Introduction
Press Releases have been around for a longtime and a great tool to have included in your online marketing strategy but is often not understood well.
This article will describe what Press Releases are, when to use them and how they can help your online marketing efforts.
Press Releases or PR for short is the process of producing a short and straight to the point article with news about a business such as a new product, service or change like an acquisition or merger.
These documents are then sent out to many journalists which may publish a story on a news website or blog with your shared news.
Unless your business stands out however most Press Releases won’t be picked up by journalists but will be aggregated and published across news websites for a period of time before been removed (usually 3-12 months).
Despite this however they still offer plenty of advantages which will be covered here.
1) Branding and trust
The first point covered in this article is branding and trust which is very important for business owners and something often over looked.
Where PR fits into this is by flooding search results when people go to search your company name. If they search your name and your website, social profiles along with news from reputable websites with your news come up it helps make your business look professional and trustworthy for customers looking to buy from you.
2) Reputation Management
Similar to the point above PR can help with maintaining a strong reputation management strategy whereby you control as much branded search real-estate as possible to protect your name from unscrupulous websites, competitor sabotage or just false claims that can tarnish your reputation.
3) SEO ranking benefits
Because Press Releases will get published across many large media websites your website will receive hundreds of links which are of high quality and assist your website in search engine rankings particularly for small to medium competition keywords.
When should I use Press Releases?
Press Releases are best used when you have news to share such as the following:
- New product or service
- New business or website launch
- New service location or shop front
- Partnership or joint venture
- Merger or acquisition
- New videos or blog posts
- And more
If any of these events occur then a Press Release can certainly be used with more releases made each month depending on your market.
For small businesses we generally recommend 1-2 releases a month to maintain strong branding and rankings for your website.
I am local business owner is a Press Release ideal?
A common misconception is that Press Releases are only designed for large companies however this is certainly not true. Just because you own a local or small business doesn’t mean you don’t have news to share.
If you have any type of news like the types shown above then a PR campaign can be beneficial for your SEO and potentially get attention of local media in your area depending on what the release contains.
Conclusion
Found this article to be helpful? If so be sure to share it with anyone you think could benefit. If your interested in applying Press Releases for your own business or want to level up your SEO click the button below to schedule a free call with us to find out more.
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