Press Release Tip 65

Write for humans, not for the search engines

Keyword density refers to the percentage of keywords contained within your press release.

In the old days of search engine optimization, we fretted over the rule that said we should shoot for a keyword ratio of 2 to 8 percent within our release.

But those days are over. That rule was designed to manipulate the search engine rankings. Today, Google is a lot smarter than it was way back then. As soon as the masses figure out a way to manipulate Google, Google changes the rules.

Mickie Kennedy of eReleases.com,[affiliate link],  a press release distribution service,  recommends optimizing your press release for one major keyword phrase and one or two supplementary phrases if it makes sense to do so “but doing anything more than that is overkill. It will cause you to focus too much on writing for SEO and not enough on writing a compelling press release.”

Not only that, but trying to write a release filled with a half dozen keyword phrases is almost impossible. Your copy will sound stilted. 

“Don’t bother writing to hit a certain keyword density,” Mickie says. “Just focus on writing natural-sounding, compelling content.”

Opportunity #65 to write a press release: Rallies

A rally of any kind—for a political cause, or a high school football game or to call attention to a controversial issue like abortion or gun control—deserves a press release. Rallies are also perfect opportunities for TV publicity because they have three essential elements: people, color and motion.

I interviewed TV reporter Shawne Duperon about what Publicity Hounds must do if they want TV coverage. She explained everything you need to know about the inner workings of a TV newsroom—including how to pitch, how to follow up, and the differences between print and broadcast reporters. It’s all in the PDF transcript  “How to Get on the Local TV News Tomorrow.”

Next: Best tools for keyword research.