How to Choose Keywords for Your Press Release
While press release marketing may not be part of your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy, it still makes great sense to include keywords in your press release. Keywords do help people find your release and your information. Whether they’re searching on social media or they’re looking for images, videos, and data, if you include keywords in your release you’ll reach your audience. There are five different considerations when choosing keywords for your press release. While you don’t have to include keywords from each consideration, it makes sense to review them when writing and planning a press release.
- Keywords you’re currently using to achieve your marketing goals
The first place to look when choosing press release keywords is your existing keyword list. What are you currently targeting in your marketing strategy? Are any of these keywords relevant to the information in your press release? Do they support your goal for your press release? Will these keywords reach the correct target audience?
- Keywords that your audience is using to find you.
The second place to look is in your analytics. What keywords are your prospects and customers using to find you? What are your most popular content pages and how are your visitors finding those pages? What keywords are they using? You can find this information in your organic search results in your analytics reports. Again, look to see if these keywords support your goals and reach the right audience for your release.
- Keywords that reflect current trends, hot topics, or current events.
Are there any keywords that you can leverage to gain more traffic and attention? The hot topics or latest big news events need to be logically connected and relevant to your press release.
- Branding keywords
Don’t forget branding keywords that relate directly to your business. These might include your tagline, your business name, and any trademarked words or phrases. Or if your business is known by a brand personality (Martha Stewart, for example), then you would include that keyword in your press release.
- New Keywords
Finally, you can hit the keyword research sites and identify new keywords that are based on goals you want to achieve. These may be secondary keywords and keyword phrases or keywords for a new area that you want to grow your business.
What Do You Place Your Keywords?
To grab reader attention, consider placing your priority keywords in your headline. Make sure that your company name and your branding keywords are located in the headline or the summary. Your other keywords can be placed in your first paragraph and throughout the remainder of your body copy. Don’t forget to tag your images with appropriate descriptions and keywords too.
