After a brief discussion of the exciting and upcoming PRSSA trip to New York, executive members, Brittany Leuth and Stephen Abramawitz, led the group with lessons on writing professional emails and how to get press releases noticed by search engines.
A ten-minute long Lynda (the JMU provided online tutorial resource) video was used where a Public Relations professional outlined some key tools and tips on how to make your press releases more search friendly. To conclude the meeting, the group was instructed to take this information and draft it into an email just as you would if your boss requested a summary from you after a meeting or conference. This was pointed out to be a common task for interns. Leuth was then able to provide feedback on each of the emails based on her experience. How to Optimize Your Press Releases for Search Engines 1. Focus Phrases The Lynda instructor’s first tip was to utilize “focus phrases” within the press releases. These phrases are just a couple of words that tie in the main theme of your release. For example, a piece on a new administrator at a company in D.C could use a focus phrase of, “Washington CEO.” This focus phrase is to be placed into the press release early on within the URL, headline and/or sub headline but then also frequently throughout the piece’s content. This “early and often” technique will allow search engines to find these terms at a higher volume and make them more likely able to connect searches with your press release. 2. Links Search engines are looking for architecture, code and content. By placing links into your press release you are giving search engines more to feed on when searching. These links can be attached to keywords in the content and can send readers to other parts of your website such as other important articles. Another benefit of this is that by being able to have easy access to other important or interesting places in your site, you are giving your reader a boosted experience. 3. Perfect Your Upload There were a few important things to remember even after you’ve finished writing the content. First is to make sure you are uploading the release in a search friendly way. This includes uploading the press release with a unique URL and not just with the general website URL it is found on. This way search engines can attribute the link to the specific press release. The URL can be unique and ideally include the focus phrase discussed earlier. 4. Employ the Power of Social Media Last but not least, it is important to get your press release on many different social media platforms. Search Engines are looking for sites that are traveled on a lot and having a link on twitter or a blog will boost your press release. Also, social media posts with a conversational tone and the same keywords from the piece will help lead a person to clicking the link to the press release. - Caroline Rice, PRSSA member
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