When you fine tune your online press releases to increase search engine optimization, it adds value to your Internet marketing programs. Online press releases have become a fairly standard marketing strategy and are a valuable tool for promoting the products and services offered on your website. Press releases get your company’s name before the public, create an aura of authority and drive targeted traffic to your site. They also create vital link popularity that is important to search engine ranking. Realization of their search optimization potential has caused a shift in focus in online press releases. According to a recent Clemson University study, the purpose of online news announcements is moving away from traditional brand marketing to search engine optimization.
Titled The ROI of Online Press Releases, the Clemson University study revealed increased use of hyperlinks and keywords to enhance search engine optimization in online news releases. “Of course marketers also want to announce news, but increasingly they use news releases for SEO, driving click-throughs to their websites and to reach customers directly,” said study leader Mihaela Vorvoreanu, an assistant professor of communications studies at Clemson.
Search engine optimization techniques that have been effective on websites are now being applied to the formation of online press releases. Placing keywords in the tags, headline and first paragraph of a press release encourages Internet search engines to “crawl” news documents, indexing their content for response to user search queries. When optimized for search engines, press releases can:
> increase your search engine ranking when users search for information on the Internet, placing your business closer to the top of the results list
> increase the number of website visitors who provide their email address and contact information
> increase the number of consumers who complete online forms
> increase the generation of qualified leads
As part of an effective comprehensive SEO marketing program, search engine optimized press releases help create valuable link popularity, including important inbound non-reciprocated links. While reciprocal links are valuable in improving page ranking, search engines penalize bad linking choices with poor ranking placement. For this reason, creating inbound non-reciprocal links must be part of any effective SEO linking strategy. Search engines view non-reciprocal links as unsolicited, and therefore more valuable, endorsements from other highly ranked sites. Placing an optimized press release with an Internet newswire service that contains links back to a business’ website accomplishes this goal.
With more than 15 years of experience writing high-quality press releases, the PR specialists at Increase Visibility are well experienced in creating dynamic search engine optimized news releases.
