Welcome to the Kleber & Associates blog! Optimize Press Releases and Market Home Products Via News Search Engines. Here’s the latest…
News search engines have made it more important than ever to optimize your press releases for universal search. Outlined below are important steps to take.
If you’re targeting journalists, keep in mind that 98 percent of them use the Web daily as part of their search for news, while 73 percent of them use it to find press releases.
If your goal is to put your news in the hands of the public, optimized press releases utilizing targeted keywords and links can reach the millions of Americans using news search engines.
1. Keyword Determination
Decide which keywords or search terms pertain to your specific company. Think about words users would type to find your pages and brainstorm keyword categories that address your customers’ wants.
2. Keyword Analysis
Next, compile the keywords for review of traffic potential, competition and other factors. Use tools like Trellian’s free search term suggestion tool, Google AdWords keyword tool, Google Trends and Wordtracker’s free keyword suggestion tool. Each provides different benefits—age and gender breakdown, season spikes, trends over upcoming months and daily/yearly search figures—so it’s best to use several simultaneously.
3. Keyword Implementation
Once you’ve determined the best keywords, implement them in press releases. Build your campaign around things like company/description, product/service and news/benefit.
Be careful not to overload your materials with keywords. After all, the primary objective of a press release is to announce news. But the general rule of thumb for keyword density is approximately five to 10 percent of the written work or five keyword uses per page.
4. Include Links
Links are a great way to include a destination for readers seeking related content. You can also include a link that redirects to a unique landing page of your site so it can provide readers with additional information and be tracked as a result of the optimized press release.
5. Select Newswire Distribution Provider
Now that you’re ready to distribute and release your optimized press release, it’s time to choose an authorized newswire service. News search engines aggregate thousands of news sources including major press release distributors like PR Newswire, Business Wire, PR Web and Marketwire.
6. Measurement
Last, but certainly not least, measure the success of the keyword campaign. Depending on your Web site software, you can measure your site’s traffic and unique landing page visitors. If you don’t have any Web site traffic measurement in place, try Google Analytics, which provides a fairly thorough indication of your traffic. Yahoo Site Explorer can also track the number of inlinks to your Web site for free.
Press Release Optimization as Part of a Larger Focus
Optimized press releases are only part of a marketing campaign. Both journalists and consumers search for news about a company through company Web sites, traditional news sources, direct contact from professionals and advertising in addition to search engines.