We’ve heard for years that the news release is dead. But perhaps it was just sleeping. Or maybe it just evolved so much that it’s unrecognizable. Kind of like Madonna.

Instead of sending information strictly to journalists who may or may not cover your story, you’re now sending (and publishing) your news for anyone with Internet access to see. Big change. When your news releases live online, they also live forever so the SEO and news implications of today’s releases are more powerful than ever before. The opportunities to include multimedia such as pictures, videos and podcasts with your news release makes your releases even stronger. But how can you squeeze the most value out of your news releases?

Drive Traffic with Keywords

If your news releases are optimized for target search keywords relevant to your industry, you can gather more than just media wins – you can gather clicks. And in the competitive online search landscape, relevant clicks pack influence and sales. Eighty-five percent of all online activity is search (Pew Internet & American Life Project) so the business implications are hefty.

But which keywords to use? If you have an analytics program like Google Analytics installed on your Web site, you can see which keywords drive the most traffic as well as which keywords convert best. This is a great place to start. You can also use tools like Google Adwords Keyword Planner, WordTracker and SEOmoz to hone your keyword targets. Once you have your keyword list, use these keywords in your url, page title, body copy and release boiler plate. Try to feature the keywords at the top of the news release. You should also include a keyword-rich description on the Web page of your news release. You can also include keywords in the alt text for the images of your news release page.

Drive Traffic with Links

When you use a news release distribution service such as Marketwire, PRweb or BusinessWire, you can extend your reach by pushing your release to the major search engines – significantly increasing the traffic you receive from other Web sites known as referral links. Most of the major wire services also offer SEO tools that can help you optimize your releases even further.  But that is just the beginning. By including links within your release, you can tell a more complete story and can push traffic to additional resources such as white papers, blog posts or research stats. Powerplay: Use your keywords within the anchor links for even more SEO and usability gains. For example, Download “SEO: From Search Obscurity to Search Stardom.”

Drive Traffic with Compelling Content

As with the traditional news release, blasting a release out every time your company sneezes is boring. So make it interesting. How does your news change your company, your industry or your customers?  Integrate these angles to create news releases people actually want to read. You can include photos, videos, case studies and podcasts to make the news release more engaging. Think about the stories that demand your attention – they are usually succinct, enlightening, unusual. And they usually grab you with a captivating headline.

As media models have shifted, so has the news release. It has a wider audience and even more opportunities to impact audiences and journalists. Take advantage of it.

Looking for more ways to increase your Web site’s Search Engine Optimization? Download “From Search Obscurity to Search Stardom.”

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Amanda Eyer is a brand strategist with atLarge, Inc., a digital advertising firm that’s guided online strategies for Ford, IMG Academies, J.D. Powers & Associates and more. She has a decade of interactive marketing experience and has worked with non-profits, start-ups and corporations to help them achieve their digital marketing goals.

Published by Amanda Eyer Comments:1 Comment
Published in Digital Marketing, Search Engine Optimization