Use Your News to Drive Traffic to Your Site

Sophie ShiatisVP, Ecommerce & Marketing

Twitter @PRWeb

The Simple Truths

– More than 27 million people use Yahoo! News and Google News

– 64% of journalists use Google or Yahoo! to follow the news

– 85% of consumers find products through Web research and social becomes a huge part of that.

Trust

• Consumers trust Web search.

• Social media content converts users. It gets people to purchase.

• 60-70% of clicks occur within natural search results

Fact 1: People Care About News in

Search

“While images are the most clicked type of result after a vertical-specific search, news items are the most clicked type of result within blended search results.”

iProspect Study 2008

Fact 2: Google Cares About News

We see with regularity news results appearing in the pole position in blended search results.

Fact 3: News Releases Can Be Used To

Get Into Search

With a news distribution service, you can get into search results.

Fact 4: News Releases Can Help You

Build Inbound Links

How That Works

Fact 4: Definition of News Is

Changing

Its all about being relevant to your audience

Defining “News”

Conventional content

• Product announcements• Events• Executive hiring• White paper • Position paper • Sales promotions• Awards

New types of content

• Best practices • Tie-in to industry research• Tips • Day trips in England

Defining “News”

Get Inspired

Products & Pricing Promotions• New website or significant upgrade to existing website• Free shipping offer/changes in shipping rates• New products and services • Product Name Change• New product production process• New pricing and promotions• New contests & sweepstakes• Holiday related sales and promotions• Unique and new uses for existing products• New promotional programs like referral rewards• Free Consultations, Trial Offers & Samples

So What Now?

Time for a News Release

Top 5 News Release Tips

Meet Audience Demand

Research Your Angle For The Demand

http://www.google.com/insights/search/#http://www.google.com/trends

Stay Focused

You Don’t Need to Identify Thousands of News Search Terms

• Who: Company name or description

• What: Brand name or product category

• Why: Problem or benefit• When: Season• Where: Location• How: Call to action

Users See 120 Characters of Headline in Yahoo! News, 60 in Google News

Sources: Yahoo! News and Google News

Yahoo! News

Google News

News Results Can Include Thumbnail Images

Use Images For Search

CTR increased ~ 15 – 25%

Use Images For More Traction

More than 50 blog articles from 3 releases

Use Images To Create An Online Footprint

• Over 3,000 unique readers per month

• 90% from image search

Use Video to Increase Brand Impact

• 83.1 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video.

• Having video creates heightened brand excitement for website.

• Having video creates higher purchase intent.

• Time spent with video builds brand commitment.

"A photo helps, but video really tells a story that's short and sweet."

Use Video To Engage Visitors

• Over 2000 unique visitors per month

• 500% increase in time on page

Optimize Your Release

• Anchor Text Links• ALT TEXT• URL Keywords• Customize url• Quotes

How Press Releases Help Drive Sales At Online Retailer Vedante

Got 31 Pickups in Google Alone And 82 in Yahoo

The Results For Online Retailer Vedante

• Noticed by comparison sites• Received press mentions

– "I do know that every time I'm in the media, my sales go up," Kantor says.

• Contacted by Amazon to sell her products• Ranked in the top 10 for Amazon's outdoor gear

category

See Press Mentions: http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=34295 ;http://www.womenentrepreneur.com/2010/03/where-no-press-release-has-gone-before.html

Takeaways

1. Don’t just send news releases when ‘big news’ is happening; find good reasons to send them all the time

2. Instead of just targeting a handful of journalists, create news releases that appeal directly to your buyers

3. Write releases replete with keyword-rich copy

4. Create links in releases to deliver potential customers to landing pages on your web site

5. Optimize news release delivery for searching and browsing

6. Drive people into the sales process with press releases

Source: David Meerman Scott, The New Rules of PR

Thank You!

Twitter: @PRWebWeb site: www.prweb.com Email: sshiatis@prweb.com

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Appendix

Inspiration: Events, Customer Wins

Events• Scheduling of In-person seminars• Success of events• Appearance at a trade show• Scheduling and success of Web events• Event sponsorship• Holiday-related events

Customer Wins & Endorsements• Significant customer win and case studies• Customer acquisition milestones (100th customer, 500th customer, 1

Million customers, etc)• Celebrity & Public Figure endorsements or product purchase (be sure to

get approval).

Inspiration: Market Trends and Thought Leadership

• Tips sheets or feature stories like “Top 10 Valentine Gifts,” “Top 10 Common Mistakes of Social Media Marketing” or “How to Land a Job in 30 days.”

• News of the Weird: An outrageous claim or outlandish event like “Coffee Shop offers gourmet $200 latte!”

• New market studies, research, surveys and polls• Helpful tips for customers, related to your business• Market Trends or new tecnhologies affecting your business• Free educational information, ebooks, newsletters and white papers• Media and speaker appearances by executives• Predictions for your industry and supporting market analyst information• Debunking of common “myths” related to your industry