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.

Tags: online news, pitching, PRdashboard, press release, seo

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 at 1:23 pm and is filed under Media Relations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.