Press Release are a tried and true component of any PR campaign, but many PR people are continuing to write (and publish) press releases the “old” way.  The advent of social media, online newspapers and ‘google’ as a verb means that optimizing your presence online is more important than ever.  By writing and publishing press releases the same way as before, more traditional agencies are not taking advantage of the search engine optimization (SEO) potential that could greatly improve the position of their websites and releases in the search engines’ results.

Another advantage of an SEO Press Release is that even small businesses or Do-It-Yourself types can afford to write and submit these.  In fact, if you write the release yourself there are several places to submit it that are 100% free.

The main idea is to write your press release so that it will rank well in the search engines for certain keywords.  By ranking well you’ll get backlinks from other sites and higher rankings for both your press releases and actual website, resulting in more traffic.  Check out this hub from Christine OKelly for detailed info on How to Write an SEO Press Release.

Once you’ve got your press release written it’s time to publish it.  Instead of pitching it directly to reporters or editors, submit it to a few of the many online distribution services available.  These services will automatically distribute your release to thousands of outlets and put it up on their website.  The cost associated with the service varies based on levels of exposure, but there are several options that allow you to publish for free.  Check out our list of distribution services on the PR Dashboard for ideas on where to start.

Welcome to PR Channel!

Thanks to the success of our sister site AgencyTool.com and their web design directory and web design dashboard we decided to branch out and offer these valuable services to other industries.  We’ve launched the site and everything is now up an running, so feel free to take a look around.

Check out our PR Dashboard for helpful links to resources and tools for the PR professional.  The dashboard is broken up into categories like Media Management, Writing & Pitching to make finding the resource you need extremely easy.  We’ve spent a lot of time pulling together some of the best sites and tools out there, but we know we’ve left some great resources out.  That’s why we have the submit feature – so if you use a tool or know of a great PR related site don’t hesitate to let us know and we’ll add it to the list!  Hopefully we can built the biggest and best PR resource around.

Also, make sure you visit the directory at PRChannel.com – its empty now, but if the success of our first directory, AgencyTool, is any indicator spots will fill up fast!  Receive targeted traffic from our site that results in qualified leads and boost your visibility online.  Check out our Get Listed page for more details about signing up and getting listed.

That’s all for now – but be sure to check back here as well.  Our blog will post about resources that are added to the dashboard, as well as articles and other random PR tidbits we come across.

Cheers!

The PR Channel Team