Getting More Google Juice

by Jen Saragosa

As an account manager at Business Wire in Boston, I field dozens of calls a day from companies wondering how they can juice up their press releases to improve their search engine ranking on Google.

I regularly counsel these companies to think of their press release like a mini-web page. Each press release should include all the elements that make up an attractive, easy to use website. Here are those elements:

• Use hyperlinks and anchor text. Choose relevant links that direct traffic to the specific pages you are promoting rather than generic company links. Words to anchor down including company name, product name, partner name, and keywords. Be sure to place the links high up in the press release, specifically the first paragraph.
• Choose and use your keywords. Think like your reader: What words are most likely to be searched for by people looking your press release. Pick the top three keywords and then write the press release around these words, making sure to repeat each word a few times. Be sure to place the keywords in the headline, sub head and first paragraph.
• Stylize your release. Use bold, italics, headlines and subheads to make key phrases and keywords more visible. Emphasized text may help your release stand out and can positively impact search engine results
• For better results, add multimedia. According to the statistics from the Business Wire site, releases that include multimedia receive 2.5 X more clicks than plain text. Also, according to the Poynter EyeTrack07 Study, short text, especially with visual elements, is accessible and attractive to readers.
• Don't forget about Video! AdvertisingAge recently reported that YouTube is now ranked as the #2 most popular search engine (Google is #1 and Yahoo is #3). Include a video clip with your press release over Business Wire and we’ll post it to YouTube, opening up a whole new audience for your news.
• Use Business Wire for the Big Bang; EON: Enhanced Online News for the Long Tail. We've witnessed the best outcomes when press releases are sent on Business Wire and EON: Enhanced Online News. Business Wire provides the big burst of attention; EON: Enhanced Online News gives it the Long Tail and allows it to live forever online.

Jen Saragosa has been an account manager at Business Wire's Boston office for more than nine years. She works with hundreds of companies such as Staples, Analog Devices, PerkinElmer and Biogen Idec to help them optimize and distribute their press releases. Previously she was a public relations specialist at SS&C Technologies. She can be reached at 617-742-2760 X 221 or Jennifer.saragosa@businesswire.com

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