For decades one of the only ways companies could get their message out to media and the public was through the use of a press release, but it turns out that even in this digital age, the press release can not only boost a company’s visibility, but increase its search engine optimization (SEO) as well.
In a piece written for Utah Business, John Pilmer, president of Utah-based PR firm PilmerPR, says that while press releases and advertising can essentially do the same thing for a business, the original content of a press release can have a longer-lasting effect.
"Similar to a press release, advertising can provide a great response while an advertisement is active; however, when the ad is no longer active, the results drop," he writes. "Press releases have a different life cycle. Similar to advertising, positive coverage provides valuable results, yet, long after the print or broadcast coverage, press releases continue to provide results with great SEO benefits."
Pilmer also notes that press releases can create a viral effect if they are picked up by other websites or news organizations.
Companies may want to consider increasing their online presence through search engine optimization (SEO) as more competitors embrace the online marketing technique. According to the mid-2009 Client-Agency Economic Outlook Report from Reardon Smith Whittaker, 32 percent of clients said they have increased their spending on search engine marketing so far in 2009 when compared to last year.
