How to Get Press Coverage and How It Helps with SEO

So many companies focus on marketing, advertising, and digital branding when they’re trying to cultivate leads and bring in new business. While this is important, of course, it’s not the only way to go. Your SEO strategy should be dynamic and unique. It should encompass all of the essential elements that you can use to reach your goals, rank higher in search results, and continue to build your reputation as an authority in your industry. 

Press coverage is one area a lot of businesses overlook when it comes to marketing and building awareness. Press releases are still quite effective, but even those are often underutilized in SEO and marketing today. Ask any PR professional and they will tell you that a press release can do wonders for:

• Product launches
• Business accomplishments 
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Leadership changes
• Significant upgrades or changes of any kind
• Philanthropy and charitable endeavors
• Announcing sales and specials 
• Product or service updates
• Other company updates or information

Of course, they’re also not the only kind of press coverage that you can find. There are other ways to get your business noticed, too, and they can all improve your SEO. 

What PR won’t do 

As with all marketing efforts, somewhere along the way, people realized they could fill their press releases and other communications with keywords and links to get better rankings. The quality of the links didn’t seem to matter, which compromised the integrity of the entire world of PR, and all for the sake of SEO. As a result, Google and other search engines generally don’t recognize links and direct SEO efforts in PR, stating that most of these publications are put out by the companies themselves, so of course they’re promotional. 

Of course, that doesn’t mean that getting good press coverage can’t help your SEO. Here’s how to get noticed and what it can do for your business. 

How to find press coverage (and what types to use)

Press coverage is always great for brand recognition and awareness. It can generate more traffic, improve your social media following, and help drive sales by getting your products or services in the eyes of your audience. If you want to get quality press coverage, here’s what you need to do. 

Step one: Decide who you’re trying to reach 

The first thing that you should do is figure out whose attention you want. That will determine which media and press channels will be most effective. You can’t really just look for “more customers” – that’s far too vague and offers no direction. Choose your target audience(s) and get as specific as you can for the best results. 

Step two: Find out what media they consume 

Every audience has different preferences. You’ll need to figure out how yours prefers to get their press coverage. You can use all kinds of different channels to share press and publicity, including radio, newspaper articles and ads, websites, social media, and more.

Step three: Reach out to the right people

It’s time for more research. Now, you’re going to look for journalists, editors, and PR people who can help you get the press coverage you seek. Search online to see what kind of journalists and publications are doing press on your industry or related topics. Once you find the people you want to pitch to, make sure that you get their attention and create a strong case for why they should cover your story. 

Step four: Do as much work for them as you can 

One thing journalists like is a story that writes itself, literally and metaphorically. A lot of the publications that you’ll find aren’t staffed to handle a ton of press for random small businesses, so they might need some help. Instead of asking for press, create your own press release and share it with them so that they can modify and publish it with ease. 

At the very least, you can suggest a few ideas in your pitch to help them see why your story is worth telling and make it an easier sell. 

A few tips for success

In addition to the steps above, you’ll also want to keep a few things in mind when you’re looking for press coverage:

• Be careful about your timing. You don’t want to reach out on deadline day when they’re swamped and could care less about a new story. 
• Expect to follow-up. These people are usually very busy and might not respond right away to your first request. 
• Bring value to your community, the industry, etc. This will get the attention of journalists and help you get press coverage without asking. 
• Build relationships. When you focus on good relationship building, you will find that the PR comes more easily. 
• Be willing to put in the work. Good press coverage doesn’t happen as easily as a simple blog post or social media share. 

What press coverage can do for SEO

Adding press material to your SEO efforts gives you benefits on the technical side of things. It’s all about reputation building and getting noticed. If you have an article featured on a news site, for example, you could attract viewers that then visit your website. People might share the post on social media or link to it, giving you quality links and publicity. 

That support of your reputation is what will improve your SEO. Google will see you as a more reputable, authoritative source because you have press coverage, and they will react accordingly. If that’s all that’s separating you from your competitors, you’ll easily outrank them if you do the press right. 

When the press is good, the leads will come

Once word gets out, you’re going to be bombarded with a slew of new leads. Are you ready? Partner with Smith.ai and you’ll get a team of virtual receptionists that can act as your 24/7 answering service, along with providing support for lead intake, appointment scheduling, and even your outreach campaigns to find the leads in the first place. 

To learn more, schedule a consultation or reach out to hello@smith.ai. 

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