Online PR is one of the buzz words of the SEO world at present. Sadly, for many SEOs the term simply relates to the writing of half baked press releases and the bulk submission of said press release to a handful of semi-helpful directories.
Don’t get me wrong there are a few debatable SEO benefits to the standard approach above. Firstly you’ll get the occasional link from the directory itself and you’ll also get the occasional link from a website that scraped the directory’s feed. It can also help to get your website ‘out there’ and the search engines can start to learn more about your domains and trademark’s.
Perhaps the main drawback though is that once you rinse and repeat a few times you’ll find there’s little incremental value in continuing down the same route. Is Google really going to give you credit for every new link off the same press release directory? I don’t know, but I suspect the first one gets the most weight with the remainders taking a nominal value. It’s time to start taking online PR a bit more seriously, especially if it’s a major part of your SEO strategy:
Online PR – taking it to a new level
The next level really is where you can make big shakes in the SEO space and help you get more exposure and links across high quality website. Taking it to the next level really means dumping those tired old, poorly written excuses for press releases and moving away from the standard directory submissions. It’s about taking control of your reputation and building relationships with influential people in your industry.
You don’t need to look far outside our own industry to see exactly how public relations can fuel business growth. Some of the SEO industry’s biggest names are PR legends in their own right. Preying on our thirst for SEO knowledge and content, these SEO gurus have positioned themselves as the experts, exploding their business and income on the back of it.
5 things you can do right now
1 – Search for 50 websites, blogs or portals that publish news related to your industry
2 – Email every single one you find with a nice introductory email asking them if they’d be prepared to receive your press releases in future
3 – Take 1 hour to brainstorm some news ideas, pick the best and get writing
4 – Put your press release on a public relations/journalism forum and ask for a critique
5 – When you’re happy with the press release email it to everyone on the original list you made
The overriding message I need to give you here is that PR is an ongoing activity. It’s highly unlikely that you’re going to get it right first time, but keep this article in mind and you’ll be one step closer to online PR success.
