Learn how Press Release SEO can be used for link building. Get the best practices and tips for writing and distributing press releases for SEO.
Press Release SEO can be one of the best sources of high-tier backlinks that can skyrocket your rankings onto the first page of Google even for the most competitive keywords.
Also, it can be a big part of your marketing strategy to grow your brand awareness and drive referral traffic to your website.
What is Press Release for SEO?
Press Release for SEO is a practice of writing newsworthy press releases and distributing them to journalists and media outlets in order to obtain backlinks, referral traffic, brand exposure, and coverage from popular news, magazines, and journals such as Bloomberg, The Sun, BBC, New York Times, Yahoo Finance and others. Common tasks associated with Press Release SEO include writing a press release, finding the right journalist, pitching your PR to a journalist, and tracking your results.
Importance of Press Releases in SEO
To rank on the first page of search engines, you’ll need to build trust with them.
And of the best ways to build trust with search engines like Google is to get mentioned by big media websites.
In fact, Google has stated this in their Google Quality Rater Guidelines when giving an example of a trustworthy website, stating that confirmation by reputable news, users can trust the website.
Not only that but John Mueller also said Digital PR is just as important as technical SEO and, in most cases, even more.
And one of the reasons why Press Release for SEO is so important is because of the backlinks as these backlinks are the highest-tier, highest quality, and organic backlinks that Google loves and wants you to build. They just meet all the backlink quality standards.
Unlike with other link building strategies, with a press release, you can build hundreds of backlinks a day without worrying Google will penalize you because these links are organic backlinks.
However, it’s important to ensure you get a backlink from those sites that published or mentioned your PR as John Mueller confirmed that brand mentions are not a search engine optimization factor in this video:
With that, there are more link building benefits to Press Release SEO such as:
- Referral traffic
- Brand recognition
- Brand visibility
- 100% white-hat SEO backlinks
Press Release SEO Best Practices
Write PR on Trending Topics/Keywords
The first press release SEO best practice is to focus on writing PR around popular or trending topics/keywords that are currently being discussed by a journalist.
A great example of looking at current trending topics and using them to build great coverage is VPNOverview with help of Search Intelligence.
During the summer heatwave in the UK, journalists were covering everything about the heatwave and because of that, VPNOverview had put together a guide on how to protect your device in the heatwave.
Which helped them to land coverage on websites like mirror.co.uk.
A massive high-quality backlink from a website with a domain trust of 91 according to SE Ranking.
And this can be about anything that is currently trending, whether it is a TV show, weather, war, celebrities, or evergreen, but interesting topic.
For example, UK royal family is always an interesting and popular topic among journalists, so Oxford Roayle did study who is the smartest person in the royal family.
Which land backlinks from sites like MyLondon with a DT of 82.
So, coming up with trendy or popular topics/keywords will help you get coverage across popular media sites regardless you are a big or small website.
Use Google Trends to Find Good Topics for SEO PR
Another best practice for SEO Press Release is to use Google Trends for finding relevant and trending topics to draw important and interesting findings.
Google Trends is an excellent SEO tool for keyword and topic research you should use to stay ahead of your competitors. With the available data, you can do mini research and the findings of the research can be presented to journalists which can land you high-quality backlinks.
For example, Fery Kaszoni did five-minute research using only Google trends to land over 20+ high-quality backlinks from big media sites.
Therefore, you should be regularly monitoring Google Trends to find any interesting spikes. For example, when Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan on August 2nd, 2022 during the China-Taiwan crisis, the searches for her name peaked.
I also recommend you install the Glimpse Google Trends Chrome extension to get even more information and data that can be presented to a journalist, which can increase your chances of getting coverage on media sites.
Distribute SEO PR Straight to Right Journalist
Another important SEO PR best practice is to distribute your press release directly to a journalist.
When it comes to sending press releases there are two ways you can go about it:
- You can use press release distribution network services which essentially distribute your press release across syndicated press release media sites and their own list of journalists. This is often a cheaper, but less effective method.
- You can directly pitch your press release to relevant journalists who are writing about the same topic as your press release and can get your digital PR published on their media site. This is a very effective method; however, it can be also expensive as you need to use PR media software to find media contacts and outreach software which can be costly.
If you choose the first method, there are many different press release distribution services that you can find, some at very affordable prices.
If you are going to use the second method, which I recommend, you’ll need to get a list of relevant journalists along with their details that write about topics related to your PR.
You can use tools like Prowly or Roxhill which effectively allow you to search for a journalist writing about topics related to your press release.
And then once you have the list, Prowly also includes outreach options. However, if the budget allows, I recommend you export the list into BuzzStream for our outreach campaign.
But if you cannot afford these tools, then you can use cheaper tools like Hunter.io or scan media websites, in some cases, you can find a journalist’s email address at the bottom of digital PR or on the author’s page.
Write Less than 500 Words
One of the first pieces of advice you’ll find when writing PR is to ensure your press release is short, straight to the point, without any fluff around, no longer than 500 words, and ideally closer to 300-400 words.
The main goal is to create succinct and digestible information, that is easy to receive by journalists, so the journalist can create an interesting story with the least amount of hustle. The easier you make it for them, the more likely your story gets pickup.
Basically, write a press release that’s upfront about its purpose and fits on one page of A4 which is about 400 words. If a press release is too long or wordy, a journalist is more likely to ignore it.
Don’t Include Too Many Backlinks
Another Press Release SEO best practice is to ensure you don’t include too many backlinks in your press release.
Including too many backlinks in your press release can lower your chances of getting coverage on media sites, especially on those more reputable. Here is why:
- Search engines could see it as spammy: Search engines are constantly trying to find unnatural links and too many backlinks in one short press release could be definitely picked up by them and devaluated.
- It’s not natural: A 300-400 word press release having too many backlinks just doesn’t look good for you and the journalist publishing it. Focus on your story and include links when and where it makes sense.
- It’s bad for user experience: Too many options could overwhelm readers and in the end do nothing. It’s called choice paralysis and it can happen with your press release too. Ideally, you should aim to get those readers on your website as well.
So how many links is too many in digital PR for SEO?
It really depends, I would say more than two backlinks are already too many backlinks, and in most cases, a press release should have only one backlink to your website.
Anything more than that could already be too many unless there is a good reason. Also often when there are two backlinks within digital PR, it’s to two different sites. E.g. One to a website and one to social media account.
Include Your Contact Information
Another best practice for SEO Press Release is to include contact information. This is more must than best practice as without that your press release most likely can’t get published.
The reporters at the news outlet, who will publish your press release will need your contact information in case of anything, so they can follow up with you.
So, every time you create a new Press Release include your contact information or the spokesperson information. Include details like:
- Name of the spokesperson
- Name of the company
- Email address
- Phone Number
- Social Media such as LinkedIn
Include Important Statistics to Prove Your Claim
A press release should be factual news about your company, products, services, or findings.
Market research and statistics are an excellent way to hook the attention of journalists as statistics can improve the factual importance of your press release as statistics easily interpret important findings, and results and deliver a strong message. Basically, it makes your digital PR look smarter.
So even if you opt-in to use Google Trends for your press release, it’s still recommended to use outside third-party relevant statistics to prove your claim.
For example, when gas prices went up, during the first weeks of the Russia-Ukraine war, the interest in electric cars increased as well, so you could use that for your press release.
And you could further prove your claim by using other EV statistics such as Plug-in vehicles are predicted to make up 23% of new passenger vehicle sales globally in 2025, up from just under 10% in 2021.
However, of course, not every press release needs research or statistics but from my observation, they can improve the chances of your PR getting published.
With that remember, your job with a press release is to write it for the media, not for the users, or your customers.
The goal is to sell your digital PR to journalists and their goal is to re-write and reinterpreted it for their readers and using statistics within your PR provides hard evidence about the story and grabs the media’s attention.
Write Catchy Headlines
Another super important press release SEO best practice is to write catchy headlines.
Press releases are, at their core, marketing pieces and should be treated as such. The headline and opening paragraph, which should pique an editor’s interest with a clear explanation of why the story is relevant to readers, are the two most important elements.
If there is one thing that you should take from this article is to focus on your headline and it is THE most important part of writing a press release!
It is the #1 thing that will grab your journalist’s attention and convince them that you have an interesting story, and he/she should check it out. Without that, the chances of getting journalists even read your digital PR to consider it is slim to none.
With that, here are some of the best practices for press release headlines:
- Press release headlines should be short and catchy; usually five to seven words is enough. Make each word count. Use active verbs, staying away from “is” and “are.” Avoid fancy adjectives and adverbs altogether. Take out unnecessary words like “the,” “an,” and “that.”
- Be specific. Instead of saying “ABC Inc. Creates New Jobs,” say “ABC Inc. Creates 340 Manufacturing Jobs in Fair Hill.” This gives an editor something concrete to grasp.
- Focus on headlines as a last, once you know how your story is, you create the catchiest yet relevant headline. Because nobody likes clickbait headlines.
Focus on the Opening Paragraph
And as already mentioned, another important Press Release for SEO best practice is to focus on the opening paragraph.
The initial paragraph of a press release, like the title, should be attractive, short, and to the point. Reporters frequently use an inverted pyramid pattern while writing in journalism. The most significant material should be at the top of the article, according to this arrangement and this structure should be followed while creating a news release.
The first paragraph of your pitch should grab the journalist’s attention and answer the fundamental journalistic questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? Concentrate on the big picture rather than the minor details.
Follow the Press Release AP Style
And the very last SEO Press Release best practice I have for you is to focus on the PR AP style.
The Associated Press creates every year guidelines for journalists and other media outlets. These not only ensure uniformity in punctuation, fonts, and other aspects of publications but also ensures that journalists follow a common set of standards.
There are a lot of templates available on the internet that you can use that fit your digital press release. You can also use some of the press release writing services that help you to write in the AP style just to be sure.
Do Press Release Help SEO?
Yes, a Press Release is an essential part of a good SEO strategy to grow your business, and SEO marketers should not think of SEO and PR as two separate things but as an integral part of the overall marketing strategy in order to get the best results. A campaign that uses both PR and SEO together can be very effective.
Press Release for SEO is not only about the high-quality backlinks you can get, but about the exposure of your brands and referral traffic that can help you build trust with your future potential prospects.
That’s why it’s important to stay close to your industry when creating a press release so you can get relevant referral traffic, brand exposure, and hopefully that nice juice backlink from high-authority media sites.
Best Tools for Press Release SEO
Doing Press Release for SEO can certainly be done without any tools, however, it’s difficult, time-consuming and the results are poor at best.
So here are some of the best PR tools to successfully launch your next PR campaign and get the DR 90+ links from big media outlets:
Prowly
Prowly from SEMRush is an all-in-one PR management software that helps you create your press release, find the right journalists from their large journalist database, and then create an outreach campaign with automation options like follow-ups and tracking statistics to manage media relations more effectively by saving time on routine tasks.
And compared to their competitors, it’s also an affordable PR tool.
BuzzStream
BuzzStream is an outreach marketing software helping you to deliver your emails to the right people straight into their inboxes without going into the spam or promotion folders.
They help you build smart lists of journalists and bloggers, based on your history with that writer, social reach, and influence metrics and conduct outreach to bloggers and journalists with a full view of your conversation history, notes, tweets, emails, their recent posts, social details, and more.
It also allows you to track your work with bloggers and journalists, along with all the placements you’ve earned.
Muck Rack
Muck Rack is an easy-to-use press release management software that helps you to find the right journalist to pitch your digital PR. With their large, up-to-date database with over 250k contacts, you only connect with those that could be interested in your story.
They also help you easily monitor the latest and trending news in order to quickly create your reactive Digital PR to get even higher exposure for your brands.
Ninja Outreach
Ninja Outreach is an influencer, blogger, and journalist outreach platform that allows you to find the right people with their contact information to pitch your digital PR and promote your brand. It’s not only great for promoting your Digital PR but overall, it’s best for link building and influencer marketing campaigns.
Roxhill
Roxhill is one of the best media search databases to find exactly the right journalists that are currently writing about topics that are close to your digital PR and helps to get all the information you need to know exactly the right time to land in each journalist’s inbox.
Final Words
Press Release for SEO is arguably one of the best ways to increase your ranking in Google, it’s a safe way to build a lot of organic backlinks unlike guest posting or niche edits but it can also be very expensive because of the tools it requires.
Needless to say, you should try writing digital PR to grow your search visibility and brand exposure as it can help you reach the next level.
You should also try HARO for link building as it is similar to digital PR, only a lot easier and for free.
I hope my press release SEO best practices and tips helped you, let me know on my YouTube channel what’s your thoughts about PR for SEO, cau!
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Also, check out our SEO hub page to find all our SEO resources.
Disclaimer
Some of my links are affiliate links, which means if you purchase something, I might get a small commission as a reward for reference. Of course, I am actively using all these services and products, and I only affiliate products or services I have full trust in their quality!
