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Press releases are like vitamins for people: we either obsess over them or don’t take full advantage of them. What if you are looking for a happy balance between these two extremes?
In this episode of the Weekly Marketing Cast, we try to offer a solution. View our video discussing how marketers can optimize their press releases:
Why Submit Your Press Release to Distribution Services?
Think about Google News and Yahoo! News as different search engines, says David Meerman Scott. In order to get your content to be indexed in these places and to generate Google Alerts, you have to submit your press release to one of the recognized press release distribution services. That is how you can gain potential coverage from mainstream media and bloggers.
Where to Submit Your Press Release?
The five big ones are PRWeb, PR Newswire, Business Wire, Marketwire and PrimeNewswire. There are some other less popular ones and even free services you might be able to use. While we encourage you to experiment with them, make sure you know what you are getting with them. You should have access to the main search engines and the capability to hyperlink from the press release to your site.
The # 1 Critical Element in Press Releases
Including hyperlinks in your press releases is critical. Make sure you hyperlink relevant words that take you to targeted pages. For instance, if your press release is about a new product launch, you should hyperlink the most important phrases and send people to your website pages corresponding to these phrases. This is essential for search engine optimization.
Don’t Forget to Publish on Your Site
In addition to sending the press release to reputable distributions services, you should also publish it on your own website. Put it up on the Media page, on your blog or wherever you think is appropriate. “If you put it on your site, it is going to get indexed by the main part of Google," explains David. "If you publish it through the news release distribution services, it will get published by Google news and the other news services as well." The content of the press release doesn’t have to be much different from what you already put together for the PR services.
Have more questions about optimizing your press releases? Post them in the comments section below and we will try to tackle them!
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