Press releases as SEO strategy | The 10 Rules of Free Publicity

1. Put the word PRESS RELEASE above your news item.
2. The headline should stimulate, but it should also make clear the purpose of the press release. Do you opt for an informative and to-the-point title or a title that arouses curiosity by omitting a little more information? Put yourself in the media and the purpose of your press release and make this estimate per press release. Your SEO strategy is to have 1 or 2 SEO keywords in the header.
3. The classic lead of the press release: who, what, where, why, when. If you miss it, you can also answer the ‘how’ question (if necessary, move the ‘why’ and ‘how’ to the paragraph after the lead, if this first paragraph becomes too long).
4. One delimited topic per paragraph. Just like with a web text.
5. The press release covers a maximum of one a4. You can always add attachments of course.
6. Important paragraphs first. Well-written and interesting press releases are often reproduced in the media without adaptation; in some cases, it is shortened by deleting in the last paragraph (s). So think carefully about the news value and relevance within your SEO strategy (see below).
7. Write business-like and determine the language use per target group/medium. No jargon in a press release to the general media, no simple writing for a specialist trade journal, etc.
8. Enliven the content with a quote. People are always curious about people and what they think. The message also sticks better when it is presented more personally.
9. Newsworthiness. Only send a press release because you have news. Connect as much as possible with current events and developments in the industry/field. Let people with authority speak. And the more different the news; the sooner it is noticed and picked up by the press.

10. If you have a photo that fits the press release, add it too. After sending, your contact person must, of course, be available for any questions from the press. If you build an email database of journalists, you will achieve your SEO strategy goals sooner. So get it right and ultimately find the best SEO strategy.

Note for editors. After the closing of the press release (‘END OF PRESS RELEASE’) you add another note to the editor with contact details and any additional information about the organization and a link to the website. What greatly increases your chance is to send contact details of people who are willing to give an interview. Possibly with a date for the photoshoot!