Press releases are cost-effective ways of drumming up press coverage and getting attention for a new product or service. It used to be that press releases were mailed or faxed to news organizations and reporters. That cost money. Fortunately, the Web allows for quick and cheap press release distribution. But that also means that a lot more people and companies are jumping on the press release bandwagon. So how do you make sure your press release stands out? By making sure that it’s geared for prime search engine placement. Here are seven easy ways you can do that.
1. Make your press release a jargon-free zone
Chances are, your potential customers and clients aren’t using insider industry jargon when they search for your products or services on Google or Yahoo. So avoid that kind of corporate-speak as much as possible. By keeping the words simple, you keep it effective and more primed for good search engine placement.
2. Use Targeted Keywords
Find targeted keywords and put them in your headlines and in the first paragraph. In fact, put them everywhere, but especially those aforementioned two places. Keyword rich content will get great search engine placement and grab readers.
3. Hotlink Important Words and Phrases
Linking to other sites is one of the greatest advantages of Web-based communication and search engine placement. So use it. Link to your site. Link to other useful sites. Make your keywords link somewhere. But remember to make the links useful. Arbitrary linking will annoy viewers. Make sure that all links offer additional information.
4. Use Anchor Text Links
Anchor text is the text that’s highlighted and clickable. It’s the text that actually takes you to another Website. Anchor links are necessary for good search engine placement. They’re clean, attractive and readable and are useful to drive users to your Website.
5. Engage customers, journalists and bloggers
What’s the best way of getting your message out to the people who will read it and respond? Simple—ask them what they search for. You’ll find that a great way to develop new targeted keywords for search engine placement is by asking existing customers what they search for. It’s a great and easy way to make sure your press release is primed and optimized.
6. Write great Copy
It seems obvious, but many press release writers seem to forget that good copy is absolutely necessary. Optimizing for search engine placement is great, but even the most efficiently optimized releases can suffer in the content-rich Web if the writing is boring, stodgy or clunky.
7. Have a Newsworthy Release
Make sure you have something to say that will interest people. Since press releases are easy to produce and cheap to distribute, it can be tempting to send out a release every week. But your targeted audience will tire of you if you keep sending them press releases are not exactly exciting of newsworthy. Save your releases for the important stuff.
