoid hyperbole and jargon that outsiders might find it hard to understand.

Target your audience

As touched on earlier, optimized press releases also offer the benefit of targeting your audience. Effective press releases build brand awareness with your customers, target new ones and continue to build your reputation.

Optimized releases have the added benefit of driving potential clients to you. Your chosen keywords drive traffic to your site and build market exposure for your product or service.

How to optimize your release for the search engines

Why not get extra benefits from your press release? Add four simple steps and have a search engine optimized press release. It's simple. Follow the normal process for writing a release with the following additions:

1. Research keywords for your target audience/subject matter
2. Add keywords to the press release to create keyword-rich content
a. Add keywords to your H1 header tag
b. Add keywords strategically within your press release copy
c. Add keywords in links back to your site
3. Make sure density levels are appropriate (I recommend an 8-15% overall density)
4. Make sure your optimize the first 250 words of your content

And, that's it!

An optimized press release is an extremely effective marketing tool. You will experience significant traffic from potential clients, interest from editors and higher overall rankings on your selected keywords. Increase your brand awareness and get listed in the top News search engines. Optimize your release and see results!

Laura Cunningham is the SEM Copy Editor and Team Lead for the Copywriting Team at Websourced, Inc. She leads the team in writing effective SEO copy for over 1,300 Websourced clients. She has over a decade of writing, editing and publishing experience including both technical and marketing writing. Her marketing experience includes both B2B and B2C markets. She has implemented effective marketing and branding strategies including traditional and interactive marketing for various companies.

Laura is a 2004 STC Online Communications Judge, a member of the HTML Writer's Guild, IAGA and Webgrrls, and an Associate, Certified Web Professional from the International Webmasters Association. Laura can be reached at lcunningham@websourced.com.

More feature articles on search engine marketing
More search engine news...