The role of SEO in your press release
Because of the way that press releases have changed, and because of how search engines now rank online content, many marketing departments have set aside any hope of leveraging press releases for search engine optimization. While SEO may not be your primary goal, when it comes to search, it is a mistake to dismiss this content format. In fact, every single press release you issue should have some optimization.
Inbound links
When you distribute your press release, news sources looking for new material to publish will latch onto your news release and publish it. Each link that you earn helps build your credibility online – assuming that credible and authoritative news sites are publishing your release. (This is one of the many reasons why it’s important to choose a quality distribution service).
What about duplicate content? Yes, it’s true that you’ll be dinged for that by the algorithms. However, it’s likely outweighed by the inbound links. And there’s a way to overcome that. It takes a bit more work and creativity, but it’s worth trying. You might consider several story angles for the same news. For example, you might create five story angles for the same news. Distribute each news release to different channels. You’ll now have less duplicate content and the same number, if not more, inbound links.
Keywords
Press releases provide an opportunity to connect your brand name with relevant keywords. For example, if you’re a pet store, you can publish press releases that use multiple instances of your brand name and pet-related keywords in the same sentence. You then may find that this increases the likelihood that search queries will result in your business showing up, due to what’s called co-occurrence. Again, distribution has a positive impact on your results here. The more quality sources who publish your press release, the better.
Reach, awareness, and brand recognition
The other search benefits are a bit more indirect. When you publish high quality news releases – releases that are newsworthy and well written – you have more distribution, and therefore more opportunity to reach a wide audience. This increases your traffic. It also increases awareness in your industry and with your prospects. And it expands your brand exposure. More people will hear about your company. All of this has an impact on your SEO in the long run. More traffic, awareness, and exposure turn into more engagement online.
While traditional SEO practices aren’t part of press release marketing, this type of content can have a positive impact on your search results. Pay attention to the keywords used in your content and make sure each press release you distribute is newsworthy.
Call us today to speak to one of our PR specialists: 1-800-713-7278
