Most small business owners are aware that getting a good foothold on the Internet can potentially send your customer base through the roof in terms of interest and in sales. A lot of money is being spent trying to figure out exactly what are the best ways of getting the word of a business out on the web.
One sure-fire way to attract attention is to have articles written and placed on sites where they are linked back to your business, generating interest and also search engine points.
Over the last year or so, article submissions have evolved to include several different types of informational releases – and one of the most effective is the press release.
Nothing New Under the Sun
Press releases are nothing new, and have been used since the beginning of the 20th century to assist businesses and individuals with public relations.
Over the last couple of decades, savvy PR reps have realized that a well written online press release can mean much more than passing out information about a company; they can work as free advertisements as well.
What’s the Point?
The basic idea of any media story, whether online or in the traditional publications, is to answer the 5 Ws and the How of a given situation, and press releases are designed around this concept.
The key of the effective online press release as a marketing tool is that the company releasing the piece puts an angle on the story that will pique the interest of publications who may either use the release as a story in itself, or who will want to do a bit more research on the company for a story of their own devising.
That, of course, is the first reason why an online press release can really help your business; a reprint on any major site is the same as having an advertisement placed, only it is free. A well-designed online press release can generate a lot of attention on the Web and boost your online marketing. Every time your company is mentioned, that’s more potential customers for you.
The Missing Link – Search Engines
The second big benefit of using an online press release is that they are great when it comes to Search Engine strategy. One of the tools that search engine spiders use to rank sites is the number of links back to the site, which indicate relevancy on a keyword search.
The more sites pick up your online press releases, the more links you will have out there, and that means big points in the search engine wars! Just make sure that you use relevant keywords – even better, try using anchor text in the body of your release.
So, the benefits of an online press release can impact your small business’ marketing plan in a couple of major ways that are critical when it comes to business operations. First, they can act as free advertising. Second, they will boost your online marketing when it comes to SEO.
Both are major considerations for any small business that wants to take advantage of everything that marketing in the 21st century has to offer.
