From Brad Shorr of Word Sell, “Don’t Forget SEO When Writing an Online Press Release“:

Online press releases are a fabulous way to promote your own business as well as clients. In the b2b space where I spend most of my time, they are underutilized. Furthermore, many of the releases that are distributed are poorly optimized for search, making them far less effective than they could easily be. Here are some quick tips for giving your online press release a little SEO punch.

• Use primary keyword phrase in the title, and early in the title whenever possible.
• Repeat the primary keyword phrases two or three times in the body of the press release. Too many repetitions can be interpreted as spam by search engines.
• Repeat a secondary keyword phrase two or three times in the body of the press release as well, if you have one.
• Write out industry specific terms in full. For instance, if I’m writing a release for a packaging firm that is promoting a new type of shipping container, I’ll want to refer to the products as “shipping boxes” or “multiple depth shipping boxes” rather than “boxes”. The latter term is too broad, whereas the former two might well be search terms used by packaging engineers and designers.
• If you have the option, customize your press release URL to include primary keywords. PRWeb allows this with an upgraded release, and it is well worth the cost.
• When linking to your featured landing page(s) from the press release, use primary or secondary keyword phrases in the anchor text of the link. For instance, taking the earlier example, “Learn more about multiple depth shipping boxes from ABC Company” has more SEO impact than “Visit the ABC website.”
• When using images, use keywords in the captions and ALT Text.

Many of these SEO techniques enhance the press release’s appeal to readers by making the information contained therein more specific and precise. In addition, repeating key phrases helps readers to remember the key points and associate them with your company or the client.

Brad Shorr lives in the Chicago area and is president of Word Sell, Inc. He helps organizations strengthen their online presence with business blogs, as well as content strategy and SEO copywriting.

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SEO, or search engine optimization, is not a new tool, and certainly not a new topic on Public Relations Blogger, but it can be a new tool for many new bloggers, business owners, and website creators alike. SEO takes some time and effort, but it shortly becomes second nature in your normal blogging or website writing. Search engine optimization is essentially the use of keywords and phrases (hopefully related to your blog or company) that can help increase traffic. When search engines send out “spiders” that crawl the web and record, in a sense, the information on your website, having more keywords and phrases that web users search for can move your website up the search results, in turn brining more traffic to your site.

One vital thing, and perhaps the most effective way of gaining new traffic, is to pay particular attention to the long tail of the keyword curve. Every day, new searches that have never been searched before are made in Google, while simple keywords that are one or two words long are repeated many times. While it may seem illogical to aim for these new searches, it is rather the opposite. When a consumer searches for something like “shoes”, there is going to be an endless amount of results, and your website or blog can very easily get lost in the sea of options. In order to differentiate your blog or website, focus on the long tail of the keywords. The graph below from Elliance is a great visual to explain the concept of the long tail.

The chances of your site grabbing the attention of users from the head (or front) of the curve is less likely to occur than capturing those of the long tail. The majority (~74%) of the traffic that comes to this blog comes from search engines. More than 75% of that traffic comes from a term or keyword phrase that was only made once, a single search of a more descriptive phrase that would put them into the long tail. Without much effort, I gather a ton of traffic and potentially new readers by focusing on the long tail searches. Long tail phrases can also bring more than one visitor from search engines. For example, “new public relations tools to benefit your business” has brought more than two dozen visitors in the last two weeks, but it still only accounts for 1.4% of my traffic. In the last month alone, 1,244 searches brought this blog traffic.

Try out different phrases, use Google’s keyword tool to get ideas, and experiment; marketing and public relations is all about figuring out what works and what doesn’t. If this doesn’t work immediately, don’t give up; it may take time for the search engines to record your site’s data. Keep optimizing, pay attention to the long tail, and offer great content.

Any other tips for SEO and the long tail? Leave a comment!

A solid search engine marketing, or SEM, strategy often closely resembles a modern investment portfolio. Some attention is given to short-term gains; some to middle-of-the-road opportunities; and, some to emerging markets. But most of the core portfolio is dedicated to models with proven results, accurate tracking and long-term profits.

With Internet competition building at a wild pace, many companies have trouble looking beyond the glamor of top positioning on a paid-search results list. These companies need to be looking, instead, for an SEM partner that can not only see past the fervor, but also be willing to share those realities and set a new course.

An SEM firm that sets realistic expectations from the beginning has a stronger chance of keeping pace with competitive campaigns and accurately determining where to dedicate dollars on Google, Yahoo! and MSN.

When establishing a strategy that maximizes return on investment and gives clients a well-rounded approach, an ethical SEM firm examines:

– Market Optimization: Finding keywords that will garner results now, as well as offering potential keywords for campaign expansion, as budget allows, is critical. This shows the firm understands the client’s desire to see results quickly, but also participate in long-term, dynamic campaigns.

– Flexibility: Adding and removing keywords or turning campaigns on and off at will can make a client uncomfortable, at first. But by showing day-to-day comparisons and trends, the client becomes familiar with the benefits of a more-flexible strategy.

– Competitive Position and Approach: Many clients assume it’s best to be at the top of paid search results. This mindset can limit a campaign’s effectiveness if consumers are buying based on more than a simple “see-it-first” approach. When price, timing, delivery and location – to name a few – are factors, clients benefit from a well-researched strategy that reflects their customers’ Internet shopping habits.

And, because not every company is basing the success of its paid search campaign on dollars earned versus dollars spent, a good SEM firm can use its analytical tools and its experience to demonstrate real potential and honest results on more-specific levels, like cost per acquisition and impact on consumer awareness.

By partnering with an experienced, honest SEM firm, companies can look forward to building an Internet strategy that mirrors today’s top-performing investment portfolios. With balance, consistency and flexibility, the effectiveness of an overall campaign can take advantage of short-term gains and find opportunities for long-term success.

Aaron Wittersheim is president of Whoast Inc., a Chicago based search engine marketing firm. For more information, please visit here.

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Tags: ethical, seo, search, engine, financial

“Cost of implementation sarbanes oxley” – The cost of implementation regarding the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could extend well beyond legal internal auditing practices and a concrete monetary figure. This truth will be explored through the actual calculated cost of implementation regarding the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the underlying cost that money alone cannot satisfy, and lastly, how written articles optimized for Internet search engines can reduce cost and increase transparency with investors and the public.

As reported by the Financial Executives International, out of 217 companies surveyed with revenues above $5 billion, the cost associated with becoming compliant with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act through standard means of implementation averaged at $4.36 million dollars.

It has also been reported that monetary cost will eventually reduce itself naturally as accountants increase their familiarity with Sarbanes-Oxley Act implementation and become more accustomed to corporate evaluation.

But what about the cost in public image towards a presently skeptical public? Is there no advantage in letting people and investors now about your internal activities?

A second report by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, an accounting and consulting firm, identifies impediments in implementation performance regarding the Sarbanes-Oxley Act far more hostile to corporate health than any actual monetized figures.

To quote from the report on such obstacles involved in implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act:

1. “”Project mindset: …many companies understandably treated section 404 compliance as a discrete project with a clearly defined ending point.”"

Any such endeavor not done in an open and transparent manner may not only hinder the goals of your business towards fulfilling implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, but could also fuel an already suspicious public from channeling their investments into your firm. Implementation should be seen through well-written online material, not discovered.

2. “”Improvisational approach: Another symptom of deadline pressure showed up in the jerrybuilt practices that carried many companies through the first year.”"

With ill-defined goals and a lack of experience in producing proper communicative materials for investors, the public and also as an internal informational resource, what was once a quick fix could quickly become your corporate liability – communicative cost then becomes an immovable object that spawns further issues, all because of neglect in the quality and availability of written material at the onset.

3. “”Ignored risks: Effective internal control is predicated on risk… the controls themselves — exist expressly for the purpose of minimizing the risk of financial reporting errors… In year one, risk assessment was treated as an afterthought — if addressed at all.”"

The primary reason for risk assessment is to address all threats – even those that are not monetized and neatly fit into the “”bottom line.”" By ignoring the communications threats inherent in improper implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, your firm risks undermining its entire transparency strategy.

In addition to the audits themselves, it’s easy to see how search-engine optimized articles (whose carefully targeted and inexpensive words are a fraction of the cost of mainstream media) can become a key asset regarding both Sarbanes-Oxley Act implementation as well as increasing your firm’s visibility and standing in all respects including act compliance.

Open-door access in implementation and a series of informative, well-written online articles can make an easy transition for you to achieve compliancy goals in regards to Sarbanes-Oxley Act implementation, as well as enhance public awareness of your firm and its dedication to legitimate practices.

In summary, articles that put your business on the top of Internet searches will become capable of making new inroads to the public mind, establish your firm as a transparent and responsible public entity (for Sarbanes-Oxley implementation or otherwise) and lastly, reduce your promotional budget cost by harnessing the power of the Internet and its increasingly dominant role as a public information provider.

Matthew Harley is a freelance copywriter and SEO writing expert. You can view his website

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An effective SEO press release can generate increased online visibility and introduce your products and services in front of a new audience, but they need to be distributed wisely. Otherwise, the news item will likely go unnoticed by important search engines and missed by potential customers. The main method of distribution is through online PR distribution sites. Not all sites have the same value, so you will need to choose wisely in order to get the best results.

Free Vs Paid Press Release Submission Sites

The benefit of free press release submission sites is that they are free! However, everything free comes with a ‘price.’ News stories published on free press release submission sites are generally supported through ads displayed along the sides of the piece. Free press releases don’t usually offer all of the aesthetic and search engine-friendly benefits of a those that have even a nominal fee. Some allow images and a limited number of anchor text or URLs. Others restrict an SEO press release to nothing more than just the basic text with no clickable items.

Paid press release distribution sites generally provide a variety of different options and perks such as pull quotes (large quotes that are pulled out of the text for added interest), images, and anchor text. They may also offer inclusion in search engine news feeds and various RSS feeds on the web. In some cases, you are required to pay a large monthly or yearly fee to join, but in many cases you can pay per press release submission.

What Features To Look For When Choosing A Press Release Submission Site

When selecting a press release submission site to enhance your internet marketing campaign, you’ll want to be on the lookout for those that offer the right combination of features:

Look for a press release distribution site that makes the title of the press release into the title tag for the item. This greatly improves its ranking in the various search engines and increases its visibility when you use your keywords in your press release titles.

While not a must, social bookmarking buttons are a definite benefit. Social media sites like Stumble Upon, Del.icio.us, Technorati, Furl, Digg, and others expose your item to millions more readers to increase the excitement around your news.

One of the most important features to look for in a press release distribution site is the availability of anchor text links. Building anchor text backlinks is an essential part of any search engine marketing campaign. Avoid sites that use text link advertising. These direct readers away from your news and generally clutter up your SEO press release.

Since press releases are ultimately written for the reader, look for sites that keep the reader in mind. The news items should be easy to read and use a standard format. This allows the reader to find the information he or she is interested in and directs their attention to the important things. Pull quotes, for example, instantly catch the reader’s eye and make the press release more visually appealing and work to pull the reader into your message.

A professional look makes it possible for you to send the link to potential customers. You can also include the link in newsletters and emails to current clients to keep them updated on the latest happenings within your company.

Christine O’Kelly is the founder of the SEO copywriting firm, SEO Content Solutions and the co-founder of Online PR News.com, a press release submission resource where businesses can submit free press releases or submit SEO press releases for just $6.

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Tags: public relation, press release, seo, online, news

Submitting a press release to a newswire used to be a proposition reserved for large companies with the solitary goal of gaining favorable publicity for a product, service, or branded image. Today press release writing and submission has become a highly popular and effective way to disseminate keyword friendly information throughout the search engines. In other words, press release writing and distribution can greatly enhance the chances of websites keyword phrases getting picked up in the search engines.

Press release distribution works similar to the way our favorite TV shows end up on our local broadcast stations each week. The process for such distribution is known as syndication. When a TV program is show throughout the nation on local channels, it is done so by syndication, meaning that each local outlet has signed on to receive the program from the parent syndicator, often known as a TV Network, like NBC, ABC, or CBS.

The same principle of TV program syndication applies to online press release distribution. A large group of outlets agree to receive a press release from an established network, called a newswire. When these newswires distribute the press release, most websites in the syndicated network will automatically post the press release to their site. Some will have editors review the press release for posting, while others will not.

By putting a press release through a syndicated newswire a website owner can gain several key SEO benefits from the process. First, and most importantly, a live link from the press release back to the website owner’s site will be posted on most of the syndicated places that the press release shows up. This builds link value for the website owner that can result in better search engine rankings over the long term.

The residual benefit for the press release publisher is the coveted fresh content that is so hard to come by on the internet today. By partnering with a reputable newswire service, publishers gain daily doses of fresh content for their website, helping their site stay relevant and up to date with the latest news.

The combination of benefits for the publisher, the newswire, and the website owner provides a unique and powerful motivation to hone the system to great lengths of optimization for all involved. When a business distributes a press release through a reputable online distribution outlet, the chances for SEO benefits are great, and far reaching.

Clark Covington owns and operates over two dozen websites online, most of which specialize in marketing and public relations. Clark Covington is the President and Founder of this site, a SEO firm that specializes in affordable search engine optimization services for small business.

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Tags: online, pr, value, marketing, SEO