Press Releases

Writing Press Releases With SEO In Mind

A well-written press release can do more than catch a reporter's eye -- it can also drive traffic to your website. We'll give you the information you need to create a press release that does well in the search engines and exposes more people to your company's online content.

In the past, press releases were little more than a tool to attract media attention.

Press releases still play an important role in traditional PR. But these days, more and more entrepreneurs are using press releases as a way to generate traffic to their corporate websites.

If you're new to SEO, the idea of using press releases to increase site visibility can seem daunting. It isn't that any of the tasks involved with SEO are difficult. The trick is just knowing how to create a press release that will get noticed after your post it on your company website.

These tips on SEO for press releases should give you the skills to write SEO-optimized press releases.

Keywords

Keywords are targeted words or phrases that describe your topic and are repeated to capture the attention of search engines. Think of the keywords that journalists and customers might search for in search engines and use those phrases liberally in your release. Remember, the name of your company is a keyword and should be included in the title of the press release along with a few other keywords that will appear throughout the body of the press release. Repetition is important, but you have to make sure your press release is well written. If it's just a jumble of keywords, it won't have any value and will be ignored by the people you are trying to reach.

Target the Beginning and the End

From an SEO standpoint, the title, first paragraph, and last paragraph should be keyword-rich sections of the press release. That shouldn't be hard if you've identified the right keywords - your title and opening should already highlight your main points, and the last paragraph should drive them home.

Use Links

It's helpful to include links to products or other parts of your website within the body of the press release. At a minimum, one of the links in your press release should include your primary target keyword and another one should be a link to your main site. If possible, you should also try to include the link to your press release in your social media outlets and partner websites.

SEO-Friendly Formatting

Short paragraphs are better than long ones for SEO purposes. Bullets, subtitles, and other formatting tools make your press release more appealing to search engines and easier for media contacts to find important details.

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