Back in the day just about everyone had a press release. In fact, a lot of companies abused the value of press releases by “releasing” anything and everything — whether it was truly newsworthy or not. But, when Matt Cutts, the head of Google’s webspam team, announced that PRs won’t help SEO ranks, website owners went into a panic. Now business owners and other professionals are worried the time and resources they put into press releases won’t do them much good anymore. Or will it? Press Release, SEO, We Think So. PRs Back Then Back in the day, before Panda, PRs were miracle workers. Search engines indexed press release distribution sites higher and links from those sites helped boost SEO ranks, according to AuthorityLab.com. As more SEO experts caught onto this nifty trick, press releases were exploited. The number of useless, copied and poorly written news releases on the web grew exponentially. Think of the last time you searched through a PR site. How many newsworthy pieces were there versus useless junk? You can thank that exploitation for all of the useless posts. So, is this why Google is telling you press releases are worthless today? Not necessarily. While there is some truth to what Google has to say about press releases, there are a few details they’ve left out. Don’t Use Press Releases as a Sole SEO Tool — It Won’t Work PRs today are about the news — not quick distribution of keywords and links. When you publish a release for your company and/or website, it should talk about newsworthy content — such as a company promotion, new product release, sale coming up, etc. Press releases are, however, searchable by Internet users looking for a particular topic, industry, company or product. So, they can still boost your SEO, but if you send out hundreds of useless press releases you’ll get back little to no results for it. Yes, You Can Still Link Up Press releases can still have links, but the number of links and what’s considered safe is still up for debate. You should, however, include one to two links back to your website, blog or product, according to Cheryl Conner in her article on Forbes.com. If you’re going to put links in your news release you need to do so strategically and when it’s contextually necessary. Don’t just add your link randomly; instead, add it where it makes sense to add it, and where the reader can benefit from the link being there. How Press Releases Have Been Effected The Panda and Penguin releases have taken their toll on traditional press release SEO, but SEO specialists still report higher rankings with the use of effective newsworthy releases. PRs, however, don’t have the same short term effects they used to have; instead, are used for long-term benefits. Go Big or Don’t Go At All If you’re going to write a press release, write a high-quality, relevant one. Most companies ignore how critical the PR process is and they waste money on low-quality, useless writing attempts. Press releases are still successful, if you’re willing to invest in them. Press releases, according to SearchEngineWatch.com, fuel the fire for social media. They encourage engagement and social interaction and can be used as a launching pad for company information. Press releases are all about getting the message delivered to the audience, encouraging clicks to outside sites and increasing social sharing. So, if you’re going to spend the money and take the time to make a press release, it needs to be something people: Want to read Want to share on social media Want to click and learn more about Before you release your press release, make sure it’s well-researched and creatively written. A quality press release is something that: Is newsworthy and something that must be announced Isn’t selling someone something, but still has a purpose or call-to-action (i.e. follow on social media, visit the website, contact the company, etc.) Doesn’t focus solely on keywords Is authoritative and pleasant Is written in a professional, journalist style Press Release Reality Check Now that you know the PR is still valuable, it’s time for a reality check. While press releases encourage visitors to click through and can increase traffic, that’s not their sole purpose. They help increase your company or brand’s social exposure and they increase user experience. Press releases build your company or brand’s authority and reputation and they inform your audience on what’s new. Press releases, however, cannot do everything. They’re not meant to make inbound links nor should they be your only SEO marketing tool. If PRs are part of your link building strategy, you’ll be disappointed in their limited (or nominal) results. And, lastly, press releases are not meant to target or increase SEO based on keywords. Google might have limited what press releases can do, but one thing that is for sure is Google didn’t limit the impact a quality press release can have on your company or brand. Reasons Why Your Press Release Isn’t Working These days’ news releases are just a way of life for companies and brands. Hired someone new? Distribute a press release. Have a new product? Get a press release. Planning a sale? Well, everyone wants to know about that. You might be thrilled about your newsworthy content, but if you don’t write a quality newsworthy release, your news isn’t going to attract anyone — including those who might actually be interested in what is going on with your company. The reason most press releases flop is because the person writing a press release doesn’t understand the difference between a press release and a general blog post, article, or social media announcement. Press releases are: Created to inform the public about an event, product or something that has occurred in your company. Written in a concise manner that gets to the point and doesn’t drag on with useless sales content. … Read more
