The easiest way to get started with an online PR campaign is to utilize the press release; something businesses have taken advantage of in print media for decades. The following are three tips that are essential for the success of an online news release.
As with any type of writing, using the correct format is key. The proper formatting of a press release is much like you would write a newspaper article. You want to include the most important information, such as the who, what, where, when, and why, in the beginning of the release and save the less pertinent information for the end. Many refer to this format as the inverted triangle. The exciting information should all be included in the first 250 words so that your reader is enticed to continue to read. This is especially important online in that many times a short summary is displayed on the main page with a link to go read the whole release. The more general information like a company's history or business focus should be left to the end. This format is not only more attractive to a reader, but to a publisher that may pick up the news release. If they need to cut down the release because of a space constraint, the necessary information is still included.
Besides using the right format, it is important to choose the right words for your press release. If they are written properly, they can effectively convey a lot of information as well as provide the necessary keywords to be found by the search engines. Think of what phrase your audience will be searching for in order to find information on your topic. The general rule is to keep the phrase to less than four keywords. Once you have done some research on the best keywords to use, make sure they are cleverly placed throughout the press release, with special emphasis on the heading, subheading, and first 250 words. Do not try to force the keywords though, they must sound natural and read smoothly. In fact using a keyword too many times is also noticed by search engines and can result in lower rankings in a search listing.
Link some of the important keywords back to your website and to the specialty product page that you are talking about in the press release. Make sure to use anchor tags in the links instead of straight URLs. Online press release distribution sites charge extra to put the keywords or anchor text in your links but the $200 charge is well worth it. Many sites have experienced large increases in search rankings from just one well done press release. Don't be afraid to encourage the reader to check out your website for more information.
The final tip for a successful press release is to post it in the right places. There are a number of sites designed specifically to announce your news release. Other news sources and websites are constantly looking at these directories for good information to publish. Quite often they will pick up your press release and publish it elsewhere on the web, giving your news release, and website, great publicity. Make sure to publish to a number of the announcement directories; this will increase the chance of it getting picked up by outside sources. Don't stop there though; publish your announcement on your own website. The press release should be full of quality content that will make the search engines drive more traffic to your site.
In all, when done well, online press releases are an effective way to get publicity for your company, to increase your natural search rankings, and can even trigger viral marketing on the social networks such as Digg. The major traffic effects from press releases lasts about 2 months with some product announcements lasting on review sites for years. A good long term strategy to couple with the bursts one gets from press releases is to publish well written articles. A topic to be expanded upon at another time.
Robert Garden is an Internet Consultant and is a successful WSI franchise owner helping local businesses with Sacramento web marketing. WSI web design consultants bring a local presence along with International resources to help your business succeed online through better web site design, higher traffic from search engine optimization, and smarter conversion rates for leads and e-commerce sales. For more information on internet and email marketing, see the regional website.