Write a Press Release
Craft an eye-catching press release that ranks well in search and informs your audiences.
Optimize and Reach Your Audience
Follow these tips to reach all the right targets.
Choose Two or Three Keywords/Phrases
Figure out which terms people are likely to use to find your news. Don’t choose terms that are too generic or have too much competition. Use Google or other sites to help you research potential keywords. Always use your top keyword in your headline and first paragraph, then use them throughout your copy as appropriate.
Write a Clear, Concise Headline
Search engines rely heavily on page titles to determine ranking, and your press release’s headline is its page title. For proper indexing by news sites, your headline should be between 2 and 22 words. Search engine results often limit titles to around 67 characters, so make sure your most important information is right up front in the headline. Keep it straightforward and avoid puns or plays on words.
Use Subheadlines
While subheads are not included in page title tags, they are a good place to incorporate additional keywords that are not in your headline. They also provide early supplemental guidance to readers as they decide whether to continue reading.
Link Early and Often
Hyperlinks and anchor text are bread and butter of press release optimization. Links help search engines associate the content of a release with other sites, which helps the release's ranking. Linking is most effective in the first few paragraphs, where search engines focus the most. Use "deep" links to specific pages in your website, rather than just 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.
Use Text Formatting for Emphasis
Bold, italic, underlined and bulleted text help emphasize key points in your release, break up your content into easily digestible sections and provide visual cues for skimmers to quickly pick up the gist of your news.
Include Multimedia
Multimedia makes your release stand out to reporters and readers, and embedded images increase your release's reach in search engines. Google Images receives a massive amount of search traffic and 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.
Include Your Company Logo
Build recognition by including your logo at the top of your release. It's free with any Business Wire circuit. Your logo is likely to be the first image people find when searching for your brand or organization name.
Include Complete Contact Information
Make sure to provide up-to-date phone numbers and e-mail addresses; reporters tell us that omitting these is one of their main pet peeves. Always include a way for media to follow up with any questions. Consider including a Twitter handle or other social media profile. Do not include contact details for communication tools you do not monitor regularly.
Include Identifiers for Publicly Traded Companies
If your company is publicly traded, include your exchange, stock symbol and International Securities Identifier Number (ISIN). These maximize access and search functionality of your press release in financial databases and news systems.