Guest contribution courtesy of VAAM.com
What can you say when you hear that PR distribution is no longer good for SEO? Since Google has demanded a “nofollow” attribute in every link placed in the content, experts believe that it’s the death of releases.
Many marketers are thinking if it is still worth it to use a press service to distribute it. If it doesn’t help a brand boost its ranking in the search engine result pages (SERPs), what’s the sense of issuing it?
In this post, we’ll take a look at the current scenario of releases. There are many questions raised about the SEO value of releases, which is not easy to answer.
The Truth
Releases don’t have a direct SEO value any longer. It means that if a business is going to use it for link building, there’s no use for it.
It’s not going to provide you a natural backlinks. However, despite this fact, it offers an indirect SEO value.
When done right, it can help boost brand awareness, boost social media shares, generate referral traffic and more. SEO is not the only use of releases.
It is useful in generating buzz around a company. Releases are the only marketing tactic that can produce such results.
SEO today is about quality than quantity. Google considers the quality of link that will help you become visible on top of the search results.
How Releases Help SEO?
When popular news sites write your story or publish it in their platforms, it boost your SEO.
It has something to do with backlinks. Each time they mention your company in their content or site, you get organic backlinks. A reputable site mentioning your company or product will link back to you.
Getting backlinks is a whole lot of work. It isn’t easy. Not only that, getting high quality backlinks is even more challenging.
Producing natural backlinks without spamming the links is hard, but not impossible. And one thing that you should know is that releases can do all these things.
An optimized release can get you backlinks. Not only just links, it is organic backlinks that is valuable in the search engines.
Google wouldn’t charge you penalty for it. It will reward you by positioning you on top of the search results.
Check out Press Release SEO Tactics that you can try:
1. Embed Google Map in the release.
When using a press release distribution service, choose the one that allows you to embed Google Places Map. It assists the local search algorithms to position you on the top searches. It drives more traffic to your site since you are appear on the local listing.
2. Write a good story.
Releases are all about your story. Don’t issue releases for the sake of issuing it. Issue only if you have a newsworthy reason to write.
Check the grammar and format of your story. Make sure that it follows the inverted pyramid. Complete the parts of your release.
3. Write a descriptive headline.
Craft short, keyword-based headline to give the audience an idea what the content is all about. Keep it below 80 characters.
4. Include a precise lede.
Your lede (lead) should answer the what, who, where, when, why and how of the story. It should be found in the beginning to ensure that readers see how newsworthy your news is.
Not all will finish reading a content. By placing the crucial information on top, you can be assured that they are not missing your key message.
5. Format it following the web format.
Format your release as a single webpage. Make use of highlights, italics, headings, bolding, bullet points to break paragraphs. Write concise sentences and paragraphs.
6. Identify your audience.
Before writing, you need to know your target audience. Do a demographic research. Create your buyer’s persona.
If you don’t know your target, your content will have no direction. You can’t personalize your message to your audience. It would be hard for you to craft an effective release that can help you reach your goal.
7. Be easy on optimizing your content.
Don’t overload your release with keywords. Use relevant keywords in your content. Don’t force it in your release.
Spread it in the headline, subheading (optional) and body of the release. using it too often can penalize your site.
8. Build trust to avoid spam.
Social media and search engines are both geared towards providing quality content, ensure data security and mitigate the spread of fake stories.In order to build trust, make sure that you keep up with Google’s algorithms and SEO trends. It will enhance relationship with your customer, the media and influencers.
9. Keep up with SEO trends.
Google and other search engines rank sites that provide quality content. Whether the search is done via voice assistant or desktop. Make sure that you optimize your site and content to ensure that it available to people searching via voice.
● Encrypt your site with HTTPS. Your site should provide security access to visitors.
● Write informative content using simple language.
● Craft authoritative URL with keywords.
● Design your content to respond to voice-activated inquiries.
● Add a call-to-action.
● Follow the format.
● Use Google Analytics.
So, how are you going to produce a content that will get backlinks? That’s the next thing that we’ll discuss.
6 Tactics To Get Valuable Backlinks From Releases:
1. Use relevant keywords.
A release can help you get your message in front of your audience. This is why you should plan how you can implement a successful SEO tactic.
Don’t forget that there are more than 5.5 billion searches on Google on a daily basis. It’s how SEO should be an essential part of your campaign.
Before writing a release, research the best keywords that you’ll use. Use keyword research tools like AHREFS and Google Keyword Planner.
Choose strong keywords like LSI keywords. Audiences searching for your topic will find you. Don’t just pick search terms that are popular.
Use it in the headline, subheading and the body of the release. Don’t overstuff it in the content.
2. Place relevant links.
Place links in your release to provide people a way to learn more about you. Place at least two links in a release, not more than that.
Hyperlink on keyword anchor text and not on generic terms like “visit our site” or “click here.” For example, if you are linking to a page on your site about “open heart surgery,” ensure that you use “open heart surgery” in the anchor text.
When linking to your site, don’t just link to your “home page.” Link to other pages on your site to drive traffic and to boost the search engine rankings.
3. Distribute release via newswire sites.
When you use a distribution service, your news is syndicated on different sites, locations and media outlets. When they syndicate your story in a site or location, you’ll have more exposure.
High quality sites can link back to you. You’ll earn backlinks that will help boost your SEO ranking.
4. Write newsworthy and relevant content.
If you want to get quality links from authoritative sites like major news sites, you need to ensure that you’re writing quality news. When you publish quality content, your news will appear on Google News.
Google News is a content aggregator that positions quality news on the results based on the audience’s inquiries. If your news is placed on the top searches, you’ll gain referral traffic to your site and boost oyur domain authority.
5. Put a “nofollow” on links.
Don't forget to indicate a “nofollow” attribute on your links. It gives Google an information that you’re not after link-building. Doing this suggest that you’re an authority site that gives you a higher domain authority.
6. Publish releases on your site.
Not a lot of businesses do this. When you publish your releases on your newsroom or a press page, you let the media, influencers and investors link back to your site.
When they find your site useful, they will surely link back to you. It’s great SEO tool to boost your ranking.
If you apply thee four tactics, you’ll get quality backlinks from other sites. Try these strategies on your next releases to boost your SEO ranking that proves that PR distribution still help SEO.
Releases aren’t for link-building. If you want to use it for SEO, follow the tips above that will land your site on top of the searches organically.
Don’t use Black SEO tactics that can flagged you as spam. If you want to be an authoritative site, you need to work on your site and content.
Make your releases shareable in the social media. Don’t forget that the more shareable it is, the more your releases appear on the search rankings.
Press releases can still provide SEO value today and for the years to come.Just ensure that you keep up with the SEO trends and Google algorithms.
Distributing releases can help you in a lot of ways. It can bring tons of benefits to all size of business.
Author Bio: Michael is an experienced leader and innovator with a long track record of successfully developing brands online. His proficiency in growing SaaS platforms, generating web traffic and global team building has aided in driving Newswire’s rapid growth. Michael strives to make Newswire the disrupter in the PR and Marketing space, allowing businesses to attract media attention without the need for high-priced agencies.