Press releases are short pieces written by companies or public relations professionals to garner the attention of news people, hoping that the pieces will be used as a basis for journalists and publications to publish their own stories about them.
They have been effective as a marketing tool for over a hundred years, and that hasn’t changed. Yes, press releases are still relevant even today when SEO is the name of the game.
Table of contents
- Press releases increase your online visibility
- They lead to more traffic
- They solidify your brand
- They build authority and trustworthiness
1. Press releases increase your online visibility
Press releases have one primary goal – to increase visibility. Back in the day without the internet, they get the attention of journalists and publishers. But that really hasn’t changed. In the days of the internet, the same journalists and publishers are online. Press releases are attracting them just fine.
If your press releases can successfully attract these news people, they will write their own pieces and publish them on their own websites, significantly increasing your company’s visibility. This also helps spread the information you have shared in your press releases, whether they are important company updates or public announcements.
2. They lead to more traffic
Some digital marketers believe that you should SEO the hell out of press releases to get more traffic. They think you should add engaging headlines, keywords, and links. This practice can indeed help, but the bigger help is to write something that is actually newsworthy.
If your press releases sound important and interesting, news people will catch them and write about them on their own websites – all with links leading back to your own. This can significantly increase the traffic to your website.
You can get so many benefits from increased traffic, such as more potential leads and conversions.
3. They solidify your brand
SEO is not always about engaging headlines, keywords, and links. It is also about branding, including your authoritativeness and trustworthiness as a company. Press releases are great for solidifying your brand. They increase brand awareness as your press releases improve your online visibility and give you more traffic.
They can solidify your brand even further if you happen to attract very authoritative journalists and publications. The public trusts these news people, so the public will have a better perception of your company if they see their trusted news people talk about you.
4. They build authority and trustworthiness
There are so many ways to use press releases for SEO. They can help your brand gain attention. They can announce the release of new products and services. And they can help mitigate misunderstandings that are ruining your reputation.
With the right techniques, press releases can build authority and trustworthiness in your industry. Company updates and new products and services announcements are really good at this. It also helps when the public starts talking about the newsworthy thing you have just shared.
Press releases are still worth it for SEO
Press releases are still relevant for SEO. It’s not just because of engaging headlines, keywords, and links. It’s also because of brand awareness, increased online visibility and traffic, and built authority and trustworthiness.
Just be careful in overdoing press release SEO. Bad press releases with clickbait headlines, overstuffed keywords, and spammy links can hurt you more than they can help. To be sure, you can also just get press release link building services. Just make sure that you are hiring competent agencies who can actually get the job done.
