Are Press Releases Still Relevant?

Once upon a time, the press release was a powerful tool that companies could use to spread their story to their customers, investors and potential employers. However, things have changed a lot since those days. Now companies can reach their audience through a variety of platforms: social media, blogs, webinars, and email newsletters etc. While these new platforms made press releases somewhat irrelevant, they continued to exist because of their inherent SEO value.

Press releases used to help sites rank high in search engines because they allowed companies to post links optimized with their most important keywords. These press release links often played a crucial role in determining a site's position in search results. Needless to say, online marketers sent out press releases whenever they got an opportunity.

However, they no longer carry that SEO value. In fact, recently Google described the keyword-rich press release links as link schemes. What this means is that the anchor texts in your press releases will no longer improve your site's performance in SERPs.

Worse still, if you have a habit of placing too many text links in your press releases, they might even hurt your rankings. The move has hurt the prospects of content factories that churn out press releases will the sole objective of creating 'unnatural' links. What about those folks who write press releases to actually distribute useful news? Well, this move could affect them as well.

Has Google killed press releases?

Well, not really. You can still produce a newsworthy press release devoid of buzzwords and clichés to deliver news to your target audience. You can also include Google-sanctioned hyperlinks in your press releases. But companies need to realize that there is very little they can accomplish with isolated press releases.

 

There are still several things that press releases cannot do. Unfortunately, some companies are yet to get the message.

A press release won't get you guaranteed coverage in influential media outlets. Of course, there are a few reporters who still like press releases for the well laid out information they provide. However, there is still nothing to assume that you will get actual coverage by sending a release to these folks. When their email inboxes get filled with irrelevant or even spammy news, editorial staffers won't be able to devote a lot of time to read wordy press releases.

In fact, sending a personalized email is even better, but it requires more efforts than a press release.

In the olden days, the audience for a press release was editors and reporters. But now this literature is read by nearly all people. However, there is no guarantee that your press release will get read just because you posted it somewhere. The way you optimize and distribute the press release is equally important. Here are a few things you need to consider:

You have to include all relevant hashtags in your press release and distribute it through relevant social media sites.

Put your keywords/ keyphrases in the heading and subheads. And most importantly, follow Google's guidelines about anchor text. You should also consider including pictures and images that make your press release more shareable.

Press releases are not much different from other platforms that companies use to spread their word. Just like other platforms, press releases, too, are evolving. It is true that they have lost much of their importance, but they might still be around for some more years.

How to Create and Implement User-Centric SEO with Searcher Personas

In the early days of SEO, keywords were everything. SEO experts used to ask webmasters to stuff keywords into their articles. That strategy used to work too.

But Google made significant changes to its ranking algorithm in the last few years. SEO strategies that used to work until a few years ago no longer produce the same results. Worse still, many of them have started producing exactly opposite results.

Algorithmic updates aren’t the only problem webmasters face these days. Google has made all organic searches secure so the keyword data is not readily available. And with the launch of Hummingbird, Google has become much better at understanding conversational search queries. Keyword search volume data too is hard to find now.

The message Google wants to send out is clear: move away from keywords and focus your attention on the user for whom you are creating content and products.

What does this user-centric approach mean for SEO? And how are webmasters supposed to put this concept into practice?

If you run an online business, it is easy to get distracted by the SERPs and ignore the real reason you are building your products or services: the customer. It is the customer who searches for your products and hence they should be the foundation of your online and offline marketing efforts including your SEO strategy.

Developing a user-centric SEO strategy is relatively easy. You just need to develop searcher personas. What are searcher personas? Understanding the needs of each and every customer is not possible. Instead, SEOs must work with the objective of grouping together target customers who have the same needs. You can call each group a persona.

To create a persona, you will need to use information gathered from user polls, market search, keyword search volumes etc. 

Know Your Target Customer

The first thing you need to do is to identify your target audience. Ask yourself who your target customer is. Are you trying to attract people belonging to a particular age group? Any business owner should be able to answer that question.

Once you have identified your target group, the next step is to understand their problems. What are they searching for? Determine the search queries that they use to find your business. You can use these queries as your keywords/ key phrases.

You may focus on any one type of persona. This approach works best when you operate in a small niche. Or you can target 3-5 personas. If you create multiple personas, find a title for each one of them. Now try to find out as much as possible about these personas. You can use your own knowledge and assumptions.   You can also use information gathered from your keyword research. Finding the right data is probably the toughest part, but it is very important.

By creating a searcher persona, marketers can accurately define their target customer. It helps them understand how customers are searching for their products/services. And this knowledge will help them improve their rate of conversion.

Keyword research is still important, but now SEOs have to focus on searcher personas as well. Once you have built the personas, you need to develop and execute the marketing strategies that deal with their unique needs. Remember that these personas are the real people you are trying to market your products to.