SEO PR Efforts Boost Visibility and Sales

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My first job out of college was working as an intern at a public relations agency in Seattle. I learned all the fundamentals of PR, including stapling, copying and faxing (email was just starting to become popular). For nearly two years, I honed my skills as a PR flack, before jumping on the Internet bandwagon. Since then, I�ve leveraged my PR knowledge to improve search engine marketing service offerings. The following article outlines the three fundamental elements of a successful search engine optimization (SEO) PR strategy.

News Room Development
I learned early in my Internet marketing career that an online News Room is the foundational element of any successful SEO PR efforts, let alone traditional PR activities. A good News Room is not only a resource for press and analysts, it�s a popular area for customers and partners. As such, a good News Room contains the following content and functionality:

* Archive of optimized press releases
* Links to press coverage (or reprints if article is not available online)
* Event listings (where your company will be attending, exhibiting or speaking)
* Corporate backgrounder or fact sheet
* Information on community outreach programs or activities
* Awards & recognition (industry or community)
* Links to management biographies (these may reside in another section of your site)
* Image library (including pictures of product, packaging and executive management)
* Investor relations section (if public, of course)
* Interactive content (podcasts or Webcasts)
* Press release distribution options (RSS feed and/or email signup)

There are many good examples of companies that understand the value of a News Room. Two Anvil clients that have done an especially good job include Marqui and PolyServe.

Press Release Optimization and Distribution
Once the News Room is built, its time to create optimized content. The most valuable SEO PR element of any News Room is the press release. Traditionally, wire services like BusinessWire , faxed or emailed press release to media outlets, offering little or no measurement. Today, however, these same wire services offer RSS/XML distribution to news search engines like Yahoo! and Google News and ability to measure views and clicks. This means that PR professionals have an opportunity to measure a tangible ROI on their SEO PR efforts.

To maximize visibility and ROI on a press release, it must first be properly optimized. There are a few simple steps in the press release optimization process. Assuming you�ve already determined the news value, the first step is to determine the overall theme of the press release and boil it down to a select subset of keyword phrases used to accurately describe the product or service featured in the release. The next step is to conduct research to validate the popularity and relevance of the target keyword phrases. Once the final keyword phrase or phrases are selected, the next step is to �optimize� the press release by incorporating the keyword phrase(s) into the copy and source code once posted on the News Room. Target keyword density for target phrases should range from 2 percent to 5 percent of the total text. Common press release elements to optimize include: headline, body copy, boilerplate and Web page elements (URL, title, META description and anchor links).

Before posting the optimized press release in the News Room and distributing over a wire service, be sure to implement proper tracking. Measuring the performance of a press release requires unique URLs (this may vary depending on which wire service you are using) and/or toll-free phone numbers. Beyond posting in the News Room and syndicating over a wire service, additional distribution options include email distribution to an opt-in press list, mention in the corporate newsletter, automated RSS feeds and submission to industry and local publications and portal sites.

Syndicating Articles and Coverage
Creating and distributing press releases can be a powerful tool in generating awareness (and sales), yet it is only one SEO PR strategy. Another important element of an effective SEO PR campaign includes syndication of articles and coverage. If your PR efforts are successful in garnering coverage from local or trade press, you�re only halfway done. Make sure a link to the coverage is posted in the News Room and that the article URL is submitted to search engines for additional pickup. For less-favorable coverage, consider posting a comment, where appropriate, to offer your perspective on the coverage as a company representative. For more information on this topic, read Online Reputation Management: The New PR.

One of the most effective ways to build credibility in your market is by writing and syndicating articles. Articles that provide insight and perspective are in demand. When creating an article for syndication, follow the press release optimization steps above to ensure maximum pickup. Once the article is completed and optimized, its time for distribution.

Industry publications and portals usually have an automated article submission process, some even pay for articles that meet a specific criteria. Identify which online publications, ezines and email newsletter in your industry accept contributed articles and follow their guidelines carefully. In addition, you can syndicate the same articles (assuming there is not an exclusivity clause) to article syndication sites. Beyond building visibility and credibility within your industry, additional benefit of syndicating articles include additional visibility in search engines (for target search phrases, author and company name). Many of the distribution outlets incorporate RSS and email distribution that further enhances pickup in industry sites and search engines.

Following the SEO PR strategies outlined above will ensure your traditional public relations efforts generate a meaningful ROI.

Kent Lewis is President of Anvil Media, Inc., a search engine marketing agency based in Portland, OR. He is also President of SEMpdx, a Portland-based trade organization for search engine marketing professionals.