Using keywords to optimize your press releases – And the secret that will get your business noticed

By: John Bowie | Posted: 03rd April 2006

By John Bowie / News Release Service Owner & Publisher

Writing for machines may seem a strange way to proceed with the preparation of a press release – but it is one component to writing a successful press release that can result in a massive PR-payoff.

There are certain basics that anyone wanting to achieve high search engine rankings need to fulfil. But there is also one secret component that many search engine optimizers forget when preparing their releases – of which, more later.

First, let's consider what you must do to optimize your news release? The answer is two words: Key Words.

Key words are the essential words that your clients or customers will use to find you – or your competitor. They are the search terms, the words that describe the product or service you offer. They are also something else: Gold in the right hands.

Let's say the media are looking for your business. What is the word or search term they would use?
Ask yourself (and your staff, friends and customers) what they use to find a product or service like yours. Do they search under your brand, or your service/product type, or generically in some manner? Do they search using geographical factors?

Are these issues that you have seriously considered? Have you tried to 'break down' your business into a few, critical key words?

There are a number of useful tools available that can help your search – Google search terms, Overture's search tool, Wordtracker and others – but you can simply search the major search engines to find what words surfers are using to find your business.

Then work out what others, like the media, would use to find your business. It may be a different set of words or word. For instance, your business in auto repairs might use that term by customers, but media interest may be more focused on a search term like 'auto repair service provider' or 'auto services'. You need to check and find out the key words that your target audience is using to find you.

Once you've located the 'gold', you need to mine it. You need to use those words in your company reports, company statements, announcements and – of course – press releases. Focus just on a few key words so as to not lose the momentum and impact that they create. But use them in your content and, where possible, hotlink them to your content.

When search engine "spiders" hunt for text items and key words they particularly like links to the words you have used, rather than to something that could mean anything – such as a generalized link to an information service.

There's lots more to this, but the first step for anyone writing for search engines is to hunt down those key words. And mine them.

And the secret? Well, it's like this. Writing using key words is writing for the search engine spiders who place your item into the engines – which in turn permits your business to increase its exposure. But then what? You need to convert surfers into clients or customers.

How do you best do that? Obviously if your business is providing the required product or service you're ahead of the game, but in a competitive marketplace you have to be noticed as well. You need to "engage" the Web surfer with your content. Infusing your copy with key words is fundamental. But so too is writing in a manner that will engage with the reader in a way that they want to use your product or service. Get emotional (without being sappy) about your product, service or business. Build in humor and humanity, whenever appropriate. If you seem to be a real person, rather than a robotic, PR type writing for machines then you may get the rankings, but you won't get the business.

Go to it. Get emotional. And use the right words.

©2006
John Bowie founded www.LawFuel.com, the legal news network and one of the largest law news release websites on the Net. He is a partner of PRWeb the optimized web press release service. He also writes and publishes for the Web and elsewhere.

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About the Author

Occupation: Publisher

John Bowie has founded two of the web's largest online legal news and legal jobs sites - LawFuel.com and LawFuel.co.nz - and publishes and writes about online marketing, including via the production of key web marketing reports at

http://www.WebTrafficRules.com

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Tags: google, search engine rankings, search terms, search google, major search engines, target audience, wordtracker, search term, competitor, key words, search tool, useful tools, strange way, auto repairs