B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®

B2B Marketing views, news and interviews.

Contact Us

MENUMENU
  • Services
    • Influencer
      • Start Your B2B Influencer Pilot
    • Content
    • Search
  • Insights
    • Blog
    • News
    • Resources
  • Our Work
    • B2B Technology
    • IT Service Management
    • Project Management Software
    • Social Networks
    • Supply Chain
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Careers
  • Connect

Lowdown on Press Release Optimization

Lee Odden
Lee Odden
Online Marketing

Working with client PR firms to optimize press releases often generates some interesting discussion and education about writing style and keyword usage. A lot of press releases seem to be written by budding poets or ex-ad copywriters trying to be clever with the reader. This does not always bode well for keyword based ranking in algorithmic news and search engines.

On the other hand, press release spam is on the rise and many releases are being distributed with a bare minimum, if at all, editorial review. Both gimmicky and keyword stuffed press releases reduce the credibility of the wire service and the chances of your news being taken seriously.

So, what to do? Write a plain jane release that does not stand out, or stuff that sucker like a turkey with keywords galore? A talented writer should be able to incorporate keywords into a press release as well as satisfy any creative requirements for a compelling read. This is the “art” of press release optimization and also of web page optimization.

The distribution source of the release is also an important consideration. The number of “free” news release distribution services has grown so it is important to decide whether you pay or use the free service – noting what type of service you want your release associated with. If a wire service sends out lots of press release spam, do you really want to be associated with that?

The objective of the press release should guide how aggressive you are at “optimizing” it for relevant keywords and what news wire service you use. PRweb is great for building links, and if actual press coverage occurs, that’s icing on the cake.

It also matters how newsworthy your release is and how well it’s written. If you have important news, definitely consider having a professional write your release.

PR News wire and Business Wire are two “traditional” and more expensive news wire services to consider for your most newsworthy announcements.

If you want media coverage, then do some homework to identify target publications and their editorial calendars. Send journalists personal emails/pitches on your story. Be succinct and include a url to the full release. Don’t put the whole release inside the email. I can tell you, that is annoying!

Post an online media kit on your web site, particularly one that is managed with a blog content management system. That will make it easy for interested parties to subscribe to “what’s new” about your company. Include links to past releases, past media coverage, contact info, high res photos, executive bios and links to notable employee blogs.

Keep in mind, that journalists receive an abundance of emailed press releases every day. Discouraged by the deluge of press release spam and by the sheer volume of poorly written email pitches by PR interns and recent college grads, many journalists, freelance writers and prominent bloggers are keen to search for news stories and sources in other ways.

A smart strategy for getting press coverage is to help journalists pull themselves to you by making sure you have relevant visibility in the places where they are looking. What’s becoming a more efficient way for journalists to monitor topics for stories is to subscribe to RSS feeds of search results on news and blog search engines. Here are some examples:

News search engines:

  • Yahoo News/Blog Search
  • Google News
  • MSNBC Newsbot
  • Topix

Blog search engines:

  • Technorati.com
  • Google Blog Search
  • Findory

Tag based engines:

  • del.icio.us
  • gada.be

Visibility on News search engines and bookmark sites from a keyword and tag standpoint does support the effort to gain editorial coverage, at least indirectly. Make sure your news is available to these sources and that every article or press release distributed is available as part of a RSS feed.

Other than press releases, another way to get into sites like Google news is to write articles and submit them to publication web sites and also blogs that are already getting picked up by Google newsbot. Perform a search on Google News for relevant keywords and note the sites that are getting picked up. Find out if they accept articles and press releases and submit.

Post your articles and press releases to your own site, ideally using a blog content management system, and then bookmark these articles using social book marking services and tag them with keywords. When your articles are picked up by other news sources, be sure to bookmark those pages as well using del.icio.us, furl.net and similar services.

If you publish frequent news and articles, your news area or site might qualify as a news source for Google News. You can request Google to add your site as a news source. Keep in mind though, that Google News wants you to have an “editorial review process” and more than one person writing content. You should be adding news weekly if not daily and NOT republishing news. If you get in, Google Newsbot will hit your site very often.

Content syndication is no doubt the future for better search engine rankings and traffic to your web site. The best linking strategy is to create excellent content. Combine creative and optimization skills to create compelling, keyword relevant articles and press releases. Understand where your target audience and circles of influence get their information and be there. Make sure your content is easy to find and to syndicate by using a blog content management system to host articles and releases.

About Lee Odden

@LeeOdden is the CEO of TopRank Marketing and editor of TopRank's B2B Marketing Blog. Cited for his expertise by The Economist, Forbes and the Wall Street Journal, he's the author of the book Optimize and presents internationally on B2B marketing topics including content, search, social media and influencer marketing. When not at conferences, consulting, or working with his talented team, he's likely running, traveling or cooking up something new.

Comments

  1. SS | PR Firm A High Tech Public Relations Agency says

    July 11, 2006 at 1:52 am

    Interesting post and excellent list of wire services for distributing press releases. We like to use http://www.prnewswire.com.

  2. Lee Odden says

    July 11, 2006 at 2:06 pm

    Hey SSPR, I don’t think your keyword stuffed link is going to work out. Sorry. 🙂

  3. Dwight Stickler says

    October 6, 2006 at 8:07 pm

    Hi Lee,

    Excellent posting. It is indeed a challenge to balance keyword targeting with editorial excellence sufficient to warrant actual journalist or publisher attention.

    Of course tieing the traffic analysis closely to a revenue objective helps both the firm providing the service and the client to see the value in the project.

    Good work with the list of distribution services.

  4. wayne price says

    January 9, 2007 at 6:43 am

    Just to let you know that there is another free press release wire in b3ta development.
    Free Press Release Wire

  5. Jackie says

    January 31, 2007 at 6:49 am

    I found this site by pure accident. I learned that most of the major newswires stopped their FREE submission early in 2006.

    FreePRWeb.com still offers this valuable service.

    Have a look at http://www.freeprweb.com

  6. Lee Odden says

    January 31, 2007 at 8:21 am

    Jackie, I suspect you’re going to be getting a cease and desist letter from an attorney at PRWeb’s parent Vocus sometime soon for using their trademark.

  7. Joe Loeppky says

    January 31, 2007 at 4:49 pm

    Search By Headlines is a unique news site that allows users to search or submit news by headlines. Some unique features… Search news by category of Stock news, private company news, association or non profit news and by industry. Submit news with 3 different rotating headlines!

  8. AM Fleming says

    January 31, 2007 at 4:51 pm

    Public & Private Companies: Submit your press / news release to our leading industry and investor and industry portals covering the Environment, Homeland Security, Tech, Digital Media, Renewable Energy, Greentech, Oil and Gas, Nanotech, Biotech, Gold, Mining, China, India and other leading sectors

  9. ProfEssays says

    March 2, 2007 at 10:05 am

    It is rather meager information

  10. PressAbout says

    April 15, 2007 at 8:41 pm

    A Free Press Release Blog – http://www.PressAbout.com

  11. GroupWeb EmailWire.com says

    March 10, 2008 at 12:51 am

    EmailWire.com accepts optimized press releases and gives users the ability to measure the effectiveness of their press releases.

  12. Chris Jenk says

    May 2, 2008 at 8:09 pm

    You can also submit technology press releases to http://www.techprspider.com

  13. Free Press Release says

    May 15, 2008 at 7:47 am

    You can also submit your press release to http://www.freepressindex.com/. It is completely FREE!

Trackbacks

  1. » Mr. Ploppy’s Monday Morning Tool List Volume XVII - Press Release Tools - Stuntdubl - SEO Consultant says:
    October 31, 2005 at 5:58 pm

    […] Lee’s guide to press release optimization […]

  2. On Article and Press Release Optimization -- Macalua.com says:
    March 26, 2006 at 9:31 am

    […] Lee Odden has a nice list of PR submission sites . I’m still waiting for Miles to send his article submission list 🙂 Bookmark at del.icio.us | Digg | Newsvine | Blinklist | Furl | Reddit | Yahoo! MyWeb […]

  3. Tips for Online PR » Online Marketing Blog says:
    April 11, 2006 at 6:14 pm

    […] Be sure to check out a previous post, Lowdown on Press Release Optimization for more information on how to leverage press releases for SEO and online promotion. Tags: online marketing, online pr, press release optimization, public relations, reputation management Bookmark – Del.icio.us | Digg | Furl It | Spurl | RawSugar | Simpy | Shadows | Blink It | My Web […]

  4. links for 2006-06-11 says:
    June 11, 2006 at 12:38 am

    […] Lowdown on Press Release Optimization

  5. Seo Blog » 101 Modi Per Aumentare La Tua Link Popularity says:
    August 19, 2006 at 12:33 pm

    […] 12. Invia i tuoi comunicati stampa. Ricorda prima di scrivere un ottimo comunicato. Poi spediscilo a molti giornalisti e bloggers del settore, personalizzando il messaggio e-mail ad ognuno. Spediscilo anche ad altri siti come PRWeb, PRLeap, etc. […]

  6. 101 Modi Per Aumentare La Tua Link Popularity - Seo Blog says:
    August 20, 2006 at 3:51 pm

    […] 12. Invia i tuoi comunicati stampa. Ricorda prima di scrivere un ottimo comunicato. Poi spediscilo a molti giornalisti e bloggers del settore, personalizzando il messaggio e-mail ad ognuno. Spediscilo anche ad altri siti come PRWeb, PRLeap, etc. […]

  7. Spaceconte blog » 101 modi per aumentare la tua link popularity says:
    August 20, 2006 at 5:07 pm

    […] 12. Invia i tuoi comunicati stampa. Ricorda prima di scrivere un ottimo comunicato. Poi spediscilo a molti giornalisti e bloggers del settore, personalizzando il messaggio e-mail ad ognuno. Spediscilo anche ad altri siti come PRWeb, PRLeap, etc. […]

  8. jlampin. | Blog Archive » SEO Primer says:
    September 3, 2006 at 4:10 pm

    […] 12. Syndicate a press release. Take the time to make it GOOD (compelling, newsworthy). Email it to some handpicked journalists and bloggers. Personalize the email message. For good measure, submit it to PRWeb, PRLeap, etc. […]

  9. jlampin. | Blog Archive » 101 SEO Ways says:
    September 3, 2006 at 4:11 pm

    […] 12. Syndicate a press release. Take the time to make it GOOD (compelling, newsworthy). Email it to some handpicked journalists and bloggers. Personalize the email message. For good measure, submit it to PRWeb, PRLeap, etc. […]

  10. Top 10 links to get started with SEO | Tom Anthony says:
    September 5, 2006 at 9:42 pm

    […] Lowdown on Press Release OptimizationIn the right circumstances Press Releases can be a big help in getting traffic to your site. This is a guide on writing them well. […]

  11. Anonymous says:
    September 11, 2006 at 9:49 am

    […] 12. Syndicate a press release. Take the time to make it GOOD (compelling, newsworthy). Email it to some handpicked journalists and bloggers. Personalize the email message. For good measure, submit it to PRWeb, PRLeap, etc. […]

  12. zvonko.biz » says:
    September 20, 2006 at 3:30 pm

    […]

  13. Blog SEOne.it » 2 prova articolo says:
    September 23, 2006 at 4:26 am

    […] 12. Invia i tuoi comunicati stampa. Ricorda prima di scrivere un ottimo comunicato. Poi spediscilo a molti giornalisti e bloggers del settore, personalizzando il messaggio e-mail ad ognuno. Spediscilo anche ad altri siti come PRWeb, PRLeap, etc. […]

  14. Yahoo! Publisher Network » Blog Archive » Signal to Noise says:
    December 12, 2006 at 12:41 pm

    […] To learn more about how you can optimize your press releases, here’s an article on my TopRank blog that you may find useful.

  15. Seo Consalting » Blog Archive » 101 says:
    December 13, 2006 at 4:09 am

    […]

  16. An ongoing Press Release » Blog Archive » My favorite mashup - PRWeb, Yahoo! and SEO says:
    December 13, 2006 at 3:50 pm

    […] To learn more about how you can optimize your press releases, here

  17. Brief Guide to Search Engine Optimisation | eBay Blog | Trevor Ginn | eBay consultant | London, UK says:
    December 13, 2006 at 4:05 pm

    […] More info: http://www.seochat.com/c/b/Web-Directories/ http://www.seochat.com/c/b/Link-Trading-Help/ http://toprankblog.wpengine.com/2005/10/lowdown-on-press-release-optimization/ […]

  18. Anonymous says:
    December 16, 2006 at 4:37 pm

    […] 12. Syndicate a press release. Take the time to make it GOOD (compelling, newsworthy). Email it to some handpicked journalists and bloggers. Personalize the email message. For good measure, submit it to PRWeb, PRLeap, etc. […]

  19. Digital Design News » 101 Modi Per Aumentare la popolarit? says:
    December 22, 2006 at 5:20 pm

    […] 12. Invia i tuoi comunicati stampa. Ricorda prima di scrivere un ottimo comunicato.Poi spediscilo a molti giornalisti e bloggers del settore,personalizzando il messaggio e-mail ad ognuno. Spediscilo anche adaltri siti come PRWeb, PRLeap, etc. […]

  20. 101 способ получить много ссылок - Партнерские программы • Партнерки • AdultMaster says:
    February 18, 2007 at 9:44 am

    […] Публикуйте пресс релизы. Потратьте время и сделайте их действительно хорошими. Отошлите их избранным журналистам и блогерам. Персонализируйте эти письма. Опубликуйте их на PRWeb, PRLeap, etc. […]

  21. Press Releases as Marketing Tools » Online Marketing Blog says:
    March 6, 2007 at 9:36 am

    […] For a more nostalgic look at press release optimization, take a look at this post from 2005, “Lowdown on Press Release Optimization“. […]

  22. Make Money Gurus » Blog Archive » 101 Ways to Build Link Popularity says:
    March 12, 2007 at 7:52 am

    […] 12. Syndicate a press release. Take the time to make it GOOD (compelling, newsworthy). Email it to some handpicked journalists and bloggers. Personalize the email message. For good measure, submit it to PRWeb, PRLeap, etc. […]

  23. My ma.gnolia bookmarks for December 31st through March 13th » Interweb World says:
    March 13, 2007 at 7:35 pm

    […] Lowdown on Press Release Optimization » Online Marketing Blog – Excellent, top-quality resource about optimizing press releases for uptake in the media and follow-on on the web. […]

  24. Doepay.com » Blog Archive » 101 Ways to Build Link Popularity says:
    March 23, 2007 at 4:48 am

    […] 12. Syndicate a press release. Take the time to make it GOOD (compelling, newsworthy). Email it to some handpicked journalists and bloggers. Personalize the email message. For good measure, submit it to PRWeb, PRLeap, etc. […]

  25. 71 Good Ways to Build Links « Dimano Marketing says:
    March 29, 2007 at 10:18 am

    […] Developing Authority & Being Easy to Link At 6. Make your content easy to understand so many people can understand and spread your message. (It’s an accessibility thing.) 7. Put some effort in to minimize grammatical or spelling errors, especially if you need authoritative people like librarians to link to your site. 8. Have an easily accessible privacy policy and about section so your site seems more trustworthy. Including a picture of yourself may also help build your authority. PPC as a Link Building Tool 9. Buy relevant traffic with a pay per click campaign. Relevant traffic will get your site more visitors and brand exposure. When people come to your site, regardless of the channel in which they found it, there is a possibility that they will link to you. News and Syndication 10. Syndicate an article at EzineArticles, GoArticles, iSnare, etc. The great thing about good article sites is that their article pages actually rank highly and send highly qualified traffic. 11. Submit an article to industry news site. Have an SEO site? Write an article and submit to WebProNews. Have a site about BLANK? Submit to BLANKinformationalsite.com. 12. Syndicate a press release. Take the time to make it GOOD (compelling, newsworthy). Email it to some handpicked journalists and bloggers. Personalize the email message. For good measure, submit it to PRWeb, PRLeap, etc. 13. Track who picks up your articles or press releases. Offer them exclusive news or content. 14. Trade articles with other webmasters. 15. Email a few friends when you have important relevant news asking them for their feedback and/or if they would mind referencing it if they find your information useful. 16. Write about, and link to, companies with “in the news” pages. They link back to stories and blog posts which cover their developments. This is obviously easiest if you have a news section or blog. Do a Google search for [your industry + “in the news”]. 17. Perform surveys and studies that make people feel important. If you can make other people feel important they will help do your marketing for you for free. Salary.com did a study on how underpaid mothers were, and they got many high quality links. […]

  26. О Любви. Блоггеров. « Сокровища интернета says:
    April 5, 2007 at 4:50 am

    […] А вот это себе на заметку, потому что не поняла, как оно делается 12. Syndicate a press release. Take the time to make it GOOD (compelling, newsworthy). Email it to some handpicked journalists and bloggers. Personalize the email message. For good measure, submit it to PRWeb, PRLeap, etc. […]

  27. TwentySix2 Marketing Blog » Blog Archive » Getting the Most Bang out of your Online Press Release says:
    May 10, 2007 at 8:30 am

    […] There are several release submission sites, some are free, others are not.  Often times, paid press release submission sites will give you a higher ranking within their site depending on the amount of money you spend per release, along with other perks.  Some sites are better than others but here is a list compiled by Lee Odden’s TopRank Blog: […]

  28. 101 modi per aumentare la link popularity del proprio sito web (brunik questo post è per te!) « Pasquale Caterisano Blog says:
    October 30, 2007 at 6:30 pm

    […] Invia i tuoi comunicati stampa. Ricorda prima di scrivere un ottimo comunicato. Poi spediscilo a molti giornalisti e bloggers del settore, personalizzando il messaggio e-mail ad […]

  29. SEO Consultant - Shimon Sandler » Blog Archive » SEO for Press Releases - Bestpractices says:
    December 11, 2007 at 12:47 pm

    […] Here is a Top 10 List of Bestpractices for optimizing Press Releases. […]

  30. Top Online Marketing Blog Posts 2007 says:
    December 27, 2007 at 11:15 am

    […] of 2007. Interestingly, one post from 2005 continues to rank in the top 20 content pages, “Lowdown on Press Release Optimization“. Factoring in visits, links, comments and bookmarks, here’s the list of the top ten […]

  31. Top Online Marketing Blog Posts 2007 at Marketing Blog says:
    January 21, 2008 at 3:12 pm

    […] of 2007. Interestingly, one post from 2005 continues to rank in the top 20 content pages, “Lowdown on Press Release Optimization“. Factoring in visits, links, comments and bookmarks, here’s the list of the top ten […]

  32. Top Online Marketing Blog Posts 2007 at Business Consulting says:
    January 21, 2008 at 3:25 pm

    […] of 2007. Interestingly, one post from 2005 continues to rank in the top 20 content pages, “Lowdown on Press Release Optimization“. Factoring in visits, links, comments and bookmarks, here’s the list of the top ten […]

  33. SES London 2008 - TopRank CEO Presents on 3 Panels says:
    February 4, 2008 at 12:31 pm

    […] Moderated by Anne Kennedy of Beyond Ink, this session looks at how to make use of tactics such as press release optimization and optimizing news content to best tap into traffic from news search. I’ll be focusing on […]

  34. 100+ Useful Web Resources for Small Business and Non Profits | BlogWell says:
    February 11, 2008 at 2:39 pm

    […] Lowdown on press release optimization […]

  35. Link Building Stategies | The Atom blog says:
    March 21, 2008 at 12:26 pm

    […] Syndicate a press release. Take the time to make it GOOD (compelling, newsworthy). Email it to some handpicked journalists and bloggers. Personalize the email message. For good […]

  36. 71 Good Ways to Build Links Love for Lists | AffiliateSummary Blog says:
    April 8, 2008 at 5:50 am

    […] Syndicate a press release. Take the time to make it GOOD (compelling, newsworthy). Email it to some handpicked journalists and bloggers. Personalize the email message. For good […]

  37. PRSA Digital Impact Conference - Optimizing News Content for Search Engines | Online Marketing Blog says:
    April 22, 2008 at 10:27 am

    […] over the past 2-3 years. Press releases in particular, have been the easy target for promotion as candidates for optimization. With the growing use of Google and Yahoo News, optimizing press releases have been an easy way to […]

  38. Digital PR - Digital Public Relations and SEO Part 2 | Online Marketing Blog says:
    August 29, 2008 at 5:47 am

    […] more engaging information about the news being promoted as well as sound bites. A link to a keyword optimized press release is included as well for those not tuned in to a multimedia […]

LET’S GET SOCIAL

RSS Feed Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Marketing with Intent: The Future of SEO & B2B Search Traffic 2022 B2B Influencer Marketing Research Report Elevate B2B Marketing Podcast

Learn about:

SEE TOPRANK MARKETING SPEAK

How to Accelerate B2B Marketing Results by Working With Influencers

SUBSCRIBE        

TOPRANK BLOGGING TEAM

TopRank Marketing Blogging Team

 

Optimize

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

SEO Blogs

MARKETING BLOG RECOGNITION

CMI

Copyright © 2023 · TopRank Marketing

Return to top of page