We've been using online press releases to increase search engine
visibility (for ourselves and for clients) for several years now.
The reason we still use them to this day is that they work for us. Even a
single press release can boost your online visibility... but when you
distribute them on a regular basis, the benefits pile up.
Let's start off with the all important question: what are online press releases?
Online press releases are normal press releases
that are distributed through the Internet. Popular
online press release services are listed at the end of this article.
These services list your press release on their web sites and on a
number of partner web site - often for free, although most require
registration and some require a per-press release fee.
So what? Will online press release help the link popularity of my site and increase my search engine rankings?
A lot of SEO experts will say a resounding "YES". After all,
when press releases are distributed online, they are syndicated
("sucked up" to be used as content on other websites) to hundreds if
not thousands of other sites, each containing a link back to you.
The reality however is that while online press releases don't hurt your search engine
rankings, they don't increase your
rankings either - unless, of course, the media like the release and write about you.
The press release alone does not have any affect on your rankings.
So why bother?
It's all about the visibility. If your press release is real
news and is distributed to hundreds of content providers online, with
lots of keyword-rich, linked content, more people are going to
inadvertantly come across your site when they are searching.
And press releases last a long time - if we do a search on Brand You
employees, we stumble across press releases they wrote years ago, for
projects that have been over for just as long!
Let's look at some good reasons to consider using online press releases as part of your marketing and optimisation campaign:
1. You can optimise press releases to promote your business
When you write the press release, you can include your best
keyword terms in both the title and the body of the article, while
still ensuring that it reads well. This means that if your press
release ges syndicated on hundreds of websites, there is a good chance
that when someone plugs in your keywords, they might find you and be
interested enough to visit your website.
This gives your audience
another way to find you online. Even if they don't find your website,
there's a possibility that they will find your press release(s).
Which is the next point:
2. Online press releases can create lots of lovely links back to your website
See above - enough said.
3. Online visibility - for a long, long time
Online press releases are archived (well, many of them are) and Google
does a great job of caching information, which means that your online
press releases can continue to come up in search results for a long
time to come. After you've sent the release, your online press
releases will be passively promoting your business.
4. Online press releases can also mean fresh content for your website
Add your press releases to your website to give Google some fresh
content to crawl. Content is king (or queen!) and websites that
regularly feature new material are rewarded in better rankings.
5. You should be issuing press releases anyway!
If you have something newsworthy to promote, you should be issuing
press releases anyway! So why not send them offline and online
for maximum effect. Easy!
What's newsworthy?
A mediocre press release will generate backlinks. A newsworthy press release will travel further, lead to inquiries,
generate more exposure AND create more backlinks. Who knows - it could even generate business!
How do I write an Online Press Release?
In the same way as
you would write a normal release. It's the submission process
that's different. If you'd like a sample press release and a
press release template to help you,
send a quick email to us and we'll get it over to you ASAP.
