This How To Guide will explain how press releases can boost SEO efforts, how to write press releases for SEO, the pros and cons of doing so and conclude with an action plan on using press releases in your SEO efforts. For decades, press releases were the basic building blocks of a public relations strategy. A company that wanted press coverage would write and issue a press release. The more skilled the company was at media relations, the better this strategy worked. Press releases still serve this purpose, although a new and important use of press releases has evolved as a tool for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). For companies whose websites are key to revenue generation, the SEO benefits are the primary motivation for writing and issuing press releases. If releases also produce favorable media coverage, that’s viewed as a bonus. The benefits of this SEO strategy result from the links a press release can produce back to the issuer’s website. These links are known as backlinks. The more external, authentic backlinks a website has pointing to it, the higher it ranks on a Search Engine Results Page (SERP). While this strategy is conceptually simple to grasp, executing it effectively requires some insider knowledge of both media relations and SEO. Read this brief 8-page guide to understand the following: How press releases boost SEO Writing press releases for SEO The pros and cons of a press release SEO strategy Using press releases in your SEO efforts Demand Metric's How-To Guides are designed to provide practical, on-the-job training and education and provide context for using our premium tools & templates. If there is a topic that you would like to see covered, please contact us at info@demandmetric.com to make a content request.

1. How-To Guide
© 2013 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Driving SEO with Press Releases
Executive Summary
For decades, press releases were the basic building blocks of a public relations strategy. A
company that wanted press coverage would write and issue a press release. The more
skilled the company was at media relations, the better this strategy worked. Press releases
still serve this purpose, although a new and important use of press releases has evolved as
a tool for Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
For companies whose websites are key to revenue generation, the SEO benefits are the
primary motivation for writing and issuing press releases. If releases also produce
favorable media coverage, that’s viewed as a bonus. The benefits of this SEO strategy
result from the links a press release can produce back to the issuer’s website. These links
are known as backlinks. The more external, authentic backlinks a website has pointing to
it, the higher it ranks on a Search Engine Results Page (SERP). While this strategy is
conceptually simple to grasp, executing it effectively requires some insider knowledge of
both media relations and SEO.
This How-To Guide will explain how press releases can boost SEO efforts, how to write
press releases for SEO, the pros and cons of doing so and conclude with an action plan on
using press releases in your SEO efforts.
How press releases boost SEO
Mike Cherenson, former Chair and CEO of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA),
said: “Authentic and relevant link building, aimed at driving engagement, informing publics
and building mutually beneficial relationships should be a part of every public relations and
SEO effort." Experts and industry insiders agree on the value of this practice is valid, but
how does it work?

2. How-To Guide
© 2013 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Quite simply, the goal of using press releases is to generate backlinks to a website. This
seems straightforward enough, but there’s more to understand. Not all links are created
equally, so it’s important to know what kind of links help put your site higher on a SERP,
and to understand how to generate them. Google, the dominant search engine, claims to
discriminate between types of links, so it’s important to stay current on how Google and
other search engine providers rate and rank links.
When a company issues a press release, it typically includes links in the body of the
release. When that release is issued through a wire service, those links appear in the
distributed version of the press release that appears on the news distributor’s website.
These are the links that Google doesn’t view as “authentic”, and Google has claimed as
recently as December 2012 that these links won’t help with SEO. Others in the SEO
industry dispute this claim. What isn’t disputed, however, is the value of links from media
websites that pick up a press release and cover it on their own websites.
What this means is that the most valuable links a press release generates are produced
indirectly. While the release may contain links in it, the links that come from a media
outlet’s website that picked up the release and covered it are of the greatest value.
Furthermore, Google, and presumably other search engine providers, don’t value all links
from media outlets equally. For example, a link from a well-known, highly visited media
website will boost your site’s placement on a SERP higher than a link from an obscure,
lightly visited media website.
Writing press releases for SEO
SEO doesn’t change the fundamentals of writing good press releases, but it does add
some new requirements, which are critical to having press releases produce the desired
SEO benefits.
What hasn’t changed is the need for press releases to provide clarity with respect to the
message, and to conform to conventions for structure. Writing a great press release

3. How-To Guide
© 2013 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
should always begin with agreement on the core message: what is the primary information
the release needs to convey? Often there are several messages a press release could
contain, but it’s best to orient a press release around the most important one. To help
prioritize messages on which to base a press release, use the Demand Metric Message
Mapping Tool. Whichever message emerges as the primary one, structure the entire press
release around it using the inverted pyramid style of writing. To understand how to write
a properly structured press release, use the Demand Metric Press Release Template.
When writing press releases for SEO, you must account for these SEO-specific tactics:
 Keywords. The goal of using press releases for SEO is to help your web content
appear high on SERPs. To accomplish this, you need to make sure your press
release is populated with the keywords and search terms that matter. Search engine
algorithms consider the frequency with which terms appear in web content, so make
sure you use plenty of keywords and search terms you want associated with your
content. Keep in mind that what matters here is frequency more than variety.
While it’s fine to use variations of your keywords in a press release, make sure they
appear multiple times throughout your press release.
 Keyword competition. As you’re making sure the include keywords and search
phrases throughout your press release, it’s a good idea to use the Google AdWords
Keyword tool to see how much competition there is for your terms. Ideally, you’d
like to have keywords where the competition is low and the number of global
monthly searches is high, as this will produce the best outcome for you. Here’s an
example of the analysis the Google AdWords Keyword tool provides when the
keywords “flux capacitor” was entered:

4. How-To Guide
© 2013 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Based on these results, “flux capacitor” is an excellent set of keywords because the
competiton is low and the number of monthly searches is high.
 The headline. This is the most important real estate in a press release. The
traditional conventions of a press release apply: the headline should summarize the
content of the release. Other best practices include referencing the name of the
company or product in the headline. The challenge when it comes to SEO is that
Google looks at the first 60 characters of a headline as most important.
Summarizing a release in a 60-character statement that contains the relevant
references is often difficult. However, it is critical to find a way to do this so that
your press release generates the maximum SEO benefit.
 Links. Your press release should contain links to related content on your website.
Ideally, the text of the link in your press release contains the keywords you’ve
chosen, which then link to content on your site that also has those keywords. A
good rule of thumb is to include one link for each 100 words of press release body
text.
 Distribution. The most critical success factor for this strategy is distributing your
press releases using a news distribution service, such as Marketwire, PRNewswire or
PR Web. By putting your press release into distribution, you’re taking advantage of
the network and reach these services provide. While the mechanics of using these
services is similar, they offer different pricing packages and distribution options, so
evaluate them closely to determine which one best meets your needs.
The pros and cons of a press release SEO strategy
While the risks of a press release SEO strategy are low, you should weigh the advantages
against the disadvantages before committing to this course of action.

5. How-To Guide
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 Pros
o Link building. The authentic backlinks created through this process can give your
SEO efforts a significant boost.
o Publicity. Don’t forget that the original purpose of a press release is to get
editorial coverage, and they still work this way.
o Immediacy. It doesn’t take weeks or months to execute this strategy. You can
literally issue a press release one day, and within 24 hours or less have new
backlinks to your website.
 Cons
o Cost. In addition to the time required to draft quality press releases, there is a
cost to distribute them through a service, typically between $99 and $250 per
press release. If you issue releases frequently, these costs can add up quickly.
o Narrow focus. Press releases are written in a specific style and for a specific
purpose. This style rarely appeals to customers, prospects or the general public.
While you can certainly repurpose the content from a press release for other
uses, a press release in its native format isn’t very appealing to non-media
audiences.
o Reputational risk. Any form of mass communication carries with it the risk of
harming your reputation if you do it poorly. This press release strategy is no
exception. Failing to understand the process, follow conventions, use best
practices and emit quality content can cause harm to your brand instead of
producing SEO benefits.

6. How-To Guide
© 2013 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Action Plan: Using press releases in your SEO efforts
If you decide that using press releases for SEO is a good strategy, here are the steps you
should take to execute:
1. Emphasize content quality
 Only commit to this strategy if you are capable of emitting high quality
content. Even though your goal is to land higher on SERPs, the humans in
this information chain will determine if the news in your press release merits
space in their media.
 In addition to well-written press releases that adhere to conventions, content
is judged more favorably when it includes related or explanatory graphics,
photos and videos. Your press release is competing with hundreds if not
thousands of other release for the attention of the media who can determine
its fate. Distributing yours with accompanying graphics, photographs or
videos will help it stand out.
2. Develop a press release schedule
 Plan ahead by putting a calendar in place of content you will emit via a press
release. This allows plenty of time for drafting, reviewing, editing and refining
your content. Use the Demand Metric Public Relations Calendar to document
your release plan.
 As you brainstorm ideas for press releases, consider issuing one for new
product or service announcements, product enhancements, personnel
additions, industry awards/honors, company milestones, financial results,
participation in events, partnerships, corporate responsibility or anything that
differentiates your company.

7. How-To Guide
© 2013 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
3. Author press releases
 Find a capable writer to author your press releases, as you and your press
releases are judged on the quality of the written word. Authoring press
releases is not usually a job for the intern, but for an accomplished writer who
understands the inverted pyramid style of writing.
 Follow the “two sets of eyes” rule. To avoid embarrassing mistakes, have at
least two reviewers for all press releases. Choose reviewers who have an eye
for detail, and make sure that reviews encompass fact checking as well as
grammar, spelling and contextual errors.
4. Distribute press releases
 Select a press release distribution service that offers the best pricing and
distribution that meets your needs.
 Issue your press releases through the service you selected.
 Issue press releases on a regular basis. While even a single press release can
favorable impact your SERP ranking, you probably won’t start seeing the full
benefits of this strategy until you issue press releases on a regular basis, such
as weekly.
5. Measure results
 The press release distribution service you use should provide you with some
analytics for the reach press releases hosted on their site. These analytics are
helpful and worth reviewing, but they don’t tell you all you need to know.

8. How-To Guide
© 2013 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
 Use your own web analytics to monitor traffic and visits to your site. Ideally,
you’ll see a spike in the wake of each press release issued. Furthermore, you
want to see growth over time in traffic to your site.
 Conduct a search using Google and the keywords in your press releases to
see where on the SERP your content falls.
These steps provide you with a process to help you produce quality press releases that will
generate publicity and boost your SEO efforts.
Bottom Line
Content quality is king in this strategy of using press releases for SEO. Following
every step and best practice described in this guide will not produce results if the content
of the release is poor. So while this process is not complex, all aspects of it require
attention to detail and proper execution. When this happens, the SEO benefits this
strategy can produce will amaze you.