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Why Optimized Press Releases Still Matter in a Post Panda World

August 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Following Google’s Panda update earlier this year, many syndication and content ‘farm’ websites experienced a sharp drop in rankings. Many press release distribution outlets like PRLog.com were hit pretty hard in this update.

We’ve always extolled (…and still do) the value of generating a steady flow of press releases announcing news at your company – a new product, new hire or a professional award or recognition – are just a few newsworthy topics you can announce through a press release.

Considering the fact that 92% of journalists use search engine feeds like Google News or Yahoo! News to find newsworthy topics (…daily for 81% of journalists according to research firm Marketing Sherpa), not developing a steady schedule of press releases can put you at extreme disadvantage.

And recent research from TEKGroup International analyzing journalists on media relations practices found over 70% journalists read one or more blogs daily…just under 30% regularly use social media in their jobs and approximately 37% subscribe to RSS feeds…50% regularly visit Google News.

We can even glean more information from the 2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report from the Social Media Examiner. Over 80% of respondents in this survey say they plan to either increase press release frequency or keep it the same.  Of those respondents who say they will increase their frequency of press releases (43%), approximately 52% were small business owners while only 24% were larger companies.

Another interesting fact from the report – when asked to rank all types of marketing they were using or planning to implement, respondents ranked press releases at #4 at 57%, just below event marketing.

Despite the fact Google’s Panda update somewhat diminished the value of links from distribution sites, we can see still see the inherent value of developing newsworthy press releases.

Remember one important point – write press releases with both the search engines and social media networks in mind.

Doing so will ensure you reach both your target audience and hungry journalists looking for a great news topic.

Proper press release optimization and targeting not only helps you rank high in Google News and other outlets, they help you engage both your audience and journalists. Eventhough the link value has diminished somewhat, be sure you still include press releases in your online marketing strategy.

Related Posts

5 Common Mistakes that Stop Press Releases Cold

7 Things Google’s Farmer Update Penalized Sites For – And What you Can Do About It

Fast Track your PR with Paid Press Release Distribution Outlets

Free Press Release Distribution – A Great Way to Get your PR Noticed

Filed Under: Online Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

5 Common Mistakes that Stop Press Releases Cold

November 4, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Writing press releases to announce an event or upcoming special at your company takes time and much thought. Remember, you’re not trying to sell something necessarily but rather inform journalists, bloggers and other media of something at your company that may be of interest to their readers.

Well written press releases can be an invaluable tool in generating attention for your company, if they’re done right.

If not, your press release will be relegated to the trash bin of any editors you send it to. Not only that, you won’t see much online impact either…in short, relegating what’s important news to the dust bins of irrelevance.

Continue reading for 5 common mistakes that stop press releases cold along with ways you can avoid these mistakes.

1.         Not doing the proper research – Taking a look at how others in your industry and business in general prepare their press releases helps you find what works and what doesn’t. Just slapping something together will ensure your press release doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

2.         Making assumptions – In order for your press release to be successful, you need to put yourself in the readers’ shoes. Don’t assume they know about your products and services. Detail any specifics so the reader can effectively relay your company news to their readers.

3.         Belittling or talking down to someone – While we say in point 2 that you should provide as much detail as possible, be sure it’s done in a courteous tone. In other words, don’t treat the reader like they’re an idiot.

4.         Overselling products & services – Press releases are meant to inform people who write for your potential buyers. Think of the people reading your press release as your “re-sellers”, not your buyers.

5.         Over-writing or ‘bloating’ the release – Many press release writers are guilty of over-hyping their products/services. Keep fluff to a minimum and focus on details pertaining to what you’re announcing. In fact, it’s best you only include any flowery language when you’re quoting someone for the press release. Including any in the body may result in rejection by online outlets.

If you’re sending your press release to any editors directly through email, you will want to come up with a clever subject line to draw their interest. Think of how many emails you’ve deleted. We all get a lot of emails on a daily basis so be sure your subject line stands out above the rest.

Copywriters at SEO Advantage can help you announce your company’s news through our expert press release optimization services. Press releases are only one part of the larger content creation puzzle. They make your company look active as well as giving you great content to serve up to the search engines.

But to make sure your company news in more than just great fodder for the search engine spiders, consider the 5 points mentioned above when preparing your press release.

Filed Under: Copywriting/SEO Content Development, Online Marketing, Tip of the Day Tagged With: , , , ,

SEO Advantage’s New Pimped Out Press Room Landing Page – Optimizing for SEO and PR

June 18, 2010 by Leave a Comment

We’re always on the lookout for cutting edge SEO and online marketing techniques. Some things we find we test on our own sites to see how well they work before recommending them to clients.

Some techniques are more SEO related and “behind the scenes” (coding, tags, etc.) but other techniques are more in the layout of a page, its tone and how we communicate important things to know…our new press room page is an experiment to see how creating a more holistic press room can help site visitors – specifically editors, bloggers and journalists – find information more easily.

In fact, even if you never plan to issue any press releases, it’s important you have one place where people like this can learn more about your company and what you do…reaching out to journalists and bloggers is another way to help you get noticed by search engines and prospective customers.

In the past, most pressrooms simply listed a company’s news press releases. However, having a better understanding of what editors and bloggers are looking for in a pressroom allows you to build a more complete resource.

In fact, a main pressroom page can simply serve as a hub where you can link out to not only your press releases but knowledge center resources, blogs, case studies, testimonials and more as shown by this handy flowchart.

Check out SEO Advantage’s new pressroom and our guest blog post on SEO Site Reference for more insights on turning your pressroom into a powerful online marketing resource.

Filed Under: Copywriting/SEO Content Development, Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Tip of the Day Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Handy Charts Help you Easily Understand Cutting Edge SEO Techniques

February 19, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Communicating information using charts and graphics provides a useful and fun way to learn about new things.

Search engine marketers now have a handy resource they can use to maximize search engine rankings and online conversions. These easy and fun charts from ProspectMX provide an easy-to-use reference for creating great websites.

Their original chart, “Link Building 101,” has some great insights into how you can get other sites to link to you. Examples of link bait, how to find good sites to link to and the most beneficial social media/news sites are just a few of the things you will find here – all presented in a fun environment that’s sure to pique your interest.

Prospect’s newest chart, “Universal Search Optimization,” gives some great tips on mastering the web’s newest way of ranking web sites, etc. Learn about ‘local search’, image/video optimization, press releases and more. Going forward, search results will increasingly include photos, videos and news, not just individual websites.

Take a look at Prospect’s charts today…print one out and post it on your wall!

Quick and easy reference materials like these are great to have when you’re stuck trying to get your website to the top.

Filed Under: SEO Technology, Tip of the Day Tagged With: , , ,

Creating Press Releases that Work

June 18, 2009 by Leave a Comment

As you know from our SEO knowledge center articles and other places, a press release is a method to not only get your company noticed by journalists, bloggers and other media outlets, but help build search engine rankings as well.

But you need to know how to optimize press releases to have the greatest positive impact for your company. Over 50,000 press releases go out each month, 1 every 12 seconds in fact. This fact drew me to really appreciate this informational video from HubSpot I recently saw. The tutorial lasts around 35 minutes or you can simply download the slides.

The tutorial video details two types of press release formats: traditional and social media. The basic premise I drew away from the tutorial was their suggestion that pulling factors from each is how you should optimize press releases.

For instance, a traditional release will not have any anchor text links, an important component to building search engine rankings. A social media press release generally has an embedded video, which was found to limit the distribution.

I won’t give it all away…watch the tutorial below or simply view the slides for tips on how you can get the most bang for your buck from your press releases.

Filed Under: Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Tip of the Day Tagged With: ,
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