SEO Blog

Unconventional perhaps, but the Internet has changed the primary function of a press release.  In days of yore you would simply write a press release when you had a newsworthy story and would then continue to distribute it to a select few media outlets.

This method ensured your press release would get picked up by the right people and had the chance for some local or national exposure. Unfortunately, more often than not, it would end up in an editor’s in-tray and be forgotten about. Therefore it would largely be a waste of time and effort – hence why they were few and far between.

However, the Internet has changed all of that. Now there are thousands of press releases created each day and syndicated right across the web. But not all these releases are necessarily there to get the attention of some tabloid newspaper editor; in fact, most wouldn’t even get into a free local rag.

No, instead press releases are being used as a link building tool. Just like with your article marketing and hubs, they are a practical source of free or, at the very least, cost effective links. This has given rise to a multitude of free press release sites, which has invariably added more value to those stronger ones who charge.

Anyway, the joy of press releases is the ability to include embedded links within the actual content. Whilst many article sites only allow a link to be used in the author bio, you can benefit from having a few keyword optimised links right throughout. This should add further context to the links and will therefore pass on relevance to the target page – perfect for SEO.

Of course your release may still get picked up by editors too. Due to the double benefit of SEO and brand promotion, you can get your story seen through traditional media streams too. However, that does very much depend on the quality of the release and the story it carries.

Press releases produced just for SEO purposes are usually pretty conspicuous though. They have a very loose story to tell and are just plugged with random links. Most distribution sites do have some form of review service to really separate the wheat from the chaff; however, if you really want to get the very most out of your efforts, then you should steer clear of outright spam.

There are sites that will republish work and provide you with further links, but even these could be put off if you just elect to create nonsensical posts. Basically you have to reach a middle ground if you want your releases to succeed.

You need to write with sufficient quality to promote your brand and attract visitors, but you don’t want to invest the same amount of time as you might on a release that might garner international media attention.

So if you have something special happen within your business, be it a new employer, a fundraising event or gaining a major new client, create a press release and tell the world. You might not end up in the pages of The Times, but you could get some pretty handy links.