How to Optimize a Press Release for Search

Follow these tips for press release SEO success.

Choose Two or Three Keywords or Key Phrases

Consider which search terms people would use to find your release, and try not to choose terms which have too much competition . There are many free sites available to help you research the most commonly searched for variations of these terms.

Write a Concise, Clear Headline Up to 22 Words

Search engines rely heavily on page titles when determining rankings. Your press release's headline is the single most important factor in press release optimization. As we've noted, search engines don't understand puns or plays on words, so your headline should be straightforward enough to be indexed properly and should contain your most important keywords/phrases. To be indexed in Google News, your headline should be between 2 and 22 words. Google SERPs often limit titles displayed to roughly 67 characters, so your most important news should be in the first 67 letters and spaces of your headline.

Consider Including a Subheadline

While the subhead is not included in the title tag and therefore has a less significant role in press release SEO, its early placement in the body of the release makes it a great place to incorporate additional keywords/phrases not included in your headline.

Focus Your Keywords in the First Two Paragraphs

Search engines place a disproportionate amount of importance on the content early in your release — specifically the headline, subhead and first two paragraphs. Make sure to use your targeted keywords as often as you can within this space.

Link Early, Deeply and Descriptively

Hyperlinks and anchor text are the currency of SEO and press release optimization. Links help search engines associate the content of a release to other sites, which helps the release's ranking. As with using keywords, linking is most effective in the first few paragraphs, where search engine spiders focus the most. It is also most effective to use "deep" links to specific pages in your website, rather than only linking to the homepage. This boosts the rankings of both the linked page and your whole site. Finally, don't just link the words "click here" — link your keywords or other descriptive text. Descriptive anchor text tells search engines more about what you are linking to and why it is relevant.

Include Multimedia Whenever Possible

Not only does multimedia make your release stand out to reporters and readers, embedded images increase your release's reach in search engines. Google Images receives a massive amount of search traffic and actually drives readers back to your release. Optimize your images by making sure they have clear file names which accurately describe the image and incorporate a keyword (e.g., "Important Product Name.jpg" rather than "DSC_1234.jpg"). Include a descriptive caption for any multimedia asset you distribute. Don't forget to include your logo with your release, as it is the image most likely to come up if someone searches directly for your brand name.