{"id":27484,"date":"2014-06-17T05:02:43","date_gmt":"2014-06-17T10:02:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publicityhound.com\/?p=27484"},"modified":"2025-10-22T13:59:45","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T13:59:45","slug":"panda-4-0-didnt-kill-the-press-release-it-just-refocused-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/marketing\/content-creation\/panda-4-0-didnt-kill-the-press-release-it-just-refocused-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Panda 4.0 didn\u2019t kill the press release, it just refocused it"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is a response not only to this article<\/a>, but to many others like it, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Mickie Kennedy <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The constant algorithm changes Google is rolling out continually spawn \u201cthe sky is falling\u201d mentality from people on message boards and blogs across the net.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t believe me? Just Google SEO is dead<\/a>, linkbuilding is dead<\/a>, or internet marketing <\/a>is dead and take a look at everything that pops up.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"panda<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this post, I\u2019d like to focus on another one that I hold especially close to my heart—the press release is dead. Google it real quick and you\u2019ll find people burying, defending, and questioning it. And it\u2019s no wonder. After the Panda 4.0 update, many press release sites <\/a>have seen their search rankings basically disappear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But does that mean Google has killed the press release? Hmmm\u2026  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Much is True: <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Days of Scheming Press Releases for Link Juice Are Over<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Look, this should come as no surprise. Matt Cutts has been saying<\/a> for over a year that you shouldn\u2019t expect press release links to help you out. Sure there\u2019s been a lot of speculation that those claims were simply a smoke screen and that release links were still helping. But whether it was true or not, it\u2019s enough to let you know that the Powers that Be weren\u2019t thrilled with the way SEOs were gaming the system with press releases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that Google rolled out Panda 4.0 and slammed the press release sites that served as havens for spammy releases, it\u2019s safe to say that using releases for link building purposes is officially over. Sort of. What do I mean by sort of? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When You Earn the Attention, You\u2019ll Earn the Search Ranking<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Enter implied links, one of the newest changes to the algorithm that Google has implemented. What are implied links? In short, when someone mentions your brand name, without even linking to your site, Google will pick it up and factor it into your search rankings. Wow, right? When I first read that, I had to take a step back and take it in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you imagine what this could mean for the future of SEO? The days of spending time building backlinks could be on their way out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bad thing? I don\u2019t think so. What this does is open the door for companies to focus on what they should have been focusing on all along—building buzz about their company. In other words, more traditional PR.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"press<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what does this mean for the press release? Well, it\u2019s just as important as ever<\/strong>. Remember, the original goal of the press release is to get people to talk about you. To get media to pick up your story and report it. Not to get links. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if you\u2019re doing it right, people will use your release to write a story or a blog post about you online. In turn, Google will see that you\u2019ve earned this attention and your rankings will respond accordingly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Should we be pissed at Google? Not at all. They\u2019re just changing things up more to reach the end goal—give readers the most relevant, engaging, newsworthy content. To get rankings now, you have to truly earn it by generating buzz about your company and your products, not by gaming the system. Which means…    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If It Isn\u2019t Really News, Don\u2019t Write a Release<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One thing\u2019s for certain, your release has to be legit, otherwise you\u2019re in danger of hurting yourself. Gone are the days of \u201clet\u2019s write a press release a week\u201d just to have new content going out and try to grab a link. You should only be writing a release when you truly have something to say. Save the weekly content for your blog. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can you make sure you have the write content for a release?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easy. Before you write your release, ask yourself, would someone want to read this and in turn use it to write content for their blog or website? Would their readers really care to hear about it? If the answer is even questionable, don\u2019t waste your time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, Remember That Press Releases Have Stood the Test of Time<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to Writing@CSU<\/a>, press release writing dates back to the 1880s. That\u2019s over 125 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, Google.com was registered in 1997, and arguably didn\u2019t become \u201ca thing\u201d until quite some time after. What does that tell us?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Press releases have a long, rich history of working. <\/em>Well, let me rephrase that — good <\/em>press releases have that history. Well-written, well-targeted, and well-distributed press releases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have SEOs twisted how press releases are used over the last decade? Sure. Has the web been inundated with crappy, spammy press releases? Sure. But in the scheme of things, I\u2019d argue that this is nothing more than a small blip in the overall history of the release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, Google\u2019s war on spammy releases absolutely does not invalidate the press release in and of itself. In fact, Google\u2019s recent patent efforts<\/a> show the search giant is valuing true media pickup more than ever, even when the article or mention does not include a website or link.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As long as you stick to the original purpose of the release—to generate media attention and to get people to report on your news—your release will be just as valid as it would have been 25, 50, or 100 years ago. That\u2019s not going to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you think? Are you planning on changing how you handle your press releases?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a response not only to this article, but to many others like it, too. By Mickie Kennedy  The constant algorithm changes Google is rolling out continually spawn \u201cthe sky is falling\u201d mentality from people on message boards and blogs across the net. Don\u2019t believe me? Just Google SEO is dead, linkbuilding is dead,\u2026 Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","iawp_total_views":4,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[603],"tags":[728,238,200,229],"class_list":{"0":"post-27484","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-content-creation","7":"tag-media","8":"tag-press-release","9":"tag-publicity-2","10":"tag-seo","11":"entry"},"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"contributor","author_link":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/author\/contributor\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27484"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42791,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27484\/revisions\/42791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}