Tips for an Optimized Press Release

Michael Buczek - November 10, 2008

One of the best ways to generate some buzz for your website is to submit online press releases.   Aside from the obvious benefit of media attention, press releases can also be a way to build links to your website. Online press releases have become very popular and have proved to be good for SEO efforts.   When you create your press release for online distribution, there are a few items you should take into consideration.

Pick something newsworthy to write about. – Releasing a new product, service or new website design can be events worth telling your devoted customers and potential customers about.   The more interesting the item, the more likely it will be linked to by interested parties.

Optimize the release as you would a page on your site. – When writing a release, do keyword research to target keywords people are searching for in relation to the information in your release.   The idea is to have the release support content within your site and have it be displayed for important keywords in news feeds and aggregators.   Once your release is syndicated, journalists can search these news feeds by keywords to find items that they are interested in writing about.   If you can put your release in front of the right people, you can greatly increase exposure and linking opportunities for your website.   Targeting the right keywords can help you achieve this goal.

Utilizing interior links with anchor text. – Press release submission sites may allow you to use anchor text pointing to interior pages of your website.   Building links to your interior pages can help boost their rankings in the SERPS.   You can target 4 or 5 interior pages per release.   Pages to target should include your homepage, main service or products page, featured products pages, an about us page and a contact page.   It is important to use keywords in the anchor text pointing to these pages in the release.   The anchor text can help give these pages more weight in the eyes of the search engines.   By including interior links you also give the reader multiple channels to explore your website, pointing them in the direction you want them to go.  

Choosing the right media channels. – Many press release submission sites give you the opportunity to choose which outlets your release will be submitted to.   It is important to explore all the channels within these press release submission sites.   Choosing the right channels can give your release the proper exposure to the right people in your industry.

Utilize additional features. — Some submission sites allow you to upload files, logos, podcasts and video along with your release.   Adding these files can make your release stand out from the masses.   If releasing a new product, it could prove beneficial to have a video demonstration showing why this product is better than the rest.   When people see this in the release, it could prove to be a great viral marketing tool.