Do you optimize your press releases to aid your SEM efforts?

In today's world most marketers know that their web site is more than an online brochure.  It's a digital representation of their company, a community, a store and so much more.  Especially in the software industry is this paramount as a majority of our users tend to be tech savvy and prefer to research their software purchases online.  Now, more than ever, the effort you put into your web site is going to provide more impact than many other marketing efforts.

We all try to drive traffic to our web site - through search engines, referrals, direct traffic, etc.  Our companies also try to keep a continuous stream of news flowing so customers, investors and prospects can see that the company is forging alliances, developing new products, securing new business, etc.  Does your PR person/department/agency interface with your marketing department?  They should!

So many companies are putting a lot of effort towards increasing visibility and rankings with the search engines.  There are a million things you can do towards this goal, and one of the things we hear over and over is to continually create new content.  How can you create new content? Well you can write a blog, update your page content, publish case studies and whitepapers, and you publish news.

Whether you are a large or small company, where you have a person, a department or an agency that does your PR - the output is some of the best content that should be added to your web site and indexed by search engines.  Each and every release your company posts should be optimized around your key words and should have optimized links back to your site.  The more you do this, the more benefit these releases will have to your search engine optimization efforts.

And if you are a company whose releases are regularly picked up by the wires, web sites and publications, even better!  The optimized links in your press releases will all be votes for your site and Google, Yahoo! and MSN all look at these - and the more authoritative the news source, the more the vote counts.

Get your PR and Marketing department, or your PR and SEM (search engine marketing) agencies working together!  This shouldn't slow down the PR process at all, and if you have a savvy PR firm, if you give them your SEM goals they should be able to handle it themselves.  Otherwise just having input from the SEM staff on wording and links for your releases can go a long way.

Inboung Marketing site HubSpot has created a FREE new tool called the PressRelease Grader to help you evaluate the SEM value of your releases by following some basic rules and providing an effectiveness score as well as some suggestions to improve the content of the release.  This tool will never replace the expertise of a true PR and SEM professional, but it will help you learn some things to watch out for when writing press releases.

Releases are also a great way to drive people to view your software, so another tip is to include a link to your product page, software demo or even TestDrive online demo - increasing traffic and exposure to your software.

So if you aren't integrating your PR and SEM efforts, take some time and come up with a process that works for your company.  If you aren't sure what makes a good SEM-optimized release, try the PressRelease Grader.  And if you're already on the ball, you're ahead of the game!

How many of you make sure your PR efforts are coordinated with your SEM efforts?

Sending Business Holiday Cards - Dos and Don'ts

Sending business Holiday cards remind your clients of your service during a time of year that they typically would not. These cards are more than just being a polite greeting. By practicing wise card sending etiquette, you can create an atmosphere of familiarity and camaraderie between professionals.

Here are 5 basic Dos and Don'ts that will get your best holiday wishes to your customers with a minimum amount of stress.

DO shop early.
Order your Holiday cards as early as possible. You can receive a discount on the total order if you purchase early enough. Buying in bulk can get you another discount.

If you weren't able to get your order in before the discount deadlines you may want to consider choosing an online card option. In the past many considered sending electronic cards as a "too cheap" option but today with so many companies cutting budgets and an overwhelming concern for the environment, eHoliday cards are becoming a positive alternative to turn to.

DON'T try to reach out to every religion.
Your clients probably come in all varieties of faiths and religious practices, but one message that comes across loud and clear is good will.

You don't need to get a sample pack of religious cards, just find a tasteful card that states "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings". Even if they don't celebrate anything at that time of year, you have reminded them that you exist and, more important, that you are thinking of them.

DO be imaginative.
There are lots of ways to make your business Holiday cards stand out from the other ones your clients will be receiving. One way to do this is the shape or the style of the card itself.

It's not much more expensive to get cards in shapes related to your business or service.

If you deal with construction software, what about holiday greetings inscribed on a shiny paper hammer or a card that appears to look like mini blueprints? If your specialty is child education software you could go with a card that resembles a chalkboard. The creative possibilities are endless here!

DON'T be generic.
Request personalized Holiday cards from the card company doing the printing.

You don't want to give the impression that you bought your cards last minute at a quick stop. If you got the time, think about having a design created in house and ask your trusted print company to process the order. The card should reflect your company's image, whether that's bold and respectable, or wild and creative.

DO get the contact information right.
You wouldn't misspell the name of a relative or a friend, so don't do it to your customers. Take some extra care in verifying names, addresses and in some cases email addresses. The only word for poorly addressed business Holiday cards it tacky.

To be successful in business these days it's not just about providing a high level product and service. You must also convince your customers that there is a human side to the service itself.