Being in the news has always had a far better impact on any brand than advertising. The same continues to be true in the online marketing space. Press releases not only have a positive brand impact if a site is featured on reputed news websites, but it can also have a significant positive effect on your website’s visibility and search engine optimization (SEO). This article explores the relationship between press releases and SEO, common mistakes companies do and provides tips and guidelines for creating a winning press release.
The relationship between press releases and SEO
It is a well-established fact that incoming links to your website are seen by search engines as a vote cast in your favor. In turn, every incoming link you get has an impact on your SEO. Some of the things that matter include:
- Number of incoming links: More the merrier.
- Relevance of incoming links: If you get links from websites that are relevant to your industry, it is better than getting just any link.
- Linking text: The text that links back to your website helps search engines determine what the linked page is all about and helps the page rank higher for that term.
- Quality of linking sites: Perhaps the most important factor is the quality of linking One link from a website with high authority and credibility is worth more than hundreds of links from low-value websites.
It is these factors that press releases can have the most significant impact. If handled correctly, press releases can also improve the linking text value and can be among the most potent SEO tools in your marketing arsenal.
However, for press releases to improve your SEO, it is essential that you avoid the most common mistakes that most companies do during press releases. Also, make sure your press releases are well written and optimized by a skilled SEO expert.
How to Avoid Getting Penalized on Google
Google will penalize your website and keep it from showing up in search engines for many reasons. The following are some ways to prevent this.
- Include fewer links. Your press release should contain no more than one to two links. These links should be a call-to-action for readers, therefore do not overuse them.
- Vary anchor text. Use natural language or your company name as anchor text. Refrain from using keywords as anchors.
- No follow links. Using rel=”nofollow” HTML code keeps Google from counting these links against your SEO. Google and other search engines will know to ignore these links, and they will still work for your website visitor.
- Press Release vendors. To ensure your release reaches press contacts, it is important to work with a press release distribution service.
- Remove or disavow old links. Old links that are heavily optimized can harm your SEO status. Consider removing these links from the web altogether. If you cannot remove them, Google has a disavow tool which will keep old links from harming your SEO status.
Common press releases mistakes
Most businesses see press releases as a way of getting brand visibility and see them as only a brand building channel. As a result, most companies derive only a fraction of the value press releases can generate. Some of the most common mistakes business make while doing press releases include:
- Weak headlines:If the headline of your press release is not persuasive and compelling, it will not be picked up by most news channels. Even when news sites feature the news, readers are unlikely to click and read it if the headline is weak.
- Lacking Newsworthiness:Ask yourself this question — why should a news website be interested in this story as news?
- Lacking focus:Many press releases lack focus and cover multiple topics. A proper press release is always focused on a single topic.
- Self-promotion:A majority of press releases “gloat” about the website doing the press release. No news website or reader wants to read about a business boasting about itself and doing self-promotion in the guise of news. This can actually hurt your brand image over time.
- No SEO consideration:Since many businesses do not recognize the SEO value of press releases, they often fail to optimize the story. As a result, the news story often lacks targeted keywords, keyword density, and optimization of linking text.
Press Release and SEO Best Practices
It is important to use your press releases naturally. The following practices can keep you in the right direction.
Your press release should always have noteworthy information. As with all content writing, your press release must have value to build brand awareness. Without it, your press release will not be noticed by any major publications, keeping it from the public’s eye.
Content should deliver positive customer experience. Consumers have plenty of options at their fingertips. If your website/press release is slow, unorganized or has no value to the consumer, they will leave. A successful business is all about positive customer experience.
Strong press release in crawlable distribution network. Do not forget your social media networks. All types of consumers widely use social media. Sharing posts and press releases on your social media fan pages is an excellent way to get information to your targeted audience. Some social media pages are crawlable by Google, which will help your page rank.
Use video press releases. Videos are a valuable way of reaching consumers to tell about your new product or services. YouTube allows you to add links to make it easier for consumers to find your website.
Add visuals. Customers are more likely to retain information which contains relevant images. Keep your images creative and engaging.
How to Write a Press Release?
Here are some tips for writing effective press releases.
Select a news-worthy topic
While it may seem simple, this is perhaps the toughest part of writing a winning press release. For it to be considered newsworthy, a topic should have at least some of the following attributes. It should:
- Be new and current
- Have some impact on the industry
- Be informative and/or educational for the target audience
- Be unprecedented and unique
- Spark the reader’s interest
- Have a viral quality where readers feel compelled to share it with others
A topic that scores on all the above factors will be a far more effective press release than if it only had one or two factors. A topic that does not have any of the above attributes may be suitable for an article but is unlikely to succeed as news.
A press release should answer five questions
Once you have decided on the topic for your press release and made sure it is news-worthy, while drafting the press release, make sure that it answers the following five questions:
- Who or what is the press release about?
- When, where, how or why? This is the core of the story that should connect to the audience.
- Why is it important? On this question hangs the credibility of the press release.
- Who believes in it? Getting endorsements or quotes from people outside your business will help address this question.
- What next? Even when they have a good subject, most commercial press releases fail on this count. Address what you expect the target audience to do after reading the press release and provide a call-to-action for maximum impact.
Keyword Research and Selection
Once you have the first draft of the press release ready, you need to make sure it is featured in search results for the target audience. Therefore, knowing what your audience is searching for is essential. Keyword research will help you identify relevant phrases that your target audience searches. These phrases should be present in your press release, not just for SEO reasons, but also to help it connect with the audience. Once you have these terms, go back and redraft the press release, including as many of these terms in the content as meaningfully possible, without hurting the reader-friendliness of the press release.
Use Anchor Links Effectively
Using too many anchor links in your press release will cause a block from major search engines. Less is more. Your press release should be no more than 600 words to be effective. Therefore, you should only have two to three anchor links to keep it from looking like spam.
SEO the press release
After you have what you believe to be the final version of the press release, have a skilled SEO expert review and optimize it. Some of the things they will do while optimizing the press release will include:
- Title Optimization: Making sure the title of your press release is focused on the most important and relevant keyword for that press release.
- Summary Optimization:Making sure the summary or synopsis of the press release contains the most relevant keywords without compromising the messaging.
- Keyword Density Optimization:Making sure the press release has a healthy density, frequency and distribution of relevant terms without being keyword stuffed.
- Linking text optimization:Making sure that the press release links to the most relevant pages in the site that compliment the news — with targeted keywords as the linking text.
Press release distribution
Once you have addressed the above, your press release is ready for distribution. However, even while distributing press releases, it is important to note that all press release websites are not equal. Many are recognized for a specific business niche. Select a press release website most suitable for your business/industry for distribution. Also, make sure you feature the press release in the news or press section of your website.
Partner with SEO specialists
One way to ensure your press release gets you the maximum value is to partner with a search engine optimization (SEO) or internet marketing services company like Flying Cow Design. With a history of professional web design and online marketing for over 20 years, we help our clients not just with the content of their press releases, but also with making sure they get the maximum exposure from every press release through our proprietary press syndication practices. As a business, we only practice ethical white hat SEO and have helped many businesses; not just by designing great websites, but by building a strong online presence through our search friendly web design services. Talk to us today to learn more.
CEO, Flying Cow Design
Attended University of Auckland
Lives in San Francisco Bay Area
