What is a Press Release and how to use it to improve domain authority

Sending and publishing press releases is a widely applied practice for companies that want to make a special announcement of any news they consider relevant, such as an improvement of their services, a new product, infrastructure improvements, ETC.

Traditionally this was done through print or other media such as radio or television. But for several years, press releases have begun to be used as part of a broader strategy, for SEO or for improving domain authority.

Therefore, press releases are also used as part of an SEO strategy.

When you post a release on multiple sites, you will get quality backlinks that will help you rank higher in Google. Or what is the same, this will help you improve your SEO strategy.

In addition to that, if you refine this strategy with an email marketing campaign, you’ll increase your reach and web traffic that will come from the links included in your press release.

So if you also want to take advantage of all the benefits associated with publishing press releases, keep reading this article, where we will see:

·  What is a Press Release?

Press releases are the best option to advertise your business without paying for it. Usually, as I said at the beginning, companies, and professionals who want to spread some relevant news work with this option.

But what is a press release?

►  Press Release: Definição e vantagens

Press Release: Definition and Advantages

A press release is an informational text about a company, business, project, or event that is sent out to the media.

You can use this option to showcase your brand to millions of people. Typically, these press releases are posted on relevant sites with a high domain authority.

Online and offline, let’s look at everything this strategy can do for you:

► Formatting a Press Release

●  Teaser, title, and subtitle

First and foremost, the title should capture the attention of the journalist who will publish the press release and the readers to whom it is addressed. Ideally, it should be descriptive, attractive, and provide a summary of the content.

Generally, you should include a teaser, which is placed just in front of the title, and a subtitle, which should be added under the title and will be vital to convince users to keep reading.

● Introduction

This is the first paragraph of the piece, where you should include the most relevant information. In the first line, you should add the place and date of publication.

After that, you should explain what, to whom, how, when, why, and where, as a summary of what the reader will find in the press release.

● Main text

It is the section where you will include all the detailed information of the press release. It is normal to start with the most essential news and end with more generic data. This structure is known as the inverted pyramid.

That way, if the journalist needs to edit your post, he can do it quickly, because the most critical information will always be in the first paragraphs. He will not have to stop to read the full press release to decide which parts will be deleted.

● Reminder

You should also write a closing paragraph to summarize the most relevant detail, with the most critical information from your release.

● Additional information

Here you can add references to other resources, such as blogs or magazines, where the reader can get more information on the subject discussed in the press release.

● Contact Details

Finally, you should add your company or business contact details so that the reader, if interested, can contact you or get more information about your products or services.

· How to create and advertise your Press Releases?

Once you write your press release, it’s time to get down to business. But keep in mind that for your text to be accepted, you will have to understand how to write this kind of press release.

If you want to post the content on relevant pages, you will have to follow a few rules.

► Tips for Creating an Effective Press Release

• Write about something interesting. That is, about something that your company or you have done as a professional, but that is relevant to everyone. For example, job opportunities, a new product, or service that makes life easier for a group of people, a free event you are sponsoring.
• Use an informative, non-commercial tone. Remember that the purpose of a press release is to inform, not sell. If you would like to place an ad, you will need to contact a marketing agency (and pay for it).
• Write an informative text. Since you are addressing a journalist, and the goal is for your message to be published in a media outlet, the text should be written in a journalistic style.
• Be direct and clear. Remember that you are not writing a book. Get to the point, concisely tell what’s really relevant to your audience; if you upset your readers, they’ll skip to the next news and ignore your message.
• Don’t use too many adjectives. Don’t overdo it or spend words complimenting your brand. Remember that you are writing a press release to feature news, not to highlight your products or services, or to  prove how good you are as a professional or business.
• Add a branding image. This image can be an official photo or your logo.
• Avoid unnecessary sentences and long paragraphs. A press release that is too long becomes dull and uncomfortable to read. As you write the release, you should stick to the critical points you want to highlight; any unnecessary information should be removed from the text.
• Check the spelling. Spelling errors in your text can damage the credibility of the information and affect your brand image.
• Read the text aloud. This will be vital for identifying phrases and words that should be changed.

► How to choose the channels to where you will send your Press Releases?

After all the effort you put into creating a press release, you should try to send it out to the media.

So that doesn’t happen to you, I’ll share a list of things you should consider when choosing the best ways to publish your press releases:

• Language and country. This is logical, but you must filter media by country and language. If you send your text to websites in other countries, your message will probably never be published.
• Credibility and authority. If the media you choose is relevant in the geographic area, you are targeting, you will reach more people.
• Frequency of publication. If possible, you should select media that publish content daily, rather than others that do it more widely, because updated sites will often have a more loyal audience.

Category in which your news will be published. You should be careful that your press release is published in a category related to the topic you are talking about. This will facilitate access to the targeted audience. On the other hand, the place of publication is equally crucial as it must be visible so that the reader can easily find it.

There are other things worth mentioning, especially for digital media, which you can’t ignore if you want the press release to boost your SEO strategy.

Metrics you should consider:

• Domain rating. This index measures the authority of a given domain, with a score from 0 to 100, according to page quality. To reach this number, the script considers aspects such as the quality and quantity of backlinks. It is a metric generated by Ahrefs.
• Domain Authority. It is also known as DA and refers to the authority of a domain in search engines. This parameter will range from 0 to 100 and is a metric offered by Moz.
• Citation flow. This data measures the quantity, not the quality, of internal and external backlinks. You can use Majestic to generate this score, with parameters from 0 to 100.

· Press Releases in Your Email Marketing Strategy

As I said at the beginning, if you want to improve the results of your press releases, you can do so by combining this strategy with email marketing. Well, precisely, your main goal should be to reach as many people as possible. You can do this in two ways:

Talk about the press release in your newsletter. This, at the same time, serves to demonstrate that your brand is in the media, which will help to build trust in your project.

Include the press release in the body of the email. If you choose to do so, I would recommend adding links to the most famous sites that published your release (leveraging and reusing the content).

Either way, follow these tips to get the most out of your press release through email marketing:

• Announce in advance that something relevant has happened. The purpose of this is to create expectations among the people who receive your emails so that they are aware that you have something cool to tell them. If they know this message is different from what you usually send, they will be more willing to open the email.
• Write an intriguing subject line. This will increase your view rate and reach of your press release.
• Add more emotions to your email. Transmit positive energy into each line to demonstrate the importance and value of everything you are saying to them in your email. This will make them read the press release to the end, and many of them will click on the added links.
• Show that you are proud of being quoted in the media. This will be important to your branding strategy.
• Thank your customers for helping you strengthen your brand. Make them see and feel that they are essential to you and that without their support, the press would not be talking about you.
• Close with a clear CTA. Your goal is to convince your subscribers to click on the links; whether to go to the websites that published your release or your own site for more information.

As you can see, press releases are a tool that adds value to your company or business and, therefore, should not be ignored in your communication strategy.

Undoubtedly, if you want to share important information about what you are doing and get far-reaching, press releases are one of the best options for spreading the word about your brand.