Press Release SEO

SEO with Press Releases

Get yourself adapted to a certain smart press release strategy so that you get more links indexed and considered by major search engines. In simpler words, your SEO strategy with press releases may provide keyword-rich links to your web only if it is written properly. Just an extra effort, and you can reach this goal.

A press release is a strong way to popularize your company’s news, events, products or services on the web. It refers to the writing of new events and submitting them to PR sites. Its purpose is to share the newsworthy content with the concerned parties. Moreover, it can also be used to enrich your existing SEO strategy or to improve the SEO of your site. It may already include blogger outreach programs, content marketing, or other social presence.

A well-structured press release with an off-page SEO strategy often ranks well quickly and enables search engine spiders to easily find your site. It should be keyword-optimized, informational and based on facts to generate a more authentic audience.

How does Press Release work?

Press releases are generally written to catch the attention of targeted journalists. Since not every day brings the big or breaking news, media outlets or journalists struggle to fill the column spaces with something new. Here enters the role of press releases.

If your press release is unique, fresh and provides newsworthy stories, then it will be the appetite for the interested audience. Public relations specialists commonly use these press releases written to gain free publicity. They write an effective press release with search engine optimization to get the reader’s attention which leads to an increased viewed story.

Some of the examples where press release works include:

An NGO sponsoring a nationwide service project
Health technicians announcing new study results
A brand launches a new product
An organization calling out new jobs
A theatre group performing new stage dramas
Cars manufacturing companies announcing a new model with mind-blowing features
A group of students coming with new research
An author publishing a new series on a spicy topic
A band of singers releasing songs of different genre

Essential Components of an SEO Press Release

To write a press release, there are the following five important parts.

The title tag or Headline
The summary
The body copy
About the brand
Press contact information

Guidelines To Write A Press Release

A headline or title tag is a strong signal to include the brand name in the title since it makes the subject clear. Add the main key phrase in the title, which must be concise, specific and relevant to the content. By being concise means keeping the phrase around 8-10 words. You can also include a subheading below the Headline if necessary.

Your title will be inserted into the title bar or the web browser once the press release goes online. It will automatically be changed into HTML, which tells the search engine about your press release topic. Thus, it’s the most important part of SEO.

The summary has all the main and relevant information that a reporter can use to narrate a story. Your primary or at least 1, 2 secondary key phrases must be included here as well. Alter and fix the key phrase where possible to make it read right. Although search engines are sharp yet try to keep the key phrase close to the primary one. Your keywords should be inserted evenly throughout.

Contact information, including the location, state, month, day and year, should come before the opening sentence. It can be added at the top, left, or right of the page.

Your first paragraph should have the most interesting information, like who? Where? When? How? Why? It allows you to capture the attention of the readers. Also, adding a quote from the company owner or CEO can grab the attention of journalists.

Start your second paragraph with all the crucial and supporting information to comprehend the story. And finally, write the last paragraph with giving general information or background information other than facts. It can also include the “About Us” statement of the company and other important descriptions. The press contact usually at the bottom helps journalists and bloggers to contact your company.

In addition, mention the releasing date and end with the optional short paragraph (boilerplate) describing a company’s identity and how it works. Most SEO press releases also build deep links to pages other than home pages.

Five Best Tips for SEO-Friendly Press Release

An effective press release is written for both readers and search engines. It must be written in such a compelling way so as to grab the people’s attention to stay and read more for at least a minute or two. Also, it must be noticed by search spiders easily.

Since SEO is as necessary for your press release as it is for other content, it is holding more importance than ever. It will acknowledge your brand or company among your customers through different online sources. How amazing it would be if your press release gets featured in Google news and get shared on social media platforms? So, let’s consider these tips for SEO-friendly press release.

1. Avoid Keyword Stuffing

Weave your key phrases in a balanced and natural way. Avoid spamming the document. Otherwise, keyword stuffing can affect the strength of your release.

2. Write the Summary As A Third Party

Please write the press release as an outside third party instead of using first-person pronouns like I, we, me, our and us. It should be a single page in length with no grammatical errors or spelling mistakes. Moreover, three hash symbols under the bottom line of your PR in the middle of the page are required.

3. Boost the First 250 Words

Remember that the first 250 words of your content are the most important part. It provides the readers with relevant information about your message. It will also keep the reader’s interest to retain or increase throughout the document. So, optimize the first few paragraphs since it will make it convenient for search engines to recognize the press release.

4. Use of Appropriate Hyperlinks

Bold and hyperlink the primary SEO keywords or phrases appropriately to provide pertinent links according to the main keywords. But don’t go overboard with the hyperlinking of keywords since makes your story hard to read. Also, engines might overlook your efforts and even penalize your web due to overuse.

5. Newsworthy Content to Keep the Reader’s Interest

The newsworthy content of your press release is very much important since it will improve the readership depending on the audience. Keep in mind that you have to keep the reader’s interest as well as provide useful information which can get complicated. But don’t worry, you can consider the following topics to write an effective SEO with a press release.

About company’s achievements
On-going projects
Special events
Received awards till now
Charitable donations
An improved vision of services
Discounts, sales, promotions or giveaway alerts
Upcoming products to launch

Write short and relevant information by starting your press release with 5 W’s (When, Where, Who, What, and Why) to write more engaging content. Others ways for more attractive content include telling stories, adding quotes, and giving examples to prove your point.

SEO Benefits of a Press Release

Currently, the SEO world of press releases focuses more on indirect value than direct value. And, without any doubt, the real treasure lies in the indirect value. If your press release stands out than others, it will drive the attention of a media outlet, newspaper, or another blog to pick it up. Ultimately, your company earns that golden link, citation, referral traffic or mention etc., from such sources.

Even 71% of journalists have affirmed that press releases and news are what they want to receive as top content from brands.

Thus, SEO with press release will

Offer natural links from outside sources
Help to generate more referral traffic
Bring you quality backlinks similar to guest posts, edu links, & private blog network links, and web 2.0 links
Your news reaches the right eyes
Enhance the brand visibility and recognition of its name.
Make them accessible to those who actually need your services or products.

Best Companies for a Press Release Submission

A number of companies are providing premium packages for press releases online. As merits and demerits go side by side, your best selection will largely depend on your special requirements. Here are a few great choices among many good companies.

PR Newswire
Business wire
Globe Newswire
PR Web
24-7 Press Release