Regardless of what you’re publishing online it’s important to always consider what you can do to improve the SEO of that piece. While video, traditional articles, and even infographics have earned plenty of discussion over the years, the SEO considerations for press releases are not often discussed. The truth is that while a press release’s main purpose is not to build links or impress search engine bots for rankings, they still affect your company’s online presence and reputation. They can be optimized for SEO purposes, and this is something too many company’s are glossing over. You want your press releases to rank well so that they get the visibility they deserve, and SEO is the answer.
Creating an SEO Strategy for Press Releases
The reason that SEO for press releases can be tough is because press releases are usually timely and therefore not something you’re worried about people seeing in several weeks (or for many, even several days). However, this means that immediate SEO is even more important. Consider some of the ways you can improve the SEO of your press releases below:
- Circulation. You always want to make sure that you send your press release to as many different publications as you can that will publish it. This isn’t something that usually works well with other types of content, but you have a better chance with press releases. This will help you gain popularity and links, which will in turn help the Google bots find your release and get to ranking. The more authoritative the publication, the better. A few examples include Business Wire, Marketwire, and PRWeb.
- Create a Social-Specific Release. Instead of simply publishing your press release and making an announcement on your social accounts, consider creating an alternate press release specifically for your social audience. This may be something a little bit more fun or something shorter. Social signals, particularly Google+, are becoming more and more important for rankings, so you want as many shares as you can get.
- Write a Blog Post. Many companies don’t think about it, but you can actually write a blog post about your press release (no, that’s not too much content!). This can help you gain backlinks and shares directed toward your press release because it gives your blog audience a chance to see the piece. Remember, you may not have much of an audience clicking on your press releases, so go to the platform or outlet where you do have a loyal following.
A Quick Reminder
According to this article from our sister-site HigherVisibility, you can use some of your standard SEO techniques for press releases and they will work just as well. As a quick refresher there are two major SEO techniques not to miss:
- Keyword Optimization. Always think about your audience and the keyword terms they’re using to search, and consider performing keyword research. Use these keywords throughout your release in the title, copy, and Meta data.
- Linking Techniques. You should always link back to your press release on your website and from your social channels, but it’s also important to switch things around. If you can add a relevant link in your press release to an authoritative website or a related video you’ve created, that will help you rank well with Google.
By combining some of the more creative methods and some of the standard SEO techniques, it’s easy for a press release to rank well in the SERPs quick enough to get good press when you need it. It’s easy to think that a press release doesn’t need SEO, but SEO results can move fast. Overall SEO can take a long time to really see major results, but for one post (or in this case press release), you may be able to see a quick spike, which is really all a press release needs.
I recommend visiting this article for more information if you need any more broad or basic reminders about SEO and SEO for press release specifically. Do you have any more tips for optimizing a press release for search engines? Let us know in the comment section below.