The Web Uncovered

Nowadays, a press release is not only used to inform editors and reporters of corporate news. While they are still called press releases, the content is often used to inform the public via numerous resources, including the company’s web site, blog and social networks.

Press releases that utilize the following Search Engine Optimization (SEO) guidelines can also help occupy the leading search engine result positions for a wide variety of related topics.

1. Keywords: The most important part of any SEO campaign is keywords. When creating an SEO campaign, the first step is to identify at least 10-15 keywords that will be used on a consistent basis for any online-related activities. In order to indentify these keywords, find out how your target audience is trying to find you and your competitors via search engines. The SEO press release should incorporate the majority of the company’s keywords within the first 250 words, including the headline, sub-headline and lead sentence.
2. Headlines: Despite reasonable logic, headlines should actually begin with and focus on keywords and not the company’s name. Begin with keywords and remember that headlines should be written for web searching. Note that hyperlinks are not recommended in headlines.
3. Anchor Text & Hyperlinks: Keywords, company name’s and outside organizations should be hyperlinked in every press release to relevant and appropriate Web sites. Industry standards recommend including three to five hyperlinks as part of the press release body, as well as two fully written URLs – one in the body and one in the company boilerplate. Follow AP Stylebook guidelines when using fully written URLs (i.e. always use http:// portion of URL and place entire URL in parenthesis after the anchored link). To increase reach and relevance, be sure to link to at least one URL within the corporate Web site that is not the homepage and to at least one outside organization.
4. Documentation & Extras: From pullout quotes and side bars to images, videos and charts, adding additional documentation to your online press release will enhance web searching. Be sure to properly label and name each file with an appropriate caption.
5. Distribute: When preparing your SEO press release for distribution, consider using online distribution services. There are both paid online distribution services (i.e. Businesswire, PR Newswire, PRWeb) and free online distribution services (i.e. PR.com, PRLog.com, OnlinePRNews.com) available and each offer their own advantages and disadvantages. Paid distribution services   Some have additional costs but offer their own search engine optimization as well as share tools.
6. Share: Utilize social media tools to post your SEO press releases, release topics and links. Social networking sites (i.e. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) and social bookmarking tools (i.e. Digg, Del.icio.us, Stumbleupon, Reddit) facilitate sharing and can improve relevance and web searching. Each works differently and can potentially reach a different audience so determine which tools work best for your company. Be sure your corporate newsroom has share tools linked at the bottom to allow users an easy way to share your news with their own fans/followers.

Here are some helpful links to get you going:

• SEO Tools: http://www.seomoz.org/tools
• SEO Tools: http://tools.seobook.com
• Google Keywords: http://www.google.com/sktool
• Top Free Distribution Sites: http://www.bignews.biz/blog/?p=6

Written by Twitter Handle @jabraha7

If you are a technology nut like me, you are always interested in trying out the latest applications or tools available. Several months ago, I was lucky enough to get an early preview invite to join Google’s new communication and collaboration tool, Google Wave. The online tool is reinventing email one wave (conversation) and blip (message) at a time.

The platform combines email, instant messaging and online collaboration into a real-time system. It can be used by two people or a whole group of people. Instead of cc’ing a person on a message, you can add that person to the conversation. Users apart of a wave can follow messages in real-time, play back the entire conversation timeline and even add to or edit any part of the conversation.

While it seems confusing at first, these videos shine a light on Google Wave’s simplicity and functionality: http://simurl.com/simplewave

Although my time on Google Wave has been limited, I can already see the value in this new form of online collaboration. Instead of having an inbox full of emails back and forth between two people or a group of people, Google Wave provides a live timeline of events and updates with full editing functionality. You can even collaborate on documents in real-time as a group and embed photos, videos and maps in to the conversation.

More than one million users are actively using Google Wave in preview mode. New outlets and publications like RedEye Chicago are hosting daily waves to discuss timely and relevant topics with their readers.

There are still some kinks for Google to work out, but once Google Wave advances past preview mode and catches on with the masses, I can see this as a revolution in the business world. A

Blip me at www.googlewave.com/jabraha7

Written by Twitter Handle @jabraha7

Last Week, there was an interesting article in the Washington Post regarding “new laws to save journalism.”  Bruce Sanford and Bruce Brown co-wrote this article, where they proposed that journalism can be saved by creating laws that support the industry, which they claim is being murdered by the internet.

While their article is an interesting discussion, it seems completely lined with folly.  First off, they equate the industry of journalism with print, which is a huge oversimplification.  What journalism needs is better business model to adapt to the changing technologies, not stronger copyright laws and antitrust exemption.  The philosophy taken by Sanford and Brown is as bad as the recorded music industry during the past ten years.  As record labels kept their head in the sand, industry outsiders dominated online distribution, like Apple and Emusic.

Matt Cutts, a google employee who blogs regularly on such topics, commented on this article saying:

“Last week I was on vacation down in Florida and I had a chance to tour Thomas Edison’s winter vacation home. The tour guide told us that Edison wired his house and switched on electrical lighting in 1887. Then the tour guide leaned in and quietly mentioned that it took 11 years to install lights in the rest of the town. Why so long? Because the townspeople were worried that cows would stop giving milk.

“I believe good journalism is critically important to a well-functioning society. I love newspapers, magazines, and the journalists that they support. But I disagree with Bruce Sanford and Bruce Brown, and reading their piece reminded me of those townspeople sitting in the dark, afraid to switch on their electric lights.”

Twitter has become increasingly popular as a news source.  While microblogging is anything but content rich, it’s true value added is in its ability to be up to date by the minute.  While in most cases this is not very important to people, there are situations where by the minute is imperative.

There supposedly was a situation at the Twitter Headquarters in San Francisco where the world earthquake spiked as a keyword.  The staff was perplexed, until the earthquake shook their office less than a minute later.  The Tweets were faster than the earthquake!  Less dramatic examples of this can be found.  One is how today many people are following and tweeting about the California State Supreme Court decision regarding Proposition 8.  A lot of Californians are anxiously awaiting to hear what the decision will be.

The larger rammifications of this has dual consequences.  First of all, people will be less likely to turn to print when knews finds them in real time, rather than seeking it out on their own.  The downside is that is drastically changes the business model for traditional print, and even online publications.  Furthermore, a societal side effect would be that news would become less analytical, and much more decontextualized.  Anger towards this technology may be the only  thing that Neil Postman and Rupert Murdoch have in common.

A phenomenal achievement by Social Media experts Brian Solis and Jesse Thomas, The Conversation Prism (V2.0 recently released) is a visual representation of the various categories and associated websites that make up the Social Media landscape. By their own admission, the creators recognize that the constatant evolution of online conversations and communities makes this a snapshot at best. Far be it for any one of us, expert or not, to define social media in such specific terms. However, we should be so lucky that Solis and Thomas have made such an attempt! A clear and crisp image of of the Conversation Prism and it’s many details is difficult to come by online. However it should be noted that a full size 18″x24″ poster is available for purchase at www.theconversationprism.com. (Click to view V1.0 | V2.0)

Marshall Mcluhan often criticized poor media placement based on the effects of the medium upon the content which was being presented. He best defined these terms by separating media into categories of “hot” and “cool.” In short:

Hot Media is media that is ready-made, in that it requires very little participation from the media consumer. Action movies are hot media, as little is left to the imagination, and it has a beginning, middle, and end.

By contrast, Cold Media, requires a certain level of participation, whether it be imagination, input, a vote. Forcing interaction between the medium and consumer, it wears away the consumers’ ability to remained detached.

Is the internet hot or cold?
Neither is the best answer, both is another possible one. While video, radio, and other inherently hot media are available, they often times can have a cool aspect such as video responses, polls, blogging, and more. It becomes paradoxically both. Facebook is detached enough that you are safe in the confines of your own home, that is completely cool in that all of its content is user generated.

The Takeaway: When creating anything online, you want it be initially hot enough to attract your audience, but cool it down quick enough that your audience response in the way you want, whether it be to buy now, read more, or tell a friend.