Google my name or business and you will quickly notice that I command page one on almost all the keywords that I desire. No, I don’t pay a service to get found, nor have tons of landing pages loaded with keywords. Instead I use one of the simplest and free techniques that I recommend for my clients… it’s called a press release.
I know what you are thinking, press releases are those complicated documents put out by big companies that the television news anchors get handed before the evening news? That may be so, but they are also small pieces of news automatically picked up by search engines regardless of the size of the business. Stop the presses, and read that sentence again.
I wrote a simple press release back in 2009 that still shows up on page one of Google. What if I told you press releases are the easiest and simplest way to add links to your website and get discovered. Now that we understand the value of press releases, below I will answer the three most common questions I get asked on the subject.
What is news worthy in my small business? A new product, an additional service, a new hire, joining the chamber of commerce, or donating to a worthy cause are all good topics. Actually practically anything is press worthy if it could appeal to your clients or potential customers. For small businesses, I believe you should have a press release at least once a quarter or perhaps even as frequently as once a month.
What is the format of a press release? A press release consists of four major elements: 1) a great title, 2) short paragraphs of news usually including a quote from the owner, 3) a summary about the company with links, and finally 4) keywords to index the release. For more advice on “How to Write a Press Release” read this article from Free Press Release Center. For a simple example of a press release see this release about FunCity joining the HEB Chamber of Commerce last November, here.
Are there free places to post my press release? There are tons of paid services that will post your release. However, I have found soliciting them completely unnecessary as there are several free places that get indexed just as well. Before beginning, take some additional time and gather some basic company information, logo and links about your business to submit in your press release profile. My two favorite free places to submit are: PRLog Press Release Distribution found at http://prolog.org and Free Press Release found at http://www.Free-Press-Release.com. Tip: In addition, don’t forget to also release a copy of it on your own blog or website. Go forth, get found and submit to the presses!
How have you found press releases beneficial? What other news could you write about for your organization?
Fred Campos is Chief of Marketing at FunCitySocialMedia.com. Like this post? Make sure you subscribe to our blog!
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