A press release allows your company to spread the word online about your product or service offer in a professional, journalistic, and newsworthy manner. Search engine optimization, or SEO, is just as critical to think about when writing your press releases compared with other key content on your company’s website, like block text and blogs.
If you want to create the perfect press release that drives traffic to your website and gives you more visibility, then read on. The digital marketing experts at Galactic Fed have pulled together our eight best SEO practices to use in your company’s press releases.
From nailing that SEO-optimized headline and using keywords in a strategic way to including a variety of multimedia, try out our tried and tested tips and techniques for getting your press release visible at the very top of your targeted search engine results page (SERP.)
Without further adieu, and in no particular order, here are Galactic Fed’s eight tips and press release SEO best practices.
Use keywords strategically
When it comes to SEO and keywords, search terms and phrases are either short tail and longtail. Short tail keywords are broad terms that contain three words or fewer, such as ‘meal prep’ or ‘virtual assistant.’ At the same time, longtail keywords are exact terms that can deliver more targeted results, such as ‘order meal prep delivery in Chicago’ and ‘virtual assistants for hire in Austin, Texas.’
Answer long tail keywords in your firm’s press release to improve its visibility and relevance on SERPs while providing value to your readers. For more on long tail and short tail keywords, check out our comprehensive guide.
Make sure you include your focus keyword within the first paragraph of your press release. And don’t overstuff your release with your keywords. Stuffing your content with keywords can trigger Google to decrease your firm’s ranking and negatively impact your firm’s online exposure.
Nail your headline
Source: Cision
Crafting an attention-grabbing headline is key to drawing readers to your press release and gaining visibility. When it comes to SEO and headlines, you’ll want to include your target short or long tail keyword, in full, within the headline so that Google’s crawlers pick it up and index it.
Fed Fix: The optimal headline length
While short and snappy headlines are the gold standard, it’s essential that your firm’s headline communicates the main point of your press release to the reader. Depending on your targeted keywords, your headline may be short, or it may be longer than the average headline.
Optimal headline character count varies by news outlet and by platform, but here are some general SEO guidelines to keep in mind when it comes to the length of your firm’s headline:
- Most editorial sites show the first 55 characters of your firm’s press release headline.
- Search engines like Google show the first 70 characters of your headline.
- Social media channels like Facebook tend to include the entire headline and may even allow space for a summary,
- Keeping your firm’s headline to 40 characters may be a challenge, but many digital marketers think that is the optimal headline length for people reading a headline on a mobile device.
In other words, you have the first 8-15 words of your headline to hook readers into clicking through to your press release.
Don’t forget the five W’s
Source: Medium
Once you’ve identified your company’s target keywords and crafted an excellent headline, your press release will begin to take shape. We’ve been writing, publishing, and reading press releases for over 100 years, and one of the oldest techniques for crafting a great release is including the five W’s of who, what, where, when, and why.
These five vital details help your readers visualize your company’s product or service by giving them key information they want and need within your press release. Using this tactic, together with the use of strategic keywords and an optimized headline, can help you climb ever closer to that top spot on your targeted SERP with quality content while piquing the interest of your targeted readers.
Ensure to include a compelling call-to-action
An easy mistake to make when drafting a press release is forgetting to provide a way for your readers to act on what they’ve just read in some form. Directly after digesting your release is the optimal time to engage readers as they are most familiar with news about your product, service, or brand. Make sure to capitalize on this moment with a compelling call-to-action (CTA.)
In your press release, this is typically actioned by inserting a hyperlink on some good anchor text. This provides search engines with an indicator as to what the linked page will be about.
The more logical the placement of your company’s CTA, the more success you’ll likely have. For example, putting a link to a demo page following a summary of your software and how it meets the needs of your audience makes sense. On the other hand, it’s also a good idea to include a link within the first paragraph of your press release. Check out the Galactic Fed Guide to High-Converting Calls to Action for developing CTAs beyond your firm’s press releases.
Easy does it with the links
Too many links can not only overwhelm readers of your press release but can also harm your firm’s SEO. Stuffing your press release with links is considered a Black Hat SEO practice and can result in your website or your press release being penalized by Google and bumped off a search engine results page.
Aim for one to four relevant and well-placed links throughout your press release to gain the best visibility.
Take a peek at the competition
Galactic Fed believes the best way to stay ahead of the competition is to research them. Your company can benefit significantly by discovering what keywords the competition is using and thus crafting an optimized and more strategic press release with the same keywords.
Start by simply making a list of the top keywords your competition is ranking for. Include these keywords throughout the press release, making sure they fit and remain relevant to the story you are telling in order to continue SEO best practices.
Include a variety of media
Source: Apple
Supercharge your press release’s SEO performance by including multimedia. Source quality images and videos to go along with your press release is a powerful way to increase visibility as it allows your press release to be indexed by media search services like Google Images and others.
Video posts receive on average 1200% more shares compared with text-only content. So, press releases with video can, and should, be used whenever a firm wants to increase its chances for quality engagement with its readers and boost coverage on several media outlets.
In addition, including engaging and relevant videos or images can increase the likelihood that your firm’s press release will be shared online through social media by your readers. With so many people getting their news from Facebook and LinkedIn, it makes sense to include uber-shareable imagery and video within your release.
Pictures, videos, and sound can make your releases more accessible, too. And lastly, by including these multi-media elements within your company’s press releases you can help to enhance readership, boost social media reach, and drive awareness of your brand.
Get distributed
Source: HubSpot
Most press release distribution services offer SEO add-ons, including do-follow links. Your firm may also want to go down the expanded distribution route in order to hit more websites. This will come with a fee, though. For example, consider worldwide distribution with Associated Press (AP) Newswire syndication if you are a global company. We dive into SEO for going global in our recent blog if you want to learn more.
If you’re a business operated solely in the United States, target national regions to hit every major news outlet in the US instead of the limited newsfeeds in your firm’s set geo-region.
SEO Press Release Example
Now that you understand the basics of creating a press release with great SEO. It’s time to see it in action. This example uses strategic keywords, effective headlines and summaries and utilizes all SEO tips to make sure the release gains as much visibility as possible.
Source: Mequoda
Boost your firm’s visibility online with an SEO-optimized press release
When it comes time to draft your company’s next press release, focus on making sure it’s SEO-optimized so that the greatest number of people will read it and subsequently act on it.
Begin by nailing your headline and getting to grips with what keywords you are going to target within the release. Make sure to cover the who, what, where, when, and why while inserting an irresistible call to action that the readers of your press release will click on.
Go easy on the links and make sure to research the competition in order to identify what keywords they are currently ranking for. Finally, publish high-quality imagery and video within your press release and set it up for the appropriate distribution based on your operation area.
Galactic Fed is chock-full of digital marketing experts that can lend a helping hand with ensuring your press releases are SEO-optimized and gaining the most visibility. Reach out to us today and watch the views, reads, and click-throughs on your company’s next press release skyrocket.
