Did you know that press releases are viewed, on average, 275 times every week? If you are trying to use free press release services in order to practice SEO for your business, there are a few things you should know. Press releases have the potential to be very effective tools. On the other hand, they can be the pot that burns your hand if you hold it the wrong way. Here are three tips for creating better press releases that accomplish your end goal of higher search rankings.
1. What Your Press Releases Should Be About
Erin Everheart on SearchEngineLand explains that the generic press release that you rewrite twice a month and then send to every business press release website you can find is a thing of the past. “Do something newsworthy,” she advises. In other words, make sure you remember what a press release is about. Something new, and worth advertising! This will ultimately get you more views, and your posts will be seen as more relevant.
2. Pick Your Press Release Submission Sites Wisely
According to a study by Vitis Public Relations, not all sites are created equal when it comes to submitting and hoping to show up in Google results, and have your inbound links count for something. They found that less than 15% of the free press release sites they tested actually fulfilled on their promises of getting in prominent search results. Among their list of sites that passed? Idea Marketers, Online PR News, and PR Fire were all okay. Keep in mind that having your link show up on poor quality sites isn’t just an “oh well” situation. These links can actually count against your website, and make your rank drop.
3. What to Include
In every press release, you should include an opening paragraph, background information, and the announcement itself. If you are including inbound links via anchor text to your website, don’t just use your company name. If your brand name shows up at least a few times on your website, Google already recognizes it. Instead, use this opportunity to describe again in the anchor text what it is you actually sell or service.
What are your thoughts on creating a successful business press release?