Press Release SEO Tips [An Easy-To-Follow Guide for 2024]

About 300 press releases are issued in the US each day. With these numbers, you might be concerned that your latest press release won’t be considered newsworthy or that it could quickly sink into the sea of invisible press releases. But by implementing the right press release strategy, you can maximize your press release SEO impact and get on the first page of the search engines.

What Is a Press Release?

A press release is an official, newsworthy announcement for relaying the news that will enhance the public image of a person or enterprise. Press releases are primarily used for marketing purposes. If done properly, they can attract a lot of attention and media coverage, boosting the reputation of a business.

What Is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing website content for improving the visibility of the website when a search engine displays results for a certain query. Search engine algorithms determine a website’s significance. SEO is a way to organically increase the significance of a certain website by inserting carefully selected keyword phrases. In press releases, SEO relies on algorithms to rate the prominence of web pages.

The Structure of a Press Release

If you want to write successful press releases for SEO, you need to adhere to certain guidelines. The most important aspects of such press releases are the content, structure, and presentation, as seen below:

Logo

The company’s logo should be placed at the top of the press release to immediately focus the readers’ attention on the company issuing the release.

Contact Information

The press release should contain all relevant contact information (name, phone number, email) of the company or person who has issued the release. One of the benefits of press releases is the smooth distribution of your contact info to the public.

Headline

A good headline is the first thing readers notice. It should be short (not exceeding 10 words) and attention-grabbing.

Subheading

Good subheadings (one or two sentences just below the headline) briefly summarize what the article is about. This part of the press release is optional but can generate readers’ interest.

Dateline

The date on your release should be prominently featured at the beginning of the release, so the press knows that it’s receiving up-to-date information.

Introduction

The introduction is the lead paragraph of the press release. It should summarize the essence of the release—it needs to be brief and contain the most significant information.

Body

The body of the release should contain two or three paragraphs. Press release SEO best practices include quotes and stats in the body of the article.

Boilerplate

A boilerplate is an ‘about us’ statement in the form of a short paragraph following the body of the release. It includes relevant information about the business, providing journalists with a high-level background (and promotional content) on your company.

Close

The press release should close with necessary contact information so that journalists can contact the person responsible for the release. Towards the end of the press release (centered above the boilerplate) three-pound signs (###) can be included, indicating to the media that there is no further copy to come.

Press Release Optimization Tips

The internet allows for an overwhelming number of press releases to be issued daily, all of which can’t possibly be reported upon. As a press release writer, you need to make your release stand out from the crowd by optimizing your content. Consider these tips for writing press releases:

Hyperlinks

You can include anchor text (clickable hyperlinks) to the company’s sites and to other content that might seem relevant to your release. These links should be inserted naturally in the text and not seemingly forced on the reader.

Keywords

One of the main components of SEO press releases is keyword insertion. Certain keyword phrases should be inserted into the release to rank it higher in search results.

Bolded Words

Significant words should be bolded to emphasize their importance and to attract the reader’s attention to the key points in the release.

Optimization

It’s crucial in a press release for SEO to include the main keywords in the first 250 words. The main message of the release should be evident in the first paragraph. If you properly optimize this paragraph, it will entice your audience to keep reading.

Newsworthy

Before writing, choose topics that are newsworthy for your target audiences. Don’t publish something just for the sake of publishing. Your readers need to care about the news you’re reporting.

Headings

The headings in your SEO-friendly press releases must be short and catchy. They should highlight the key points of the release in no more than 10 words—ideally in less than 80 characters.

Photos and Videos

You can insert photos and videos in the release if it’s related to the information you’re trying to convey. Make sure, however, that your content is not subject to copyright laws, to not be accused of unlawful distribution.

Key Takeaways

Applications for Every Type of Press Release

Not all press releases are the same; they are written for various purposes and aim to generate different kinds of publicity. They also differ in form, length, and content, as seen below:

Product Announcement

One of the most important aspects of launching a new product is presenting it to the public. Press releases typically contain the name and photos of the product and release date. The release should provide information as to why a particular product is superior to another by listing benefits, advantages, and even promises. Releases present an optimal way for branding products, advertising promotions, and offering discounts.

Company Announcement

These announcements are ideal for SEO press release distribution. Before establishing a newly conceived company on the market, it’s usually presented to the media and consumers, as well as to other competing companies in the same sector. The most significant details that the release should provide are the company’s name, the date and time of its opening, and its location. The press release should also convey what the company does, why it’s different from its competitors, and in what ways can the general public benefit. Share the company’s vision and provide a link to the company’s official website.

Event Announcement

Businesses often host, sponsor, or attend events. This type of press release is a good way to let the media know what the business is doing outside its day-to-day operations. Such events are often organized as community gatherings or fundraisers, which makes it convenient for the media to attend without a special invitation. Charity events generate good publicity for businesses. Your press release should provide information about when, where, and why the event is happening so that people can know the necessary details before attending. Such information should be clearly stated and easily understood by formatting your text accordingly, i.e., lists in bulleted, enumerated, or definition format.

News

The most common press release concerns general news. The purpose of these releases is to provide coverage in the media. Press release SEO aims to enhance the search engine ranking of the business they’re promoting. This can be done by creating high-quality content that will contain not only the main keywords but also the secondary keyword phrase, which helps the release stand out from the many others.

Do Press Releases Help SEO?

The rapid advancement of the World Wide Web (WWW) has distinctly expanded and enriched the world of marketing. Press releases have been used to advertise businesses and products since the conception of the mass media. Such releases and announcements are now used with greater intensity for different purposes. Press releases and SEO have become intertwined—press releases use techniques to indirectly boost their businesses’ SEO.

Do Press Releases for SEO Work?

Press releases written to boost SEO can do wonders for a business or product. As press releases provide presence and visibility, an SEO boost compliments the release by providing links in them. Good press releases—in addition to providing quality backlinks—should be able to generate referral traffic from users who are reading and sharing the announcement. Each time the original announcement is shared or cited in a news publication, a high-quality backlink points to the original source.

Is a Press Release Beneficial for SEO?

Good press releases are often published on news sites, where not only your brand is marketed, your SEO is enhanced, as well. By having your announcement published by a credible site or news platform, you have access to press release backlinks (incoming links)—which are links from one website to a page on another website. News sites can connect to these links and be directed to your own website. And other webmasters reading the news will boost the score of your backlinks. (Pages with many backlinks usually have high organic search engine rankings.) By writing a newsworthy press release, you enhance its chances of being published. Once it’s picked up by the media, this creates additional traffic on your web pages, thereby enhancing SEO.

SEO for Google

Google is the most commonly used search engine in the world. Google press release SEO is what all press release announcements strive for. But this is difficult since Google often ignores links from press releases because they’re aware that companies put out releases, themselves, to promote their business or products. These, then, are automatically converted to ‘no-follow links, which makes these announcements nonviable—it tells search engines not to follow the outbound link that is being tagged.

How to Write Press Releases for SEO

Writing press releases for SEO purposes can be a difficult and complex feat. You need to produce quality content that won’t be classified as spam and won’t include too many unnecessary links that decrease its scope with Google SEO.

If you’re going to write more than one press release for the same company or product, remember to keep the release short (400-500 words) and change the keywords that are often used in similar releases. Keyword diversity is among the press release SEO best practices.

Another press release strategy you could employ is to attract the attention of a reporter by sending them exclusive copies of your release before an announcement is made public.

What to Avoid When Writing a Press Release for SEO

A principal mistake when writing press releases is trying to provide a large volume of backlinks, instead of focusing on the quality of the published announcement. It’s better to restrict the release to fewer links than publish spam content and over-saturate the market with unnecessary information about the business or product you’re promoting. By incorrectly using the press release platforms, an SEO press release won’t be effective.

Conclusion

Press releases can be tricky. Using them to boost SEO is a double-edged sword. If not done properly, SEO-oriented announcements could do more harm than good. If you want SEO announcements to succeed, you need to adhere to some tips for writing press releases that will ensure the publication of your release; subsequently, attracting attention and automatically boosting SEO.