The press release is not dead. In our technology focused world, submitting press releases to the media, especially online outlets, is a great way to get attention.  A strong, creative press release can be quickly picked up in search engines, allowing people to easily find your news and consequently bringing more business and awareness to your company.  There are some important tips to know when creating an online press release that will help you gain visibility through search engines, increase the backlinks to your site and help improve your ranking for keywords that matter to your specific niche.

How to Create the Perfect Press Release

For starters, your press release has to be newsworthy.  Ask yourself – Who cares?  If the answer is no one, your press release is probably not newsworthy enough.  The information you present has to catch the reader’s attention and has to be interesting enough that others would care.  Your press release is more than telling a good story, it is also about timeliness.  News is constantly coming and going so the perfect press release either relates to news that is happening right this very second, or details something that will happen in the very near future.

Press Release for Online Writing

Unlike past formats designed for newspapers,  today press releases that are targeted to web audiences have certain standards that should be followed for maximum efficiency.  Making your press release short, sweet, and straight to the point is a good start to online writing.  No one wants to sit through long, complex sentences that drag on for paragraphs.  They also should not have jargon to decipher and phrases the average consumer would not understand – so keep it simple and be specific with details.  It’s also a good idea to break up the press release by utilizing headlines and bullet points appropriately. Provide a link on the press release to your website so viewers can look up more information.

Press Release Elements

• Title – Should include keyword and not exceed 100 characters
• Summary – Brief synopsis of theme including 1 or 2 main keywords
• Body – Written in 3rd person, it should be around 300 words that includes keywords and phrases along with quotes if possible
• About the Company – Pitch your company in 2 to 3 sentences and include anchor text link to homepage
• Press Contact – Contact information including name, address, phone, email and website of your press contact

Press Release and Search Engine Optimization

Now that your press release contains original content that appeals to readers and fits the style of online writing, it’s time to use a few search engine optimization tips to get those high rankings.

Keywords

Think about what words describe your company and what you want others to think of when they reference your business.  Know which keywords people are typing in most frequently by using a keyword tool.  Once you have decided on your keywords and phrases, be sure to include them in your title, headlines, and body paragraphs.  You should also use keywords as links to your website. Links are a crucial part to the perfect press release.

Title

The title should walk the line between a catchy attention grabber and proper positioning of keywords and phrases.  While it is important to grab attention, if the keywords are not present you can miss out on indexing by Google, which ultimately makes your press release available for searches.  Optimize your press release title by making sure it contains one or more of your keywords.

Don’t forget to re-read your press release for grammatical errors, missing information, or anything else that you feel should change to benefit the press release.  Once your press release is perfect, it is ready to be submitted.