The primary reason, people still use press releases is that they are the most effective tool in building good SEO back up. People still doubt their effectiveness. But the truth is that they are still very much relevant after being in existence for decades. They will probably still hold their ground in the future. Many successful organizations use a press release for SEO and stay connected with the target audience online. Many businesses or companies still don’t know about their benefits or how to use them properly. Issuing a press release without proper knowledge in the matter can do more harm than benefit to your brand. To acquire the full SEO advantage of press releases, you must know about it thoroughly. Here we discuss press releases in detail.
What is a Press Release?
A press release is a written content giving full information of a newsworthy event of a company to the media and the consumer base. It can be about a product or service launch, sales, and other events within a company. Press releases are written following a particular structure and sent to reputable news outlets to get featured.
Press releases are different from a traditional advertisement. They are treated as a piece of news. The readers expect something informative and a journalistic tone to be precise. A well-crafted press release spread the news of a company almost immediately acquiring profitable and organic audience engagement. You can hire a press release service if you want high-quality PR writing and distribution.
Why Press Releases are Issued?
Press releases are the most used marketing tool in the world right now. Even though they are in existence for so many years, their use has not decreased for a bit. So, why companies still use them so frequently?
- Press releases help companies build a good reputation in the industry. They keep the market informed about the events within a company spreading brand awareness.
- Getting the attention of the media is the top priority for brands. Through press coverage, they reach their target audience immediately. Press releases are the best way to gain a substantial amount of press attention.
- Press releases are best for damage control. If things go south, you can use them to tell your side of the story and maintain your dignity in the niche market.
- Everything is digitized now. This vast digitization has given companies another reason for issuing press releases. It is to boost SEO.
Everything about Press Release and SEO
Earlier press releases were only used to get the news about your company out there. In today’s digitized world, the work of a press release does not end there. Whenever a customer or investor is searching for something related to your brand or industry, your story must come on top of the search results. The higher you rank in the search results, the better your chances of getting recognized. It will also drive the traffic in the direction of your website producing huge and direct audience engagement to your brand.
Press releases are also quite useful for creating backlinks. When your press release gets picked up by several media outlets you automatically get backlinks from them. It is regarded as highly effective in boosting your SEO. You can get backlinks from other webmasters who read the story as well.
Building backlinks is not an easy task. Not all backlinks will be useful to you. With help from professional PR agencies, you can make this happen in just a matter of time without all the hassles. They provide high-quality and natural backlinks that can be profitable for you in the future.
Press Release Abuse
Due to their high SEO boosting capabilities, press releases are often misused. The internet is filled with tips and tricks on effective PR writing. Many organizations that have acquired much success with their PRs have started producing press releases about almost everything. What they need to keep in mind that not all events in a company are newsworthy. As a result, PR platforms get filled with irrelevant PRs. This led Google to start penalizing websites that feature them. Even if you get a backlink with that, they will be no-follow links. So they will do nothing to boost your SEO.
The Relevancy of Press Releases Today
As per data, press releases are still very much relevant in today’s marketing world. There is much more to a press release rather than creating backlinks. They create a chain reaction in the market gaining the attention from both the existing and potential consumers. With social media shares, press releases become more powerful. The reason companies still issue press releases are:
- Boost SEO to increase the company’s online exposure.
- Establish a better brand image.
- Get people to check the company website.
- Keep people informed about the new product launch, discount, or sales so that they can check it out.
- Prevent bad situations from going out of hand.
- To keep the brand image intact in a time of crisis.
If you are issuing a press release just to gain backlinks, it will not be beneficial to you in the long run.
How to Boost Your SEO through Press Release Optimization
Though backlinks boost your SEO, they are not very effective at doing so. Low-quality and spammy backlinks do more harm than benefit. The best way press releases amplify SEO is through proper audience engagement. When you get featured in a media outlet or website you naturally gain the attention of their visitors. The interested audience goes to your website increasing traffic to your site. They will also go to other pages on your site. They will also share your content on social media or through other platforms. All these things will boost your SEO tremendously.
How to Craft an Effective Press Release
Press releases are crafted in a certain way. You must follow these steps to produce an effective press release.
1. Write about Something Newsworthy
Journalists and media outlets are always looking for newsworthy stories to publish. They want stories that are relevant to their readers. Many newsworthy events are happening in an organization. All you have to do is identify those. First, research what is trending among your target audience. Try to mold your story around it keeping the true spirit of your brand intact. If you are still lacking in newsworthy events in your company you can simply offer a discount, sale, or host an event. This will give you material to work with. Once you have decided upon what to write, you can simply write a press release with a journalistic tone. You can also hire professional PR agencies that offer expert PR writing besides distribution services.
2. Craft a Catchy Headline
The headline of a PR holds great power over its success. It is the first thing that anyone is going to notice. If your readers do not find it interesting enough they will simply move on to the next one.
- Make sure it is attention-grabbing at the same time convey all the information properly.
- Keep it short and compact.
- Use easy language so that everyone understands what the whole story is about.
- Do not use jargon and use keywords for an added SEO boost.
3. The Body
The body of your press release should maintain a journalistic tone. It should be written like a newspaper article. There are a few rules that you must follow:
- Always write in the third person.
- Don’t write more than 5 paragraphs. Long and multi-paged PRs are out of date now.
- Keep the content to the point.
- Add images, infographics, videos, and other multi-media in between paragraphs.
- Add quotes from the important personalities of your company in your content. Make a separate paragraph for the quotes.
- Use easy-to-understand language.
4. Reach The Right Journalists
Do not blindly send your PRs to every single journalist you come across.
- Do the research and find out which journalists and media outlets cover your industry.
- Find out their contact information and pitch your story directly.
- In your mail, tell them you are already acquainted with their writing. Explain how your story fits with their requirements.
- Find out about their reader base and what they like or dislike.
The Don’ts about PR Issuing
- Don’t write a series of irrelevant press releases that are not interesting to the audience. If you have nothing to write about then don’t write. Unnecessary press releases will damage your reputation in the long run.
- Don’t spam the editors and journalists with continuous pitching. Journalists are busy people. They will blacklist you if they get a series of emails with the same or irrelevant content.
- Do not follow up immediately. Give them a few days or a week to go through your story. If you don’t hear them after more than a few weeks, do a follow up politely.
- Always post your press releases on relevant platforms.
