Business Magazine | BABM | Public Relations

Just about every company has a reason to send a news or press release at some point. Whether it is to discuss a product, service, or change in the company, they are one of the easiest ways to keep the public, and your customers, informed. They are also the surest way to gain valuable publicity, which is an extremely effective tool for maintaining and growing a business.

The problem, however, is that most businesses send out a news release and then tend to drop it into a file, never to be seen again. Little do they know that such releases, even those that are several years old, can be good online marketing tools. Every company should have a website, and on it they should have a press section where an archive of all their press releases is maintained. Even if a company does not go back and pull out old releases to add online, they should begin adding their press releases to their site from this point forward.

With millions of people across the country using the Internet regularly, the foundation is laid for getting as much company information online as possible. Many people begin their quest for products and services by doing an online search or company comparison before physically heading to a business or making a phone call. People may not know your website address, or even that your company exists or has a website. Even then, if you are using the press section correctly on your site, you have a good chance of reeling them in.

The key factor when putting press releases online comes down to making sure they are optimized. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a method for ensuring that releases contain relevant keywords that are apt to be used when someone searches for something related to your business. For example, if a business is located in Clearwater and specializes in offering 4D ultrasounds during pregnancy, it is important that it adds some popular and relevant keywords to bring local traffic to its site. To do this, it would want to add words like Clearwater, Florida, 4D ultrasound, pregnancy, etc. But, do not overdo it by trying to use them too many times; the release could end up not reading correctly, or the search engine could penalize it, or worse, avoid it altogether. A good general figure to aim for is for roughly five percent of the release to contain keywords; therefore, if a release is 300 words long, it would not be out of line for you to have 15 keywords scattered through it.

When a company places its press releases online and has taken the steps to properly optimize them, it can increase traffic to the site. When someone logs on conducting a search for something related to the business and the press release comes up, the chance is increased that he will click onto the site. Once at the site, it is important that it offers enough information to capture his attention and, hopefully, his business.

In addition to adding the optimized releases online, it is a good idea to consider submitting those to online sources, as well. There are companies that accept and release them online, some for a fee and others for free. This will also help to increase traffic to a company’s website, as long as the company remembers to include a link to its site. SEO is an important marketing tool that can help every business bring in more traffic to its site, which usually translates to increased business.

Going back years to add releases to a company site can take some time. But adding in all of the releases from this year will not take long and can pay off in the long run, making it well worth the effort. Avoid putting the release online in a document or PDF form, which will hinder its ability to show up in search engine results. Instead, opt for having the text added directly to the site.

In this age of technology, every business should take advantage of using SEO press releases online in order to help grow its business, keep its customers abreast of what it is up to, and keep traffic flowing to its website. Besides, it is important to keep up with the competition. Even if you are not doing it, there is a good chance your competitor already is, or is in the process of getting it started.

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Online Press Release Newswire Sites
There are many online sites that will help your releases get exposure. Some charge, some do not, and all vary in method. While some will email it to demographically selected journalists, others will put it on their site, allowing for the increased chance that it will be picked up in search engine results. Compare what each place offers to see which will meet your needs before deciding the right one to use.

About the Author
Mark Regan is the founder and CEO of Flat World Media, an online marketing firm specializing in optimizing the online customer relationship through proven data-driven strategies, such as paid search, email marketing, search engine optimization and ad serving. Based in Tampa, his firm can be found at www.FlatWorldMedia.com.

Use Online SEO Press Releases to Your Advantage