Effective Strategies for Using Press Releases to Grow your Business

In years past, press releases (PR) represented pieces of new media released to the press before the general public had a chance to view them.  They followed strict rules and guidelines and appealed to various media channels which would effectively transmit the information to the public.

The new internet press releases reach a larger number of people in record times and speak directly to the public without the need for an intermediary.  Though transmitted to several web news services, the internet press release are meant for the eyeballs of the general public. 

When writing your press release, utilize the industry specific keywords to maximize search engine potential.  Correctly optimized releases often appear on the first page of Google for competitive phrases.  Include the keyword in the title and sprinkled several times throughout the copy, without spamming.  I recommend no more than 15% keyword density.  The keywords should flow naturally with the style of writing.  Be sure to optimize the first 250 words of your copy and add the keywords to the anchor text of your links.

The purpose of the press release is to build brand awareness and drive traffic to your website.  In order to attract the reader to click on your links, engage them by writing to them specifically.  The copy should appeal directly to your audience and detail new and exciting business ventures or changes.  You could also share your expert knowledge and release this information as well.  Write with their needs in mind and compel them to visit your establishment.  Make it easy to understand for all reading levels.  By writing excellent content, you will increase your chances of syndication in the popular news feeds.

Ideally, one press release a month will build your brand nicely.  After 28 days, the news story is removed from the search results.  Submit your release to a reputable PR submission service such as PRWeb or PR Newswire.  These websites enjoy increased popularity in the search engines, so utilize them for your benefit.  When using press submission sites, you will have the ability to create an RSS Feed which will publish your news to interested subscribers.