“Like ‘content farms’ and ‘comment spam’ (which both worked for a while), Google has made adjustments to limit the value of ‘press release SEO’. These types of actions help limit the junk (although some people never learn) and steers press releases back towards the direction of newsworthy items versus keyword-optimized spam – although it’s clear that the value of a press release will never again be as high as it was in the pre-Google era.” – Meltwater
What happened to press releases and articles? When you want to get your name out there, send a press release, right? Wrong. While press releases can be extremely beneficial for awareness and announcements, it is important that you do not overdo it. It is time to evolve with up-to-date press release requirements and that means limiting the number of releases you send out each year.
Where Blogs Come In
With the issue of not having enough newsworthy topics for press releases, it is important to shift your focus onto blogs as a primary source of content for not only search ranking efforts, but for the education of your patients. Here are a number of blog benefits:
- Easy to manage and edit
- Generates unique content for the site
- Creates a link worthy entity
- Interactive tone of voice
- More unique posts will improve visibility
- Easier to answer users’ queries
Research shows that 71% of consumers will make a purchase after hearing a review from a trusted source via social media. Bloggers rank as highly trusted sources that have reached influential status because their followers deem them as such[1].
As blogs and social media sites continue to expand, it is making it easier than ever before to share and submit information online. With that being said, we shouldn’t disregard the benefit of press releases. When used correctly with the release of newsworthy information, readers and Google will see it as a trusted source, not just spam. And that is what we want. You never want to spam the system or your patients–you want to educate them. Forcing keywords and generic content will ultimately hurt the program and what you are trying to convey to your patients. The question is—what does it mean to be newsworthy?
Aiming for Newsworthy
What does it mean to be newsworthy? You can’t just say that your office treats sleep apnea—that’s not newsworthy. It needs to be specific, and the readers need to know why it’s an important source of information. Thus, we need to stress what a press release has always stood for—an announcement. For example, newsworthy content includes:
- Community involvement
- New staff
- New procedures
- New technology
- Continuing education
- Lecturing
- Anniversary
- New office location
We have seen a decrease in interest for press releases, which is why it is important to take a second look at the number you might be releasing. While press releases are still useful for SEO, it’s not the dominating trend—blogging is.
So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and start blogging now!
[1] http://www.business2community.com/blogging/importance-bloggers-2014
