Whether you’re a multi-national business giant or an entrepreneur single-handedly running a small business, the benefits of an effective press release for your company are undeniable. Unlike common advertising where consumers have grown wary and desensitized, people tend to be more trusting of information from an official press release as this is regarded as more credible.

What’s more, press releases play a big role in search engine optimization, since you are at liberty to throw in keyword rich phrases that consumers are likely to search for. For a press release to be effective, it must be well thought out and properly written. The following are tips to help you draft a clear, concise and hard hitting press release that can give your SEO efforts a boost:

1. Have a Catchy Headline – Editors scan through countless press releases every day and if yours doesn’t catch their attention, chances are it will go straight to the bin. Pique their interest with a catchy headline that will entice them to read on and then make your point early in the first paragraph. If they have read beyond the first paragraph, they will most likely consider it newsworthy material.
2. Know What You Want to Achieve – Before writing, identify the press release’s goals and target audience. This will determine the tonality of the press release as well as aid in your keyword research. Using the right language is crucial for it to be effective.
3. Don’t Sound Aggressive – Leave the hard sell copy for the ads. With press releases, you want to sound informed and relatively neutral. Include a brief background on who you are. Talk about your product’s features and how they are relevant to the market. Give examples of how they can be used, then end it with a call to action.
4. Do Your Keyword Research – Include primary keyword phrases to optimize your press release. The Google AdWords Keyword Tool is handy for looking up keywords that have a significant search volume. Use your keywords strategically by using the main keyword phrase in the headline or sub-head. And where applicable, using the keyword phrase in a quote attributed to you or anyone in your company is a good idea because writers and bloggers tend to publish quotes verbatim.
5. Keep Your Releases Presentable – Make your press release look professional and create a standard template you can use each time. It should always contain essential information, including the contact person, phone number, e-mail and business address. You should write a short paragraph describing your business profile and use it at the end of every press release.
6. Don’t Write a Novel – Exceedingly long press releases will most likely get edited down or even worse, thrown in the trash. The risk of having the editor shorten your press release is that vital information could be compromised in order for it to fit in the publication or web page. As much as possible, keep your write-up between 400-500 words.

Internet marketing specialists at The Design People offers a professional press release service that can help generate traffic and visitors to your small business website. For more marketing tips, information on business websites and how to grow your brand through results-driven marketing solutions, contact 800.850.7707 or sign up for a Free Consultation.

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Eve

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