In a commentary on www.openforum.com, "6 Common SEO Mistakes on Small Business Websites," Rae Hoffman-Dolan describes the importance of links:

"Links are still widely believed to be the single most important "off page" SEO factor. Simply put, without links from other websites, your site won't rank. The more competitive your niche? The more links you will need to get.

Unfortunately, many small business owners put their sites up and completely ignore the inbound link building process afterward. While link building can often be confusing to some small business owners, and it can definitely be time consuming, there is no doubt that if your goal is to improve your search engine rankings, you absolutely need inbound links."

I recommend PRWeb for the distribution of news releases. PR Web encourages you to include links in your news releases. These links should connect the reader to relevant pages on your company's website. My caveat here: make sure there is relevant information on your website to support those links. Read the entire article by Hoffman-Dolan to learn more about how to how to make your website attractive to  browsers.

Article placement is another way to build links. However, it’s not as easy as the “old days.” Google made changes to its search algorithm code-named Panda earlier this year. It’s designed to block articles from sites recognized as content farms which publish “low quality” articles “simply to attract clicks and advertising dollars.” Among sites “detected and penalized” is Demand Media’s eHow. Traffic flowing from search engines to eHow dropped 20 percent after the update.

Be sure to submit your commentaries to legitimate websites and recognized online publications. The Washington Business Journal, for example, accepts guest commentaries. Links to the author’s website are usually included with the article.

Another way to build links back to your website is to win awards. Many awards are sponsored by publications and winners are profiled in the publication and its website, with link-backs.

©2011 Polly Elmore and Bev Barker

Smart PR:

Use social media to expand the reach of your news release

The use of social media can't replace the news release - a staple of the PR Profession -  but it can augment the distribution of your news.

According to a report  from PR Newswire and Crowd Factory:

" Creating sharable content and enabling sharing capabilities through the relevant channels can dramatically increase the number of views for releases. The research found that each share generates an average of nearly two click-backs to the original press release. Additionally, sharing of press releases across social networks increases the total audience, or social reach, for this content by nearly 70 percent."

FYI...PR Newswire is one of the major news release distribution services and Crowd Factory is a social marketing platform that offers sharing widgets and other social media gadgetry.  

According to their report, Facebook leads the social media with 48 percent of the news release sharing, compared with 37 percent on Twitter and 15 percent on LinkedIn. If you are looking for the best performance in terms of click-backs , you should share your release on Twitter, which generates 30 percent more news release views than Facebook.

P.S. You might want to brush up on how to search engine optimize your new releases.

©2011 Polly Elmore

Smart PR:

Email subject lines are key to your PR success – 5 tips

Today, with the exploding use of the email and social media, it’s more challenging than ever to get your news read by the right people.

Editors and reporters are busy. Some don’t take phone calls. So your email subject line is the key to getting your story read. Search Engine Journal says, “You have 5 seconds to reach out and grab someone’s attention as he or she scans through email.” Here’s how you can cut through the clutter and make an impact. 

1. Cut to the chase. Feature keywords about your news right up front in the subject line. Your goal is to engage and encourage people to open your email and read more.

2. Keep your subject line short and simple. Dr. Jakob Nielsen recommends writing 50 to 60 characters so readers can “get” what your story is about right away. Some email platforms display more characters, but others do not.

3. Don’t YELL at your readers. Using all caps is a turnoff and won’t help you communicate in today’s “social” style.

4. Avoid using words that even hint of spam – like “free” or “limited offer.” That could get your email deleted by spam filters and skipped or ignored by potential readers who are in a hurry.

5. Take time to craft the subject line. Try writing several versions and then choosing the one that really stands out from the others. Getting readers to open your email requires a combination of art and science, but the results are worth your effort.

P.S. These tips can work for all your emails, not just your media pitches.

©2011 Bev Barker and Polly Elmore

Smart PR:

Becoming a Citizen Journalist – Six Tips

Citizen journalism, also known as “public journalism,” allows anyone without professional journalism training to inform, collaborate and distribute news using your PC or cell phone. Here’s how you can join the ranks.

1. Citizen Journalism 101: When you read news stories online, go ahead and post your comments.
2. Write a local news story about your community or a cause and share it on your Facebook or LinkedIn page.
3. Got a videocam or cell phone with video? Go to www.youtube.com/reporters center to view a series of short video tutorials including a series on “Citizen Reporting” to get started.
4. 4 “Wikipedia” itself is the largest and most successful citizen journalism project on the Internet. See it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_journalism
5. Become a columnist for the DC Examiner. The Examiner is looking for “people like you who have in-depth knowledge about a particular topic, a passion about that topic and a desire to share related insights with others.” Visit http://www.examiner.com/about_examiner/
6. Keep it short and sweet with Tweet. Using 140 characters, you can share your insight by linking to stories you think others should read.

If you want to become a citizen journalist, you need to do it for love, not money. Citizen journalists do not get paid, except in the sense of self-satisfaction.

©2009 Bev Barker and Polly Elmore

Smart PR:

Tips for Your TV Appearance

If you are scheduled for a TV interview, take time to prepare. Talk with the producer.  Find out as much about the interview topic as possible, the length of the interview and whether there will be other guests. Ask when you need to arrive at the studio, directions to get there and where you can park.

Some Other Smart PR Tips for TV:

1.  Send in your suggested questions or ask the producer to send you the questions you will be asked.
2.  Sit slightly forward in your seat.
3. Look at the TV host, not at the TV camera.
4. Smile.
5. Use short answers. Give examples.
6. Don’t be too technical.
7. Make your main point right up front – at the beginning of the interview. This technique reduces the chance of having what you say cut or edited out of context.
8. Make sure to get a link to the video of the interview so you can post it on your Website, on Facebook, etc.

©2009 Polly Elmore

Smart PR:

Six Tips for Telling Your Story in a News Release

Everybody loves a good story!  It’s become popular to use story telling in speeches and introductions. Stories help to engage and entertain: they tie a thread around a series of facts and give them meaning. They help our audience remember and want to share the story.

Story-telling is what we PR people have been doing for years. Here are some tips for telling your story in a news release:

1. Good stories, as well as good news releases, are about people.
2. Use a catchy beginning that draws in your audience and makes them want to read more.
3. Put your most important information in the first two paragraphs. People tend to skim.
4. Create word images. They will help your audience remember you message.
5. Use facts to support your story but keep to one train of thought/plot.
6. In PR the storytelling is nonfiction; so be careful and accurate with your facts.
7. Keep your story short, simple and to the point (one page if possible).

© 2009 Polly Elmore

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Smart PR:
Use Google Alerts. News Will Come to You!

You don't need a clipping service on the Internet. Google can help you track your clients and their competition. It's easy to set up a tracking system: go to www.google.com/alerts and fill out a form.

1. Be the first to know your story is in the news. Set up an alert with your client's company name. Example: "Bookkeeping Express."
2. Monitor a developing news story for a client. Example: "real estate short sales."
3. See what they're saying about your client! Put her name in Google Alerts. Example: "Brenda Blisk."
4. Keep up with news about your client's competition. Put keywords and location in the Google Alerts. Example: "interior design"+"Washington, D.C."
5).Stay on top of the latest in social media trends. Put a keyword or key phrase in Google Alerts: Example: "Internet radio."

© 2008 Bev Barker and Polly Elmore.

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Smart PR:

9 SEO Tactics to Search Engine Optimize your News Release

The art of search engine optimization (SEO) involves the use of keywords and key phrases to attract top-ranked search engines like Google News, Yahoo News and MSN Newsbot and the social media to your online news releases.

There is a difference between a traditional news release and a social media news release. You distribute a traditional news release to the media and then “pitch” the editors. The media choose which stories to run. In contrast, a social media news release has a distribution strategy that is direct-to-consumer and search engine optimized to help people find it for themselves. PRWeb is recognized as the Internet’s leading online news and press release distribution service.

Here are 9 tips on how to structure your online news releases.

1. Make sure you have something newsworthy to announce. Otherwise you’re wasting everybody’s time, including your own.

2. Your headline (title) is the most valuable search component in your release. Write it using 63 characters or less. Feature the keywords that people are using to search for information like yours.

3. Use strong nouns and verbs and avoid adjectives and technical jargon as keywords. Jargon includes phrases such as “next generation, cutting edge, well positioned, mission critical, marketing leading, industry standard, etc.”* These words and others have become meaningless hype.

4. Don’t wax poetic or try to be “clever” with the reader. Search engines won’t “get it.”

5. How you distribute the release is another key strategy for SEO. PRWeb.com was the first Internet news release distribution service to launch. It started out as a free service and is still inexpensive compared with wire distribution services like PR Newswire and Business Wire. Which you use depends on your distribution goals.

6. Encourage interactivity. Link the most strategic keywords in your release to relevant landing pages on your Web site, not to the homepage. Best practice is providing no more than one link per 100 words of content. This helps drive traffic to your Web site.

7. People who are searching online tend to scan, rather than read. When you post your release on your Web site, use italics, bold, bullet points and subheads to catch the scanner’s eye. However, be prepared to remove formatting when you submit your release to an online distribution service.

8. Using multimedia elements to increase search engine visibility is a growing trend. If you have the capability, you can add a pod cast (audio), photos (think Flickr.com), or streaming video (YouTube) to your news release. PRWeb can help you with that process.

9. Provide a call to action that encourages readers to click through to your Web site. Examples are offering a free white paper to download or a free e-newsletter subscription signup

Today, a news release not only serves as a media relations tool, but also as a direct-to-consumer communication tool on Web 2.0.

* Factiva Insight (North American Press Wires), 01 Jan 2006 – 30 Sept 2006

© 2007 Bev Barker and Polly Elmore