This document discusses best practices for press releases and native advertising. It recommends writing newsworthy content for press releases rather than keyword-stuffed articles. Press releases should be distributed selectively to relevant outlets, not spam services. Native advertising, also called branded content, is editorial content sponsored by a company. It provides SEO benefits through authority transfer and canonicalization if done through reputable sites. Links and keywords should be natural to avoid penalties.

1. Press Releases and Native Ads
Understanding and Working within
the New Rules of Engagement
Carolyn Shelby
Director of Digital Strategy
435 Digital, A Tribune Company

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Working within the new Guidelines

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Press Releases: Super OG
• Write something newsworthy about your client.
• Contact the appropriate news desk at
newspapers you’d like coverage in to find out
how they prefer to receive press releases.
• Send press release (fax/mail/in person)

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Press Releases: The Old Online Way
• Write something. Anything.
• Use lots of keywords.
• Insert lots of links back to the client’s website
with a variety of keywords for the anchor text.
• Distribute via EVERYWHERE.

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Press Releases: The New Norm
• Write something newsworthy about your client.
• Include keywords that are relevant to the story and your client,
but don’t stretch or stuff. (The best keywords occur naturally)
• Include appropriate links, but only one per destination,
and do not use keyword anchor text.
• Make sure to include one plain text URL reference (i.e. spell
out your website address)
• Contact the appropriate news desk/writer/editor at the news outlets
you’d like to cover your story and ask them how they prefer to
receive news ideas/press releases.

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Press Releases: The New Norm
• Determine the value of your story (is it likely to get
“real” coverage in a “real” news outlet, or is it going to be
filler content?)
▫ If “real” coverage is likely, offer an exclusive, and DO NOT
release to anyone else until it has run there first. (Including
your own site)
▫ If probably filler content, publish on YOUR website first.
Make sure it’s indexed. THEN release. But NEVER to free
distribution services. And make sure you include a
canonical tag on the press release that goes BACK to the
same item on YOUR site.

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Canonical Tag
<link rel="canonical"
href="http://www.example.com/news/awesome
-press-release"/>
Not everyone will agree to canonicalize the
content back to you as a source,
but provide it anyway just in case.

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Why the Changes?
• Spammy/spamming press release distribution
services ruined them for everyone.
• Using newswires as backlink builders contributed to
the devaluation of keyword anchor text.
• The new unnatural link profile penalties can EASILY
be triggered by a widely distributed press release
with optimized/keyword anchor text.

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Thank these guys for the changes…
Penguin:
Targets
spammy/
unnatural
links
Panda:
Targets low
quality content
sites/content
farms

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Thank this guy…

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And mostly these guys…

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The Moral of the Story
• Do not write crappy content and expect it to help
anything. It won’t – and now it could hurt you.
• Do not pepper your press releases with links like a
dirty spammer. Link when beneficial and useful to
the reader. Do not link gratuitiously.
• Be judicious about your methods of distribution.
If you have a quality/compelling story, treat it like it
has value and don’t just give it away to low value
scrapers.

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The new name for Content Marketing

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What is Branded Content?
• Usually appears in a special section or with special
labeling in an online newspaper or magazine site.
• Is sponsored by or sometimes produced by a specific
company and is generally supportive of that
companies position on a given topic.
• Gets around “banner blindness” because the content
is engaging (more so than just a pretty picture in the
side rail with catchy text)

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What is not Branded Content?
• Advertorials != Branded Content because:
▫ Branded content is written like regular
articles/news items. (Multiple sources, no
unattributed “marketing” language)
▫ Branded content has standards. (If it doesn’t meet
the writing standards, it won’t run)

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Where is the SEO benefit then?
• Canonicalized back to your site
▫ Drives search traffic back to your website
▫ Drives regular traffic back to your website
▫ More traffic and more interaction on your site
equals positive signals to the engines and creates
opportunities for more social sharing.

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Where is the SEO benefit?
• Not canonicalized back to your site
▫ Lives on a popular news site.
▫ Authority by association
▫ Good co-citations
▫ More eyeballs on your brand and message
▫ Possibly more traffic to your website

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Ranking Factors in Search
* Searchmetrics Ranking Factors 2013

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Best Practices for Branded Content
• Do not give the same article to multiple outlets.
• Use the same linking strategies we use for press
releases. If it’s not valuable/useful to the reader,
then don’t do it.
• Don’t associate your brand with low quality sites or
sites that have no editorial standards for their native
advertising. You’ll be found guilty by association and
punished accordingly.

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Carolyn Shelby
Director of Digital Strategy
435 Digital/Tribune Company
Web: http://435digital.com/
Twitter: @cshel
Email: carolyn@435digital.com