SEO keywords

What makes SEO press releases effective?  A combination of good keyword research, search engine optimization and a compelling announcement.  In this article , we’ll only be talking about the SEO components, and we’ll leave the ‘how to write’ elelment for another article.

SEO keywords

Good keyword research starts with common sense.  So write down all the terms you think people will use to search for information on your topic. When you have a list of likely words and phrases it’s time to plug a few of those words and phrases into Google’s keyword tool at https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal.

Find the keyword phrases that best describe your product or service and that have the least competition.  This means there are a high number of searches for the keyword and a low number of competing websites.  Then create a list of the most useful keyword phrases.  For example, a search for “catering services” will yield a list containing “party catering service”, “wedding catering services”, “corporate caterers”, “gourmet caterers” and many other keyword phrases related to “catering”.

Choose the keywords that are the best fit for the topic of your SEO press release.  You will select one keyword phrase as your focus, and use other related keyword phrases from your list within the content portion of your press release.

SEO keyword research

To put the keyword process into perspective, you’re trying to find the search terms that most people will be using to search for the kind of information presented in your SEO press release and on your website.  You’re using your own niche market knowledge and combining it with statistical keyword research tools to support your intuition.

The search engine optimization industry is based on the statistical analysis of keywords and how they influence natural search traffic.  You could literally spend your life studying it, especially since the search engines change their algorithms on what seems like a daily basis.  (SEOmoz.com is a good source of in-depth information about keyword research.)   But no matter how much scientific data you gather, the end goal is to get inside your customers’ heads so you can deliver what they already want.

SEO press release

Once you have selected your keyword phrases (or “keywords”), it’s a matter of where to place them and how to optimize them.  With SEO press releases, you have two opportunities: the press release you distribute online (off-page optimization), and the press release that you post on your own website (on-page optimization).   And they both start with good writing that makes people want to read what’s on the page.