Public relations can play a key role in improving your search engine ranking. Although the Google algorithm uses more than 200 ranking signals in ordering its search engine results pages ”“ SERPs ”“ it relies on one factor more than any other, inbound links to your website, that is, clickable text on other web sites pointing to your own.
And inbound links can be simply and legitimately created through the most fundamental public relations skill, the development of informative content regarding your company or area of expertise.
Types of content
Press releases, the mainstay of traditional public relations, also play an important function in search engine marketing. When sent out via established distributors such as PR Newswire and PRWeb, these documents are automatically included on more than 100 websites, and by placing your URL in the contact info and concluding section of the releases, you create inbound links to your site from everywhere they are published.
Bylined articles can be submitted to content provision sites, online structures providing informational material for publication elsewhere on the web. This process, known as article marketing, creates inbound links because anyone who uses an article you submit must publish the URL of the author. Articles beginning with a number, e.g., “10 tips for writing more effective press releases,” usually generate more pickup, and thus more inbound links, than other formats.
Blogs represent one of the most powerful ways to create inbound links. If your blog resides on your company website, an “internal blog,” whenever someone links to it you are benefiting from a particularly powerful form of inbound link, known as a deep link. Deep links go to interior pages of your website instead of the home page, and the Google ranking algorithm emphasizes them because they indicate an overall breadth to your site.
An Online PR program
For best results, PR firms and their clients should standardize the creation of content into a formal program. I have found the following system cost-effective:
1) One press release per month, up to 400 words, distributed by PRWeb at the optimized level. Cost: $200 per release.
2) One content provision article per month, 500 to 600 words, posted on amazines.com, articlealley.com, articlebiz.com, articlecity.com, articledashboard.com, articlesbase.com, goarticles.com and ideamarketers.com. No cost.
3) A weekly blog entry of 200 to 300 words ”“ less than 200 words is discounted by Google”™s spiders, more is unnecessary work. Internal blogs using WordPress.org software offer many plug-ins to increase functionality. No cost.
If you possess the discipline and persistence to follow this program for a year and optimize for a geo-targeted keyword, e.g., “Westchester County public relations,” you will soon outrank much more established organizations and appear on the first page of Google”™s organic search results.
Try it. It works!
Willy Gissen is president of Cut-It-Out Communications Inc., www.cioediting.com a public relations agency in Hartsdale. Reach him at wgissen@cutitoutcommunications.com.
I’ve also had good results with free press releases, not a bad option for those without extra money. Blogging is key; a regular (weekly) blog entry can bring thousands of visitors over time if you optimize keywords within the title and page content.