Back in the day, when there was a press corps in addition to those who travel with and follow the secretary of state or the president of the U.S.A., we in public relations communicated to the press with a press release.
Today, it’s customary to call that document a news release.
A news release is a tool public relations professionals use to communicate to any audience; it used to be primarily and first and foremost for the media (thus a “press release”). Times have changed; news releases are written that may or may not be shared with media and thus my preferred label.
Over the years, I’ve worked with internet marketers who call what I write “PRs.” Every time I hear this term from someone untrained in my profession, I cringe. PR is short for public relations and to an internet marketer who drives SEO via links and key words, PRs are short for press releases.
Herein is the issue.
New Google Webmaster Guidelines
The folks who have adopted the news release as an SEO link-building tool complete with optimized urls and anchor text throughout just got a comeuppance from Google.
In the last three weeks, Google issued new webmaster guidelines that eliminate optimized anchor text for link building within online news releases. More and more, suspect news release distribution services have popped up across the internet, and Google is reining in the practice of littering online news releases with optimized links.
No more will its search engine crawl the news release and boost SERP as a result; however, users can still click on the links in a news release and head on over to a website or landing page. It’s all part of the Panda and Penguin updates and SEO professionals will know what this means.
Sarah Skerik, @SarahSkerik, vice president of content marketing at PR Newswire, wrote a really good blog post about what’s going on and for sure you ought to read it.
A point she makes I’d like to share is that a news release is for raising awareness and the sharing of messages.
Indeed.
A news release was always and still is intended to inform an audience and complement blended marketing strategy. Either way, I’m still going to recommend a news release as part of the overall public relations strategy for my clients. I share recent samples of how you write a news release here.
If there’s something you should take away from this article, it is the following considerations:
1. To inform audiences, you need a cohesive, well-thought and well-written news release.
2. Your website should have a news center that is home to the archive of news releases your company issues.
3. Use a news release to draw attention to your product, service or to make a company announcement.
4. Your target audience needs to hear from you, and a news release makes it official.
5. A news release is owned media; you control the message and using this vehicle, you earn media.
Thank-you, Jayme, for teaching about the use of terms “press release” vs. “news release,” and what those are! Those of us who don’t originate from PR (that’s PR as in Public Relations…not Press Release) appreciate the info, believe me.
To the client’s detriment, SEO (search engine optimization) is a discipline many (most?) social media, PR, and even marketing practitioners overlook. The search engines (Google, Bing, et al) are constantly updating their algorithms to determine authority and relevance, so any PR or marketing practitioner worth his or her salt has to stay up to speed on the changes, as you’re doing.
I’m glad to see you’re keeping your ear to the ground! Your clients will benefit from your attention, believe me!
New England Multimedia I don’t think anyone does two things well, Michelle. As I was trained in public relations, I’ve had to learn everything else myself. I love it, but I’m not versed in the ins and outs.
I know that internet marketers love to get their hands on good content to optimize; meanwhile, PR peeps need that SEO juice to get noticed. I can see why this has happened, and it’s too bad for those not abusing the practice.
But, as they say, all good things must come to … change. Thanks for coming over!
Soulati | Hybrid PR “I don’t think anyone does two things well…” — and therein lies our need for powerhouse relationships that serve our clients! Nikolas Allen, a marketer for artists, wrote a great post about that a while ago. I wish I remembered the title, and the term he used. If I do, I’ll bring it back here.
Hi Jayme, I really like this post, its very very clear! Im finding even basic SEO understanding is becoming more and more essential for professional content creators, whatever their hue, and work like this will really help
I’ll be passing this post on 🙂
MrTonyDowling Hi, Tony! And, I did see you sharing this on Twitter! Thanks so much. Sometimes ignorance is bliss; there is so much to know and learn and that’s frenetic excitement! But, for we who generate content, we do need to keep up with what’s happening. Thanks for coming by!
This is big news. Thanks for the heads up!
margieclayman Really? I actually was able to help a friend out with something new? Awesome, Margie!
So, if I was to click on “latest blog post” what did you write that is showing up 4256488240 etc.?
Soulati | Hybrid PR That is weird. Poop.
Soulati | Hybrid PR for some reason livefyre is picking up an image I used in my personal blog on June 7. Very helpful…:)
I just thought of a series we need to do on this topic — Resistance is Futile — PR and SEO…I’ve asked Trace Cohen to write and who else has an opinion on this? Any takers? Or, maybe just post it for yourselves. The topic is fresh and growing. And, here’s where I need a little bitty frowny face emoticon.
Great post Jayme. As a full-time marcomm pro, part time SM pro, part time PR, part time content manager, etc… this SEO stuff makes my head spin. I completely get the importance of it. But, as others have suggested here in the comments, being good at all things makes one an expert at none of them.
pmswish Hey, Patty! Exactly. Someone asked me to write on SEO for their blog and I politely declined. It’s not truly my area; I know some, not all. No can do! I will stick, vehemently, to what I know and dabble in all else.
As an agency brat from Chicago, it’s what we do best — know a little about a lot. Thanks, Girl!
Thank you for a great piece, Jayme…and…”You had me at NEWS release.” I’ve been using that term for about 15 years now for two good reasons: (1) It implies that the person who wrote it might actually contemplate providing news value to those receiving it. (2) It shows basic human awareness of the prevalence of digital media as opposed to the printing press. Yet every week I receive “press releases,” in the same old 30-years-ago style…both externally from a zillion “PR” people and, sometimes, internally from our own. Oh well: if CBS, NBC, and MSNBC are going to live 30 years in the past in their mindsets surrounding every issue or story, I suppose the herds of PR followers (as opposed to leaders) have every right to do it, too.
marketpowerPLUS What a professional and seasoned comment. Thanks so much for coming by; I apologize for my tardiness in responding to you! You can write any topic you’d like on what we do to right here to help educate the young folk.
I’ve had many a conversation about the blend; while I absolutely love it, it comes at a risk. Nice to meet you!
A news release can be a way of building personal relationships with your customers but first in order to do that you have to consider first the important guidelines on how to create an impressive news release.