Have you heard about all the rave about press releases and SEO, AKA press release SEO?
We have got all the juicy details for you!
Press releases are an excellent tactic to increase traffic to your website. By creating your press release in an SEO-optimized manner, you can ensure that it also extends your search engine optimization efforts. Press releases strengthen your entire web presence and ranking in the SERPs, making them an ideal strategic move to boost your online visibility. In other words, there is nothing better than a press release to take advantage of free marketing opportunities, provided that you utilize press release SEO properly.
By following a well-thought press release SEO strategy, you can easily rank in major search engines and get extra links indexed. In other words, a good press release SEO campaign can provide you with high-quality, keyword-rich backlinks to your website.
But why should you spend so much time on press release SEO? Well, it is quite simple! Only a fraction of your time to optimize press releases for SEO can get the bang for your buck thrice.
Have we gotten your interest piqued?
Do you want to know how to use press releases for SEO in 2023? Or how to do press release submission in SEO?
Keep reading!
What Is a Press Release?
A press release can be defined as an official statement that informs the general public and the media about a significant event. It enables marketers and organizations to swiftly share important news with a network of journalists and build the narrative around the event with the end goal of getting it published in a respectable news outlet.
If you do not know what a press release looks like, here is an example for you. This a press release released by Google, which was later found to be fake:
A press release provides its readers with an in-depth summary of the news in the headline, expands on that information entailed in the subhead, and then delves further into the facts as the story progresses.
Press releases are sent for different purposes, some of them include:
- To create an authoritative reputation around the organization.
- To gain greater media coverage to boost brand persona.
- Sometimes press releases are also sent to control a crisis. For instance, when things go wrong, letting your audience hear about it from you is always a good move.
As media technology has advanced through the years, the news cycle has become shorter as a consequence. Now, businesses have discovered a new purpose for sending press releases: to get links from trustworthy news sites. With this newfound purpose, press releases are now used as a tactic to improve Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
How Do Press Releases Improve Your Website’s Ranking?
We are sure you wanna ask what are the SEO benefits of a press release and what a PR can do for your website.
We won’t keep you in the dark anymore.
Simply put, the biggest benefit of working on press release SEO for any website is the indirect value it brings! In today’s SEO-optimized world, press releases offer more indirect benefits than direct perks.
The true value of a press release lies in the indirect value it generates. If your press release is attention-grabbing, original, eloquent, and valuable, it is more likely to be picked up and championed by a newspaper, media source, blog, or other website. When they do so, your organization will get the golden press release link, referral traffic, citation, buzz, and so much more from all of these sources.
Now that we are on the same page about press release SEO and website rankings let’s find out how to use press releases for SEO in 2023 before we dive into its benefits and tell you how to write an effective SEO press release:
How to Use Press Releases for SEO in 2023?
There are many questions every new marketer wants the answers for. Are press releases still relevant for SEO? Do press releases help SEO?
Yes, and yes!
An SEO PR is incredibly effective for reputation management but diminishes with time as the announcement’s timeliness declines. However, you can enhance your position in the SERPs by employing an educated SEO-friendly press release plan. And then watch the benefits flow in.
But what are press release benefits in SEO?
Let’s find out, shall we?
Improve Your Ranking on Google
Do you want to take your brand to the first page of the SERPs?
Well… it is about time!
Every press release that you publish on your brand’s website has the power to result in a new Google-indexed page. As a consequence, an indexed page will assist your site in gaining more visitors and reference links.
A well-written PR can not only boost your online presence and brand persona but also take you higher in the search rankings. A press release can enable you to reach all your key audiences.
It Pushes Your Brand in Front of the Audience
You can use Press releases as an integral aspect of your online reputation management (ORM) campaign. Creating a beneficial buzz about your organization will benefit your online reputation and help your website become an authoritative source of knowledge regarding your products and services.
In other words, press releases can also help your company gain visibility and generate sales.
You Can Use Press Release SEO to Get Your Audience Hooked
Another enticing benefit of press releases is the new audience it brings and the old audience it retains. It acts like a stone that kills two birds at the same time.
Sounds nice, right?
You can make sure that your audience remains hooked to your cause by making your PR reach leading radio stations, international websites, online news blogs, TV channels websites, local news portals, national news websites, top regional portals, trade and industry-specific news channels, and other websites related to your niche.
Strategic PRs Can Get You More Sales
When you get your PR published on leading blogs, social media platforms, and news websites, you automatically get one step closer to improved visibility and reputation online.
More indexed pages, improved visibility, and higher rankings paired with press release SEO perks and better brand reputation can help you get more traffic, therefore, bringing in more sales.
Generate Brand Awareness
A strong, well-thought-out combination of SEO and PRs can put you in front of your target audience and keep you at the top of their minds.
Plus, a good press release increases brand exposure by attracting the attention of major social media sites, media outlets, influencers, and bloggers. As you draft the announcement, emphasize your brand’s growth. A well-written press release should be aligned with your marketing strategy and goals.
PRs Can Help Gain Links
Do you know that press releases work extremely well when used for link-building?
Backlinks are one of the major ranking factors used by Google. So, the more high-quality backlinks a website has, the higher it ranks for the keywords it is trying to target.
Press release backlinks can improve your SEO rankings, provided they are from high-authority websites. While you can easily get press release backlinks from various websites, we strongly recommend sticking to websites with high domain authority. The better the quality of a backlink, the quicker Google will take notice and improve your rankings. As a result, you will be able to reach more customers.
Simultaneously, more audiences will notice your content. They may even opt to link to your company’s content on their own blog or website. As a consequence, you will keep getting press release backlinks which will improve your press release SEO and your website’s SEO strategy in general as well.
Press Release SEO Boosts Credibility
Consumers like to buy products and avail of services that they know they can rely on. Why not leverage a PR publication’s credibility to work on your own?
You can work on your website’s trust by showing your credibility to your potential customers. Once you develop brand trust using press release SEO, more people will want to try your products and services.
As a result, you will produce more leads and increase your revenues. This will further result in a higher return on investment (ROI). Meanwhile, customers will begin to talk about your organization.
And just like dominoes falling, this will create awareness and improve your brand’s reputation. Moving on, as your brand’s credibility grows, trust will develop into brand loyalty, and loyalty will translate to a rise in sales.
Boost Your Brand’s Online Presence
A press release is one of the best ways you can promote your business. You can achieve rapid exposure for your business by distributing your PR all over the internet on high-profile websites.
In other words, you need to generate curiosity and intrigue as well as provide your prospects with a reason to come to your site and willingly learn more about you.
PRs Work Like Magic for Reputation Management
News stories and events reported by reputable media channels foster trust in target audiences. With more events and stories in the press, your brand’s awareness and reputation will grow, and your image will improve.
In a nutshell, press release SEO allows you to be recognized as an expert in your field.
How to Optimize Press Releases for SEO?
If you’re going to write a press release, you need to understand how important it is to optimize it for SEO. An optimized PR can help you achieve your search marketing goals.
Although people know how good PRs are at spreading the word, they often overlook the fact that they can also be used to generate backlinks.
Our advice?
Don’t be one of those people!
Here is how to write an effective SEO press release and how to do press release submission in SEO while optimizing it for SEO simultaneously:
Do Your Research Before You Start Writing
Before you start working on your press release, look at what your competitors are doing and how it’s working out for them. Are their PRs yielding results? Are they improving their rankings? What are the keywords they are using?
Once you have all the information you need, write a better press release. Same keywords. Just an improved strategy.
In addition to that, also research their backlink sources. This will give you an idea of the sites you should be publishing your PR at. Consequently, your PRs will be found by more people and read by the right audience.
Tweak Your Keywords
Even the tiniest adjustments to your keywords will have a big impact on your press release SEO.
For instance, you can see, in the images below, that “build links” has 30 times more search volume than “SEO link building.”
Assuming your company builds links (because aren’t all links built?), simply making this small modification can give you the bump you need.
If you do not know how to find out the search volume of keywords, simply go to Google Trends and compare different search terms. You can also use other SEO tools or content marketing tools.
Create Engaging Content
One of the best practices for working PR optimization is to create engaging content. Good content will make people want to share it with their friends. The press release backlinks you are looking for will come on their own.
A well-written and compelling press release invites other reliable sources to write content according to your press release.
If you want your audience to read your PR, make sure it catches their attention and draws them in.
How do you go about doing that?
Consider yourself a journalist, and employ some of the same methods that they do to create lengthier pieces of material that people enjoy reading.
Tell a Story Instead of Stuffing Your PR With Facts
Include intriguing quotations in your PR. This press release SEO tactic cleverly adds authoritativeness and a personal touch at the same time.
It is a win-win scenario!
Use different examples or statistics to drive your point home. Data like this will bolster your point and give your target audience something extra to help them understand your message.
Highlight Important Quotations
Once you have added intriguing quotations that get people curious, highlight them. You can make great SEO gains from it if the person has search value.
You can quote a celebrity, an influencer, an athlete, or a CEO based on the nature of your PR. As a result, you won’t only appear in search results tangentially related to your PR but also introduce your product to newer audiences.
Make Sure That Your PR Headline Stands Out
You can not get the viewers you seek unless you have an attention-grabbing title. The headline of a press release is often the only thing people read. Therefore, if your headline is effective Or, if the headline is effective, it can entice your readers to read the content.
But how can you make your headline good enough to catch attention? Here’s how to do it:
- Use the right keywords.
- Use hook lines that elicit emotions.
- Offer a solution to your target audience’s problem.
- Include statistics and other data to prove your point.
- Create an attention-grabbing headline that adds value for your readers.
Do Not Forget to Use Images
Whether it’s a statistical graph, an infographic, a unique image, or an illustration, the right images can help your PR rank higher in SERPs.
All you need to do is ensure that every image has an alt text, an interesting title, a meaningful description, and a title. Not only will this improve your general press release SEO, but it will also help you appear in image searches, which is another key source of traffic.
Never Spam Your Audience
We understand that people often end up spamming when they are under pressure to distribute their PR far and wide. However, such spammy behavior can hurt their ranking.
Press release backlinks from sketchy websites can make Google your content the side eye and hurt your overall score. Hence make sure that you do not scatter your PR to the winds. Be judicious about the places you choose to distribute your PR.
Journalists have always been taught to start their stories and news coverage with the 5 Ws. The same advice can also be applied to drafting press releases as well. The following are the five questions (5Ws) you should address at the opening of your press release:
- Who?
- What?
- When?
- Where?
- Why?
These questions keep the readers engaged. Besides, it is an amazing way to insert target keywords as well. However, bear in mind that you need to do it as naturally as you can to avoid getting flagged by Google for keyword stuffing.
Make Sure to End Your PR on a High (AKA a Call to Action)
The final piece of the puzzle called a Press Release, is a call to action (CTA). A strong CTA is an important aspect of press release SEO. It directs the audience to the action you want them to take.
Do you want them to subscribe to your email list? Or do you want them to buy your product? Is your goal to spread the news about a new product line? Or is your goal to ensure their presence at an upcoming event?
A compelling CTA will allow you to retain your reader’s attention and increase your online exposure while providing them with measurable marketing data.
How to Distribute Press Releases Effectively?
Creating an engaging press release is only 50 percent of the battle when it comes to press release SEO marketing. After you have completed your PR, you must disseminate it to the appropriate channels and platforms.
You can have it published on your own blog or let your social media contacts share it with the world. However, in order to get the best results out of your PR, you need to follow some strategic steps, including the following:
Use Different Distribution Channels
When you think of content distribution networks, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter, may come to mind.
Although these channels are an excellent way to reach out to an audience, they may not include your target audience. That might lead to disastrous results.
Fortunately, there are various press release distribution services on the internet. These services are tailored to various audiences and industries. Plus, several of these businesses have links with publishers, bloggers, media outlets, and influencers.
Get in Touch With Journalists
Focus on contacting journalists from your niche. Try sending them personalized emails or messages. You have to show them why your PR intertwines with the news they cover.
Lastly, make sure that you do not spam them. Also, do not send out mass messages to any journalist you can find online.
Take Your PR Offline
Journalists usually have a backlog of letters and emails to read, so you can try contacting local media outlets.
Local TV stations, newspapers, and your city’s chambers of commerce are great places to start publicising your press release.
What Are the Free Press Release Sites?
You will find a plethora of various press release websites providing quality packages. However, every site comes with its own pros and cons.
You just need to remember that you have many amazing options to choose from. We have rounded up some stellar options that will definitely provide you with a good experience:
- Online PR Media
- PR Web
- PR Log
- PR Free
- Newswire Today
- Press Release Point
- Open PR
- PR.Com
- Issue Wire
- Business Wire
- Market Press Release. Com
- 1888 Press Release. Com
Let a Professional Deal With Your Press Release SEO Value
At Globex Outreach, we know how to unlock your company’s press release’s SEO potential. We have an experienced team of SEO consultants and strategists, as well as decorated content writers, to deliver data-driven SEO results. We make sure that we incorporate the best industry practices.
Our content marketing team produces SEO content to attract traffic to your website. Allow us to demonstrate how we can assist you in growing your business through press releases. Contact one of our SEO specialists ASAP!
Let’s talk!
Are Press Releases Still Good for SEO? (Conclusion)
Despite the widespread debate, a press release can still have exceptional SEO value. It deserves to be a part of your SEO marketing strategy. The most important factor is that your press release itself should be worthwhile and valuable to readers.
This will make sure that it is picked up by others, earning you press release backlinks and referral traffic! If you look at it from this perspective, press release SEO can still “work” and help you achieve your marketing KPIs.
Just remember that you need to tick off everything from the press release SEO checklist. Doing so will help you determine if your PR is worth releasing.
Is your press release content newsworthy? Will your PR submission add any value to your readers’ lives? Are you willing to go to the lengths of using a respectable press release distribution service?
If your answer to all of the questions given above was “Yes,” then you do not have anything to worry about.
As a matter of fact, you are good to go!
Best of luck!
