Optimized Press Releases; the New Secret Weapon for Business

Optimized Press Releases, the New Secret Weapon for Business

By Rick Wahlquist

Internet users around the globe have surpassed 2 billion.  73 percent of adults and 76 percent of teens are getting their news online. Yahoo and Google News have larger audiences than CNN or BBC for that matter. The dramatic shift in online news consumption requires a shift in strategy to reach an audience.  A well written optimized press release has the ability to reach millions of interested customers almost instantly. 

Beside the sheer number of readers, another benefit of utilizing an optimized press release is the inbound links to your website.  Every time your optimized press release is posted on another website, it creates a link back to your site.  These inbound links have a tremendous effect in increasing your rankings in the search engines.  Your exposure can by multiplied as the press release is passed around social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.  50 percent of people in the U.S. now have a profile page on a social media site.  25 percent of frequent social networkers follow a brand or company on a social networking site.

With the exposure from a well written optimized press release, you will receive increased awareness for your brand.  Increased brand awareness equals more business.  Because those reading your release have come to it using certain keywords and phrases, they are an interested audience.  You now have a unique ability to share the value your product or service to that audience that has already expressed an interest in your offering.

For the optimized press release to be noticed by editors and reporters it needs to read like a news story.  If your release sounds or feels like an advertisement in any way, it will be dismissed very quickly.  Your story needs to be informative in the, who, what, when and where sense but also be interesting and informative. 

A major bonus of the optimized press release is the SEO factor that can be gained by building in key words and phrases that are part of your keyword strategy.  Submitting a monthly press release is a vital part of any SEO strategy.  Many companies spend thousands of dollars each month on SEO and PPC tactics and fail to utilize the “secret weapon” of the monthly optimized press release. 

The infographic, which is a visual representation of information, is an excellent way for your optimized press release to have added effectiveness and maintain longevity.  An infographic will keep a story in circulation much longer than a traditional press release.  This in effect multiplies the effectiveness of the release as it takes on a life of its own on the web being shared over and over again.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, an infographic is worth a thousand links.

The optimized press release is the new secret weapon in your arsenal for success online.  If you have not implemented a consistent press release campaign, you can be certain that your competitors have.  In today’s fast paced online world it is harder and harder to be top of mind and stay in front of your customers and prospects.   By establishing a strategic online marketing plan that includes regular optimized press releases you can stay ahead of the pack and beat out your competition.