Press release distribution is a mainstay of ecommerce search engine optimization. Public relations consultants issue press releases for announcements and news, search engine optimizers use them to gain backlinks, but digital PR consultants aim for both announcements and links.
For fees ranging from $50 to $2,500 per press release, syndication services can repost your press release on other websites, whether they’re from reputable news organizations or low-traffic sites masquerading as news sites.
Some big Press Release Distributor And dozens of smaller intermediaries that distribute to their own news circuits. Distributing a press release can be complicated, as you have to decide the reach, the length of the announcement, and the number of accompanying images, logos, and videos.
First timers may end up wasting money paying for services they don’t need. Smaller dealers are more proactive with their assistance and advice services. Large dealers are less patient, especially with customers who do low volume transactions.
Search Optimization
“Press releases are a great way to boost your ecommerce rankings, but you need to know how to use them.” Magic PRone of the smaller press release distributors.
The process for optimizing a press release and a web page for search is similar: choose your keywords and their variations, Related Organizations and Semantic Terms The headline reads: Subheadingmain text.
Press releases are typically search optimized for the same keywords and tactics as the page they link to, and typically contain three elements: (i) the news angle, (ii) optimized body and anchor text, and (iii) a hyperlink.
The sample release below is a news angle optimized for a non-branded keyword (“Sebastopol wine tasting”).
This release is optimized for the unbranded keyword “Sebastopol Wine Tasting.”
And here example Here is my own backlink-generating release optimized for a compound keyword: brand (“Eric Schwartzman”) and category (“SEO consultant”).
Maj Hussain of Magic PR suggests that e-commerce merchants first establish authority with brand press releases, followed by product or category releases to drive traffic and link equity.
A brand release promotes your store’s name and links to its homepage. Once your brand and homepage are ranked, target your product listing pages where sales happen.
Press and backlinks
The most powerful e-commerce press releases include links to product detail pages or category pages and invite third-party editorial coverage. A media-savvy digital PR consultant can help.
For any newsworthy scoops, I would negotiate an exclusive deal with one editorial outlet, and that site would be the first to report the story in exchange for a prominent link in the article.
Google considers links from trusted news outlets to be authoritative and adjusts its indexing system accordingly. Dealt with In our July issue, we explain how a Google API leak suggests a three-tiered link storage hierarchy in which the most valuable, high-traffic pages are placed in RAM storage for faster access.
High traffic news articles are more likely to be stored in Google’s RAM tier.
But even if you don’t get original news coverage, your press release may be aggregated by a group of websites who post it unchanged. If the aggregation source is legitimate, this is a reliable way to gain backlinks.
Anchor text
The way you link from your press release to your e-commerce page is important. Kiss PR Brand Storyrecommends “linking to your product detail page with your product name as anchor text and including a separate branded anchor link to your home page.”
He prefers to use no more than one link per 100 words, adding that “naked URLs are extremely effective, especially in e-commerce, because of their power to drive engagement and link directly to a page.”
The naked URL is https:// Followed by the domain it links to. If an aggregator removes the link, the URL text remains in the body and Google may still consider it active.
“It’s also wise to use broad match keywords and compound links that include both your brand name and product name,” says Zaman. Compound ecommerce anchors are a combination of your company name and product category, where both your store name and product category link to the same page.
Press Release Pickup
A press release is “featured” when it is republished (“aggregated”) on another website.
Not all press release distributors have relationships with aggregators that can provide high authority backlinks. PR Newswire, Business Wire, and GlobeNewswire are three of the major distributors. These companies meet the SEC’s fair disclosure requirements (Regulation FD), which are imposed on public companies to ensure that investors do not gain an unfair trading advantage based on selectively disclosed information.
Publicly traded companies follow suit by using either syndication or “wire” services that simultaneously disclose to the Associated Press, Dow Jones, Bloomberg and Reuters.
Distributors that comply with Reg FD generally have better distribution. But they are more expensive, have stricter editorial guidelines, and hire editors who review and approve releases before they are distributed. Free Training On satisfying Reg FD on social media.
Some smaller press release companies buy extended distribution through wire services like GlobeNewswire and inflate their pickup reports with links from lower traffic publishers. The Associated Press aggregates press releases, but its backlinks are no-follow.
Aggregators have their own (non-disclosed) rules and conditions. Many of them are low-quality quasi-news sites that programmatically publish the same content. These sites often use the same template under different mastheads. Smaller distributors often submit their releases to these “news” aggregators to inflate their pick-up numbers and justify their fees.
Google rarely indexes press releases from these sites, and rarely stores them in its RAM index.
The goal is to get your press release picked up by a well-known news outlet. “Press releases distributed through major outlets like Yahoo News and Bloomberg can grab the attention of Google’s search engines and index important backlinks,” Hussain adds. “This in turn leads to higher rankings for your e-commerce site, more traffic, and improved visibility.”
Google News
A press release featured as a top story on Google News or Google Discover It can significantly improve your rankings, but it’s not guaranteed.
“Press releases have the potential to appear in the top stories, but typically need to be picked up by major media outlets like MarketWatch or Bloomberg,” Zaman says. “Content creators with established sites have a better chance of appearing in Google News than newer sites.”
Press release pitfalls
Press releases must follow the publisher’s guidelines, which depend on the editor’s experience.
Recently, a release headlined “Predatory Practices of Military Credit Card Issuers Exposed” was rejected by one news agency editor but approved without change by another. The rules are opaque and enforcement is uneven.
The site your release links to must also be approved. “Editors won’t approve releases that promote third-party brands they don’t have a direct relationship with,” says Hussain, “but it can still work, depending on how you structure your release.”Announcing brand-specific sales and promotions in your online store is one way to get your brand name in the headlines.
Another challenge with press releases (and all content) is link decay: links become less valuable over time, so you need to continually earn quality backlinks, especially from lower-tier sites.
“Many smaller sites with low domain authority get indexed initially, but their impact on rankings fades over time,” says Zaman. “The key is to secure high authority placements and build links from topical, relevant sources.”
SEO for e-commerce
Despite these challenges, press releases remain a valuable tool to help build ecommerce brand authority, secure backlinks, and drive organic traffic.
- Let’s start with a brand-focused release. Target your homepage to establish authority and recognition.
- Target product detail page and category pageFocus on specific categories and product pages to drive direct traffic and conversions. Target pages using compound anchors and naked links.
- Maintain link quality. Use tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Moz to assess the quality and authority of your backlinks. Be wary of press release providers that bundle quasi-news picks from one or two known outlets.
- Use major news media. Targeting top-tier publications will increase your chances of appearing in Google’s most valuable index tiers and secure you long-term, high-authority links. Carefully research the distributor’s news circuit to determine how many reputable news sites aggregate their releases.
