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Optimized Press Release Services - Online Distribution

Did you know you can submit an optimized press release online (with keyword-rich links to your website) for only $80? It's true, and it's a tactic I use about once a month for publicity, direct exposure, and yes ... SEO benefits.

A press release published online will often get picked up by other websites and blogs, including some that may have large audience. This is especially true when the release is newsworthy in some way. The further your press release goes, the more traffic it can generate for your website — and the more exposure you get for your business.

But there are search engine optimization / SEO benefits as well. You can optimize your press release with keywords and phrases, just like you would for any other page of your website. This makes it easier to find online.

You can also use your press release as a link building strategy, if you go about it the right way. If you hyperlink some of the key phrases within your release, all of those blogs and websites (that republished your news article) will be pointing toward your website with hyperlinks. This increases your link popularity, which, as we've discussed, improves your website's search engine visibility.

Write it. Optimize it. Publish it.

Before you spend money on a press release distribution service you need to make sure your release is the best it can possibly be. For starters, it should be (A) newsworthy in some way, (B) written to appeal to your target audience, and (C) properly optimized for search engine visibility. By incorporating keywords and hyperlinks into your press release, you'll increase your website's search engine visibility as well. The end goal, of course, is to increase the number of ways people can find you and learn about you online, ideally through noteworthy coverage of some kind.

I use and recommend PR Web for distributing optimized press releases via the Internet. When you publish your news through this web-based service you can hyperlink some of the key phrases within the body of the release. This is known as an optimized press release. Remember, links to your website with key phrases in them are the brass ring of SEO.

When publishing your optimized press release through PR Web's distribution service pay close attention to the notes in the right column of the submission form. That's where they tell you the rules for headlines, summaries, body, etc. It's also where they tell you the linking formula.

They also have a rule about spreading your links out. Here it is verbatim: "To avoid having your release placed on editorial hold please limit your links to 1 link per 100 words of body text. This policy is in place to protect the link value of the links that you include in your release and the value of links within the PRWeb Network."

Value of an Optimized Release with Hyperlinks

We talked about the value of inbound links from other websites to yours. We also talked about how links with keywords in them outweigh links with only the web address. Well, when you publish a strong (newsworthy) release through PRweb.com, it will be distributed all over the web to news sites, blogs, RSS feeds, etc. If you have links in the release, all of those websites are suddenly pointing to yours with keyword-rich hyperlinks.

Now add in the direct exposure that comes from this strategy, and you'll begin to see the value of using optimized press releases!

Tips for Optimization & Publishing

In closing, here are some of the lessons I've learned over the years that will help you get the best results from online press release services ...

• You must start with a newsworthy topic. Many so-called "press releases" that are distributed online do not have a shred of news to them. Before you worry about optimized keywords, hyperlinks and such, you need to identify a noteworthy topic. Start by being newsworthy and build from there.
• Remove the "fluff" from your press release headline. Don't try to impress people with your use of corporate jargon. Keep it simple and to the point. Write the headline in a way that suggests value to the reader. Revise and rewrite until you get it right. The headline is a key component of the online press release process.
• Optimize your release with keywords you've identified through keyword research. This will increase the chance of people finding the release when searching those keywords through Google, Yahoo, etc. Include the most important phrase within the press release headline as well.
• After you submit your release to the online distribution channels (like those featured above), send it to relevant industry websites along with a personal note. For example, if your release is about a new software product, submit the optimized release to all of the software news websites.

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