One of the many ways to increase your internet visibility is by constantly exposing your business to the public by a series of information sharing activities that are really new reasons for people to seek you out.  It’s another aspect of SEO to increase your web traffic.  Sometimes it might be posting a new blog article; sometimes, it may be a tweet or Facebook post.  Regardless, each activity has an active link back to your site in the hope that these informational updates will drive traffic to you.

One of the more standard forms of information sharing is the Press Release, done electronically now and mass-distributed via several well-known PR URLs.  Here are some best practices for writing effective releases to promote your site.

Use proper PR format.  While there are different ones, here’s an example of the classic form.  It includes the name of the city the release is originating from, as well as contact information for the person releasing the info, and of course, the content of the announcement.

Have something newsworthy to report.  As in everything on the internet today, solid content is critical.  Do not do a press release if you aren’t saying anything worth noting.  PRs should NOT be obvious advertisements, although they are an opportunity to reference your firm, since you’re sending it out.  They’re actually chances to establish yourself as an expert who is informing the public about something important.

One of the best reasons to do a release is to relate it to something in the news, and then localize it with your insight.  For example, if you’re business is car transmissions, and you’ve read recently that car makers are designing new 9-gear transmissions, send a release announcing the innovation, explain why it’s relevant (reduces gas usage), and what it means in the long term.

Lastly, make sure when you reference yourself in the release that you establish yourself as an expert on the topic—the reason people should listen to you.  “George Herman, owner of A-Best Transmissions which has been in business locally for 35 years, says the changes will shake up the auto transmission industry nationwide…”

You really should use Press Releases as part of your overall internet promotions. However, if writing is not your forte, then consider hiring a SEO company to do it for you.  You have a good story to tell.  Don’t be shy about getting it before your audience.