A Guide To Press Release Optimization For SEO
SEO optimized press releases can be extremely effective for your marketing operation in helping to boost your company’s online visibility and rankings in the SERPs — that is, when they are done right. So, in addition to writing a press release for the right reasons, there are certain SEO techniques you should employ to amplify your presence in the search rankings and to maximize the value of your press release.
We are going to break down the must-know tips you should keep in mind when optimizing your press release.
Don’t Write a Press Release Solely for SEO
One of the key mistakes companies, as well as SEOs for that matter make when writing a press release is doing it for the sole purpose of SEO. In fact, companies have the tendency to look for reasons just to write a press release. Not good, people. Remember what the purpose of creating a press release is in the first place. You should draw up a press release when your company actually has news you want to present to the world, information that is newsworthy and substantial. Examples of such situations in which it would be a great idea to write a press release are the launch of a new product or a partnership you just formed with another company. Therefore, hiring four new staff members would not be terms that justify writing a press release for, unless those staff members were acclaimed in your industry, or newsworthy themselves.
Once, you have established that you do in fact have a solid reason to create a press release, well, then you might as well optimize it, right? So, you can get the most bang for your buck.
Ok, we’ll dive into just how you should optimize your press release and what your thought process should be as you work to improve its SEO in the next points.
Leverage Backlinks for More Link Juice
So, we’ve established that you have a strong reason to write a press release. Now, you might as well optimize your press release for SEO to ensure that it will serve your website well in helping boost your online rankings. Backlinks are one of the top reasons to maximize your SEO for your press release. We won’t get too into depth about backlinks here, but in a nutshell the more backlinks you have for your site, the higher rankings in the SERPs your site will have. Your goal is to obtain backlinks from other sites with higher domain authorities. Press releases are effective for helping to elevate your online visibility because by their nature, you can obtain backlinks from websites with higher domain authorities such as news and media outlets.
However, there is a caveat to this in that news and media platform websites inherently will probably not be relevant to your industry category unless of course, your site is also a media hub. And when you have backlinks to unrelated sites, this usually results in less link juice. Nevertheless, in the case of a press release, the search engines wll be aware that you are getting backlinks from news outlets, and even though they are most likely unrelated to your site’s primary offerings, they will still give your website link juice and strengthen your online visibility.
Take Advantage of Strong Keywords
You probably know how significant including keywords in your various content pieces is to your site’s SEO in general. Your press releases are a perfect opportunity to leverage effective, targeted keywords for your site as long as you are utilizing and placing them correctly. The key to doing your keywords right in your press release is to choose words that are relevant to your site and offerings such as the top words you want to rank for anyway. But of course, as always — don’t overdo it. That is, don’t fall victim to the mistakes companies make when they overstuff keywords just for the sake of trying to improve SEO. Remember, any piece of content must first be written in a way that feels and sounds human with organic, meaningful language that will resonate with your audience.
Include Your Image or Logo in Your Press Release
As important as your content is to the efficacy and value of your press release, don’t forget the importance of images, too. In fact, using your images or logo in your press release can especially be integral in helping amplify your site’s SEO and as a result its online visibility. News and media outlets typically appreciate it when you include your company’s branding images or logo in your press release and will be more likely to pick you up and promote your piece of content if it includes this imagery as well. And what does it mean when more news and media outlets pick up your press release? Higher visibility, and more backlinks, for continued, long-term stronger SEO for your site. See? Call it the cycle of strong SEO. When SEO is conducted correctly and effectively, all facets of the optimization process will continue to impact and help each other and continue to yield stronger SEO results and visibility in the SERPs for your site and your site’s content.
SEO for press releases is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to a powerful and strongly optimized marketing operation. Feeling a little overwhelmed about your company’s SEO needs?
Well, luckily we digital marketing experts at Firon can’t get enough of it and SEO is in fact one of our top services. If you want to elevate and scale your marketing efforts to reach and exceed all your marketing goals in 2021, reach out to us today for a free audit.
