Press Releases – Standard or Optimized?
By Dave Young, Professional Writer and Founder, Young Copy
Article originally published in Ping! Zine web hosting magazine, issue 33, pages 49-51.
Business owners are smart. But one of the most common questions I get asked is “What’s the difference between a standard press release and an optimized press release?” I think that’s a great question. Having written and distributed dozens of standard and optimized press releases, I can answer that question with details on why you should always go with an optimized press release.
Defining each type of press release
A standard press release is typically 400-500 words with one link back to your website (usually a link with your company name to the homepage of your website). Distribution for a standard press release is minimal, often appearing on industry related websites. An optimized press release is typically 500-600 words with one key phrase per 100 words, all linked to high quality web pages on your website specifically targeted to boost your search engine rankings. Distribution for an optimized press release utilizes distribution points that are specifically designed to get those key phrases and links on thousands of media related websites including industry publications, blogs, and other media related sites.
Who uses optimized press releases?
Anyone who wants to rank high in the search engines, drive more qualified traffic, and generate buzz better and faster than their competition. Whether you want to market a hosting company, software product, technology, or any other type of service, optimized press releases will help you reach your goals – quickly.
Cost vs. return on investment
A standard press release costs significantly less than an optimized press release (sometimes hundreds less), but the return on investment (ROI) is significantly higher for an optimized press release. Optimized press releases take more time to plan, write, and analyze for maximum results. The distribution points, time it takes to run an analysis on the right key phrases to use, and the time it takes to distribute the press release, is all worth it in the long run.
Return on investment is more than just quick traffic or an announcement, it’s part of building a search engine marketing (SEM) campaign that continues to generate high quality traffic from qualified visitors and turning that traffic into qualified sales.
Longevity vs. quick traffic
Both types of press releases provide a spike in traffic. But in the long run, an optimized press release will generate more traffic on a consistent basis. An optimized press release will generate traffic based on the key phrases used, distribution points, and outside sources that pick up your press release. Over time, your optimized press releases start to build a steady increase in highly qualified traffic to your website. And when bloggers and industry related websites start to pick up your optimized press releases, you get a continuous flow of traffic – all using keywords and key phrases optimized specifically for your business.
Yeah, they both help your brand
Repeating your company’s name or brand is crucial to a successful marketing campaign. The more you put your brand in front of people, the more your brand resonates in their minds. Both types of press releases will help your brand, but optimized press releases reach more people than standard press releases because of the high rankings you can achieve from search engine optimization (SEO) techniques. With optimized press releases, you can include more links per release and each link is specifically targeted to help your website rank higher in Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and other leading search engines.
Rank high in the SERPs
Optimized press releases help you rank high, usually on the first page of search engine ranking pages (SERPs). If done correctly, you can rank high for any key phrase you choose. First place, top five, top ten, or whatever page you choose when you have a professional SEO expert write and distribute your optimized press releases. Your optimized press release expert will know exactly how to get your most valuable keywords and key phrases ranked high in top search engines. And they should be able to show you case studies and examples from existing clients who have achieved top rankings.
Make it part of your marketing mix
Don’t just use optimized press release marketing as your only marketing tool. Combine optimized press releases with all your marketing initiatives including search engine optimization, magazine advertising, banner ads, case studies, white papers, newsletters, and digital brochures. Yes, banner ads still work. Remember, the more someone sees your company name or brand, the more it resonates in their minds. Add a case study, a monthly email newsletter, a white paper or two, and a series of optimized press releases and you have yourself a winning marketing campaign.
Tracking results
The best way to track results is to watch your key phrases in the SERPs and monitor those key phrases in an analytics program like Google Analytics. I have seen client rankings jump from non-existent to the number one position in Google. If you’re familiar with SEO, you are probably saying to yourself, “Yeah, but what’s the competition for the key phrases you used?” Good question.
It doesn’t really matter how much competition the key phrase has. Some people say the more competition a key phrase has the more difficult it is to rank higher in the search engines. That’s a big myth. A professional search engine optimization expert, who writes and distributes optimized press releases, can get your key phrases ranked high in Google, very high. Of course, if the key phrases are extremely competitive, you may need to distribute more optimized press releases or improve your existing website’s content. So it’s not a matter of if it can work, it’s how long it takes and what you’re willing to do to make it work.
A professional optimized press release marketing expert will track all of your results and report them to you in a format that’s easy to read and clearly shows how well your campaign is doing.
Reporting the results
You get a full report on how well your key phrases are moving up in the SERPs, how well your optimized press releases perform compared to other press releases, and how many sites, blogs, and media outlets picked up your press releases. Some people say you can’t track results, but an optimized press release writing and distribution expert can tell you exactly how your optimized press release marketing campaign is doing today, tomorrow, and well into the future.
How many optimized press releases does it take to see results?
You can see immediate results with your first optimized press release in terms of traffic. Depending on the popularity of your website and brand, you can expect to see a 25-100% increase in traffic. In order to achieve a higher increase in traffic, your optimized press release campaign must be written, developed, and distributed properly. You should distribute at least three optimized press releases to help boost rankings. I personally recommend distributing one a month. But don’t stop at three. Keep distributing at least once a month for as long as you have newsworthy information.
The process
First, information is gathered on the topic of your press release. Then a complete analysis of your existing website content, on-page optimization, key phrases, and SERPs is done. Once the data has been gathered, your press release is written, sent to you for approval, and then distributed on optimized networks. A professional optimized press release writer will distribute your press releases on media websites designed specifically for enhancing SEO results. Additionally, your optimized press release writing expert can pinpoint targeted audiences and distribute your press releases to thousands of interested buyers, vendors, partners, and in today’s Internet world, bloggers and even a handful of tweets on the up and coming Twitter network.
Even if you’ve had success with standard press releases
Even if you’ve had success with standard press releases, try utilizing the power of optimized press releases from someone who has the experience, dedication, and proof of results. Give it a try for three months and watch your revenues increase. You can always go back to standard press releases, but once you try optimized press releases for at least three months, you will want to continue with an ongoing optimized press release marketing campaign. The more optimized press releases you distribute, the higher your SEO rankings, the more traffic you receive, and the more revenue you can generate. It’s a powerful marketing tool.
Remember, hire a professional
Not everybody can write and distribute optimized press releases. Make sure you hire someone who has the credentials, expertise, and industry knowledge to help you reach your business goals. Hiring a professional to handle all your optimized press release marketing will be one of the best investments you’ll ever make with your business. Go ahead. Try optimized press release marketing today.
Article originally published in Ping! Zine web hosting magazine, issue 33, pages 49-51.
