Search Engine Optimization

Many a marketer claims that distributing press releases online is a great way to snag the mainstream media’s attention and attract publicity, but the truth is that today’s press releases serve a far different purpose. Hoping that a mainstream media outlet will cover your company’s press release is frankly a waste of time. If the media does use it, which is unlikely, they’ll probably shorten it or refer to it in a bigger story. But that doesn’t mean that you should ditch the idea of distributing press releases online. In fact, press release marketing has numerous benefits for your business’s brand and online presence.

The #1 Benefit of Distributing Press Releases Online

Today, the number one benefit of distributing online press releases is getting search engine visibility. If your press release gets picked up by the media, that’s an added bonus, but don’t expect it to happen. If you optimize your press releases for the search engines, your press release will get picked up, you’ll drive more traffic to your website, and you’ll generate several valuable backlinks. Furthermore, potential customers searching for the types of products/services you offer are more likely to find out about your company if you distribute press releases frequently and spread the word about what you do.

On a typical business day in the US, more than 2,000 press releases are distributed to the five biggest wire services. This means that you need to make an effort to write a press release that stands out and optimize it for the search engines. The first and most important thing to remember is to write press releases with your target audience in mind. So, while it’s important to make your press releases SEO-friendly, don’t forget that you’re ultimately writing for humans. Here are some other tips that will help you write successful press releases that spread.

Optimize Your Press Releases for 1-2 Target Keywords

Conduct keyword research to determine which words and phrases your potential customers are using to search for your products/services online. Then, optimize each one of your press releases for 1-2 target keywords. For maximum effect, incorporate the keyword(s) into your press release’s headline, sub-head, and opening sentence. In addition, you can link to a relevant page of your website in the first paragraph of your press release using keyword anchor text. Just keep in mind that not all websites that pick up your press release will include the hyperlink, so include the full URL of your website at the end of the piece to ensure that people can find your website no matter what.

Write Something Newsworthy

One major problem with online press releases is that they’re often written about topics that aren’t newsworthy. Distributing press releases that aren’t newsworthy is a waste of time and space. Nobody will read it, so why bother? If you want your press releases to get results, write them about something people actually care about and make it about them, not you. If you’re writing your press release about a topic that’s less-than-exciting, at the very least use an interesting angle that makes it worth reading.

Make Sure It’s Distributed through Google News and Yahoo! News

Press release distribution services can cost anywhere from $0 to $500. Just remember to select a distribution service that will submit your press release to Google News and Yahoo! News, both of which get significant coverage and traffic. Keep track of stats offered by the wire service, so you can evaluate the performance of your press releases.

SEO, or search engine optimization, is one of the most effective methods for attracting targeted traffic to your website and generating more leads online. While DIY SEO is a possibility, most business owners don’t have the time to learn the intricacies of SEO and apply it to their own websites, so they hire experts to get the job done.

But as SEO has grown, so has the number of bad SEO companies out there that pretend to know what they’re doing and scam unknowing business owners out of thousands of dollars. Here are signs that an SEO company should send you running for the hills.

Guarantees a #1 Ranking

While an SEO company *might* be able to get you a #1 ranking for your target keyword, there’s no way they can guarantee it. SEO companies can influence SEO rankings, but they cannot control them. It’s ultimately up to the search engines themselves.

Promises to Post Many Comments on Different Blogs

Blog commenting, when done properly, can increase traffic to your website and help you build links back to your site. The keyword here is, “properly.” Some SEO firms will tell you that they’re going to post a bunch of comments on blogs to drive more traffic to your site, but what they really mean is that they’re going to spam blogs. And comment spam won’t drive traffic to your website – it’ll get stuck in spam folders and possibly get you in a pickle.

Writes You from an Anonymous Gmail Account

If somebody from an SEO company emails you out of the blue from an anonymous Gmail account, telling you how much they can improve your website’s search engine rankings, beware. It either means they don’t have a website or they don’t want you to see their website for a reason that surely can’t be good.

Uses Too Much Jargon

When you talk to the SEO company, do you understand what they’re saying or do you hear nothing but jargon? SEO is complicated, but it’s not rocket science. With some thought and effort, an SEO professional should be able to explain SEO concepts to you in layman’s terms so you can understand them. Any reputable SEO company will want you to understand exactly what they’re doing with your website.

Doesn’t Have Any References

Avoid SEO companies that cannot provide you with any references. It’s essential to talk with previous clients in order to determine whether a particular SEO company would be a good fit for your needs.

Only Does On-Site SEO

On-site optimization is an important aspect of SEO, but alone, it’s not going to help your website achieve good rankings. Off-site SEO, which refers to link-building, is essential to a successful SEO campaign. So, if an SEO company tells you that link-building is unethical and they only do on-site optimization, pack your bags and look elsewhere.

Claims They’ll Submit Your Site to Thousands of Directories

Directory submission is still an effective link-building strategy, but only if you submit your site to high quality directories that don’t contain any spam and are edited by humans. It’s all about quality, not quantity.

Remember to do plenty of research about the SEO industry before shopping around, so you know exactly what you’re getting into. If you understand the fundamentals of SEO by the time you start looking for a service provider, you’re far less likely to fall for an unscrupulous company’s tricks and far more likely to find a company that has the skills, integrity, and knowledge to help you achieve top website rankings.

Google’s Panda update, also known as the Google Farmer update, was introduced back in February of this year. Article directories and web 2.0 sites, such as EzineArticles, ArticlesBase, HubPages, and Squidoo, lost traffic and rankings because of Google Panda, so many websites that relied heavily on these sites for backlinks were also hit hard.

Article marketing has been an important backlinking strategy since the beginning of SEO. But Google’s Panda update penalized article directories because many of them continually published low quality, regurgitated content that brought down the quality of Google’s search results.

Many online marketers hire the cheapest writers they can find to write content or use article spinning software to create several variations of the same article and then submit them to different article directories. Such practices further contributed to the downward spiral of article marketing’s quality. An increasing number of Google users complained about the low quality content that often appeared in the search results and Google had to do something about it. That’s how Google’s Panda update was born.

Is Article Marketing Still Worthwhile?

After Google Panda, article marketing definitely isn’t effective as it used to be, but it’s still alive. You can benefit from article marketing if you submit original, quality content to the top article directories and then have links point to those articles from various sources, including your website. In order to be considered high quality, your articles must be well-researched and well-written.

What you shouldn’t do, which is the type of practice that Google was trying to do away with by introducing the Panda update, is hire someone in India to write hundreds of sloppy $3 articles for you, submit them to various article directories, and then expect to see improved rankings and traffic. The article directories that were the worst hit by the Google Panda update are scrambling to improve the quality of their articles by increasing the required word count of article submissions and making their editorial requirements stricter. So, if you want to engage in article marketing and see worthwhile results, you can no longer submit low quality writing and expect it to improve your website’s search engine rankings. You have to write excellent content and then promote it to some extent if you want to see positive results.

How to Get the Most out of Article Marketing

After you write great content and submit it to the top article directories, you have to build links to the content. You can do this by linking to the content on your own website, submitting the content to social media websites like Twitter and Facebook, and submitting the content to social bookmarking sites. It’s also important to note that many article directories have their own communities. By getting involved in their respective communities, you can drive more traffic to your articles and ultimately, your website.

If you only rely on the search engine traffic that your articles receive, then you will be sorely disappointed in the results of article marketing. You may even find that you get ZERO traffic from your articles in article directories, unless you actually do the work of promoting them.

You also have to keep in mind that the links you get from article directories and web 2.0 sites don’t transfer trust, authority, and pagerank to your site like they used to. The pages themselves accumulate trust, authority, and pagerank, however, and thus help boost traffic to your site by pointing people to it. Just remember not to put all of your eggs in one basket. Article marketing is effective, but you should rely on a diversity of backlinking strategies if you want your website to succeed in the long run.

The vast majority of consumers now start their search for local business information on the internet. The internet has basically come to replace the Yellow Pages, so it goes without saying that developing an online presence and devising a local search marketing strategy is vital to a local business’s success.

Contrary to popular belief, people don’t just use regular search engines to find local businesses online. They also use social media websites, read reviews on local/social/review sites like Yelp, and search in niche directories to connect with local businesses. So, if you want your local search campaign to be effective, you must develop a presence wherever potential customers could find you or wherever your potential customers hang out. Some areas into which you might need to expand your web presence include:

• Regular search engines
• Local search engines
• Internet yellow pages
• Social networking sites
• Local review websites
• Local directories
• Industry directories
• Online classifieds

Here are some steps you can start taking now to build and enhance your business’s presence in local search:

Claim Local Listings

Claim local listings in Google Maps, Yahoo Local, and Bing Local, so it’s easier for potential customers to find information about your business and get in touch with you. Claiming your local listings is also important because it prevents your competitors from hijacking your business’s listings.

Enhance Your Listings

You can’t stop at claiming your listings. You also need to enhance your local listings by adding photos, videos, and descriptions to them, as well as encouraging customers to leave reviews. Make sure your listings provide all of the information potential customers would want to know about your business, such as your operating hours, the services you provide, the towns and neighborhoods you serve, etc.

Ensure Consistency

Make sure that the information you submit to all of these different sites and directories is consistent, so you don’t confuse the search engines or potential customers.

Optimize Your Website for Geo-Targeted Terms

Incorporate geo-targeted terms into your website content and page titles. In addition, link to your website using geo-targeted terms when you do internal linking and when you build inbound links.

Add Your Address and Phone Number to Every Page of Your Website

Make sure that your business’s physical address and phone number can be found on every page of your site. Doing this will signal to the search engines that you’re a local business.

Engage with Prospects and Customers Using Social Media

Use social media to interact with your prospects and customers. You can also use social media to hold contests, offer discounts and coupons, and promote special events.

Create a Mobile Version of Your Website

An increasing number of consumers use mobile devices to search for information about local businesses online. Create a mobile version of your site to ensure that your website can be viewed easily by potential customers with smart phones. Also, make an effort to optimize your site for mobile search, so you can attract more local leads via the mobile web.