Marketers looking to boost their SEO might find original site content brings high quality links from media professionals. Thirty-eight percent of journalists frequently look to company websites for breaking news leads.

Businesses looking to boost their SEO in the post-Panda search space understand that quality content marketing is key to Google rankings, and good site and social content could attract links from mainstream media sources. The 2011 Arketi Web Watch Media Survey indicates 91 percent of journalists search the web for story ideas, and businesses that offer compelling content and data might benefit from high quality links from media professionals.

Nearly two-thirds of journalists (64 percent) say they spend more than 20 hours per week online, and 21 percent spend upwards of 40 hours on the internet each week. Marketers hoping to catch clicks and links from these reporters should be aware that they can find them across search and social channels. Ninety-two percent have LinkedIn profiles, 85 percent have Facebook accounts and 84 percent use Twitter. Reading and searching for news are journalists’ leading online activities.

Arketi found that 99 percent of journalists find leads from industry sources, which suggests brands should build themselves as valuable thought leaders in their sectors to attract inbound links from mainstream media writers. Fifty-six percent of journalists look to blogs to find leads, 44 percent scan microblogging sites (ie: Twitter) and 39 percent refer to social media networks, including Facebook and LinkedIn.

When asked more specifically about where they look for breaking news to cover, 38 percent of journalists said they frequently look to company websites. Nearly half (42 percent) said they occasionally search company blogs for timely news leads.

With this in mind, marketers might consider news content marketing to attract quality inbound links. Plus, businesses that adopt this strategy can engage a wide array of online consumers who also regularly search the web for niche news topics. As Brafton has reported, 75 percent of online Americans search for news on the internet.

Katherine Griwert is Brafton's Marketing Director. She's practiced content marketing, SEO and social marketing for over five years, and her enthusiasm for new media has even deeper roots. Katherine holds a degree in American Studies from Boston College, and her writing is featured in a number of web publications.