Search Advisory

We’ve been optimizing press releases since before “social media” was a widely-used term.  Optimized press releases (described below) are great for getting a release found in regular search engine results as well as news search engine results (Google News, Yahoo News, etc.).  Taking a press release to the next level and using newer social media tagging and distribution options will get it found on social media sites as well, leading to even more viewership.

Let’s get one thing straight first, though – we are not talking about traditional public relations here.  When a public relations professional writes a press release, their target audience is an editor or journalist at a media outlet (newspaper, magazine, TV news station, etc.).  They hand-select the journalists to target and try to build a relationship with them.  They only send truly newsworthy releases, with the goal of reaching the target audience indirectly (through the third party media).  It’s a very “rifleshot” (narrowly targeted) approach, and it works very well for getting editorial coverage.

Optimizing press releases, leveraging their social media aspects and distributing them across the Internet is, instead, a “shotgun” (broad) approach.  We’re not trying to reach journalists here (if we happen to, that’s gravy).  We’re bypassing traditional media and trying to get the press release seen directly by our target audience on search engines, social media sites, and other websites.  We write the release for our prospective customers, but still should only send newsworthy releases.

Here’s how to optimize a press release, in a nutshell:

- Include one or two targeted search terms in the press release’s headline, subhead/summary, and body copy (ideally in the first paragraph, as well as other places).  This will help the release show up in news search engines for the first 30 days after release (they’re purged from the news databases after that since they’re not considered “news” any more).  Releases also often show up in the main search engine results and can be a great way to take up more real estate there, in addition to the company’s website listing.

- Include a link pointing back to the company’s website with search terms in the text of the link (anchor text).  This can help that web page rank higher for that search term (be sure the search term used in the anchor text is the same term for which the linked page is optimized).

- Use PR Web to distribute the release, paying $200 to tailor the anchor text as described above.  There are other online distribution services and newswires, but we’ve found PR Web to be the best for optimization and social media purposes.

Here’s how to leverage social media options on PR Web:

- Upload photos and logos/graphics, if appropriate for that particular release.

- Put search terms in the Technorati tags to help the release get found in that social media search engine.

- Allow the company’s website to be embedded into the bottom of the press release so interested readers can easily visit.

- Take advantage of the “Blog This” and “Share This” buttons, as well as the bookmark links (such as to Delicious) at the bottom of the page.

- PR Web also attaches podcasts to press releases if appropriate (this isn’t something our clients have wanted to try yet).

Not only will this get the press release found on more websites, allowing your brand to take up more room in the search engine results and linking back to the company site, but it’ll increase awareness of your business and drive direct traffic to the site as well.