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Press Release SEO - Media
Kit Linking Campaigns
by Mike Banks Valentine
Search Engine Optimization requires strategizing
as well as optimizing for SEO firms seeking
online visibility for their clients. Last month
a client of our firm sought counsel on their
web strategy for an already optimized site.
We had tightened up their keywords, focused
their content and appropriately titled each
well crafted page. The only thing lacking was
a linking campaign and extra keyword focused
content beyond their product-centered, but limited
text. What more could we do for them?
The single line item NOT accepted from among
a list of recommendations made was a link campaign,
early in the SEO sales process. We had discovered
later in the beginning phase of optimization
that the CEO believed a linking campaign meant
begging industry web sites for a link. He had
refused that concept without discussion due
to a preconcieved notion of link-building as
panhandling. Once discovered, the panhandling
concern was easily overcome with a simple request
made of the CEO.
May we have a copy of your press kit?
Press releases very often contain important
industry buzz words, highly relevant, keyword-rich
text and an ideal word count for optimized web
page content. Press releases are tightly focused
on single themes and can be easily plugged into
themed sections. Ideal for SEO.
We had discovered that the client had a media
kit that was widely distributed at trade shows.
This kit offered press releases which trumpeted
a stellar Fortune 500 client list. Curiously,
the slickly printed, beautiful media kit listed
an access URL for a password protected area
of their web site where members of the press
could download Word.doc and PDF files of this
same press kit.
Essentially our client was hiding this content
from the public due to concerns that the in-house
PR staff would be inundated with emails and
phone calls from NON-media types and -[gasp!]-customers
abusing published contact information from press
releases. Maybe, but they were also hiding valuable
content, customer testimonials, and that stellar
client list from everyone but very determined
media professionals willing to request site
access passwords to download hidden offline
documents.
That press kit held the complete solution to
our link popularity conundrum. By posting those
documents online in HTML format and carefully
structuring the page title and headline of each
page, then linking those press releases to relevant
sections of the company website, we dramatically
improved search engine visibility for this client
by putting it all in publicly accessible pages.
The search engines indexed it all quickly while
expanding the content and increasing site relevance.
Their Fortune 500 clients have now linked to
a vendor that they had no reason to link to
before because the releases were posted on those
client sites with live links back to their site.
Links from well respected and visible companies
increases pagerank dramatically.
Press releases emphasizing business relationships
with product-centered events featuring small
businesses and larger corporations can focus
on news hooks that will attract search engine
visitors. Visitors that would not have otherwise
known about the business relationship or products
offered may suddenly find themselves customers.
Small companies doing business with larger corporations
should widely distribute their press releases
announcing marketing partnerships and sales
to those companies. The big players will often
find ways to make news with public relations
involving smaller partners and will sometimes
use those press releases on their own site for
publicity.
With innovative PR professionals working in
concert with small businesses, they may even
get the corporate client to use their much greater
resources to distribute those press releases
through giant corporate distribution channels
(far beyond the miniscule reach of small businesses).
This will gain them press coverage and help
establish their brand while linking them to
the image of larger corporate clients in the
mind of their customers.
A word to the wise though, make your press releases
professional and concise with complete contact
info and links to relevant data. Include short,
single sentence "About Us" company
information and DON'T FORGET A URL!
That web address included at the foot of all
releases is your key to link popularity. Link
from your release to the corporate client site
you reference in partnership announcements and
choose headlines that contain keywords relevant
to your site and your business.
For an excellent tutorial on creating an online
press room and case studies on effective online
PR strategies, visit the newsletter of PR Diva,
BL Ochman at:
http://www.whatsnextonline.com/wno/newsletter28.html
She recommends that companies replace that paper
press kit with a CD containing all those documents
for that trade show distribution, but the kit
belongs online too.
Search Engine Optimization professionals recognize
the value of online press rooms as exceptional
opportunities to present highly relevant, keyword
focused content that encourages linking from
well known corporations while exposing that
existing content to the search engines. If those
press releases also gain media coverage for
your business as intended, your linking campaign
has struck gold.
This article first appeared in High Rankings
Advisor http://www.highrankings.com/advisor.htm
9-10-03
Mike Banks Valentine, CEO
http://SEOptimism.com
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