Using Press Releases to Gain Visibility Online
Press releases are an awesome way to create some buzz and SEO love for your site.
You are the best thing since sliced bread. And the world needs to know. So how do you get the word out there? Sure, you’ve got a blog, you update your social media accounts on a regular basis—is there anything else you could be doing? We’re so glad you asked! You should be using press releases to gain visibility online.
Press releases are a great way to reach the masses, spreading your message across search engines, blogs and websites. If you’ve never written a press release, here’s the 411: it’s an official statement from your company issued to news outlets. But in today’s world, a news outlet is more than just a newspaper or TV station—it’s about hitting up blogs, other websites and PR distribution outlets. Let’s go over a few reasons why you should be using press releases to gain visibility online.
1. Blogs/websites are constantly on the lookout for new things to write about.
It’s a constant search for information that’s relevant to them and their business. By writing a press release, you’ve giving them all the information they need in one handy document. You’re providing the who, where, what, why and how, and gift wrapping it in a neatly written package. By making the bloggers, journalists and writers life easier, you’re giving them a reason to write about you.
2. It’s all about the SEO.
By including some SEO keywords and phrases in your press release, you’re making it easy for people to find you. And your press release should include some links back to your site—that’s even more SEO link juice.
3. PR distribution sites.
There are a lot of them out there—some are free, while others will charge a fee. These sites are magnets for journalists and bloggers. PR distribution sites categorize topics and will even promote your press release (for a fee, of course). We’ll include a list of PR distribution sites below.
4. Keeping your followers in the loop.
Press releases help create a buzz within the communities you’ve created or are a part of. Use your social media accounts to tease your followers to an upcoming announcement, and then share your press release with them for anyone else gets a chance to see it. It will make them feel like they have a behind-the-scenes pass and an insider view to information regular folks just don’t know about.
If you’re interested in sites where you can post your press releases, here are a few of the more popular ones out there. Like already mentioned, some are free and others charge a fee, so check out both options to see if it’s worthwhile for you.
PRWeb.com
24-7pressrelease.com
directionsmag.com
tmcnet.com
i-newswire.com
PRLog.org
PRNewsWire.com
PRLeap.com
And of course, if you need a press release we can help.