Press Releases and SEO

As we move forward through 2011, we have learned a lot about Google’s most recent algorithm evolution and how search engine optimization has been affected. We know that there is more and more of a focus placed on content, it’s quality and uniqueness is a major factor now.  Since the Panda update, we have found that the strongest back links are being created through contextual linking.  Press releases are an excellent source for contextual based links.

Basics of an Online Press Release:

• 150-600 word average: paid releases may have multimedia incorporated and 1,000 words
• One link toward company site: paid releases may have more links + anchor texts
• Focus of Press Release needs to be newsworthy, something new about your company
• Provide accurate contact information, you never know who’s browsing
• Its best to use multiple PR sites, instead of making multiple releases on 1 site

Press Releases and SEO:

• High PR domains: some free and a lot of paid press releases
• Write your own content; keyword targeted and relevant
• Very low outbound links, you’ll get the most weight for your backlinks
• Fast indexing: PR sites are constantly spidered by the search engines

It’s pretty easy to see why press releases are so strong for SEO improvements on any business website.  There are many high page rank sites for press releases, most of them are PR5 or more, giving you a good connection to authority sites.  Also, you get a lot of worthwhile content with your backlinks, unlike social bookmarking or small directories where you just get a link and a description.  Make sure to take advantage and write the most you can, keep it on topic and target the keywords your looking to rank for.

Paid or free? That is one of the most difficult questions but it usually comes down to a simple answer, if you can easily afford it, paid press releases are much more powerful.  You can often incorporate videos from your company, imagery, and a lot more content.  These parts of your press releases will give you increased ranking power and should move the specific page of your press release up the PR ladder a lot sooner.  Not too mention, you’ll also get added explicit SEO improvements that will directly transfer more weight and use than the average free option.  Most paid options give anchor text for your link, now you’ll be targeting those keywords MUCH better with that anchor text.  You might receive the option of using multiple links, instead of just one link in your profile or something harder to find for the search engine spiders.  Not to mention just gaining added backlink options, most of the paid press release sites have their own distribution network which can be very valuable for creating more backlinks, attracting targeted organic traffic, and establishing more trust with Google, Yahoo, and Bing.  Even better than just their own network, most of the higher ranked PR sites are also in Google news, which offers a great connection for any new website, establishing trust and quality backlinks quickly.  I highly recommend utilizing the paid option for Google news, it has a great impact on your SEO campaign and will affect your rankings quickly.

SEO Tips for Press Releases:

• Utilize all the free press release sites you can once, no need to continue to post free PRs
• Select the best PR sites you can afford a paid release and send 1 out per month on a newsworthy update for your company
• Look for paid press releases that have networks to syndicate and distribute your content
• Google news is a major plus to any paid release
• DO NOT spam PR websites, it’s best to have more domains than multiple PRs from 1 domain

So now that you have more information about press releases and how they excel for your SEO campaign, go out and search for the best spots to write up your first release.  I promise you’ll see results quickly, especially if you look into paid options out there.  Do not pay for any press release on a domain under page rank 3 though, there are plenty of sites that offer PR5 and higher press releases, they are well worth your time and money.

Best Press Release Sites for SEO: (paid and free)

1. PRlog.com
2. PRweb.com
3. Free-press-release.com
4. PressMethod.com
5. PR.com
6. OpenPR.com