7 Things You Didn't Know About PRWeb Press Releases
1. Starting at Standard Level ($140), You Can Include Arbitrary Files. SEO Triple Whammy!
Beginning at the $140 standard level, a PRWeb press release gets other files hosted with it. Here's the triple-whammy. a) You can include payloads such as PDF files with live links inside those attachments. Ka-ching! b) Complex file formats such as PDF, Word, and PowerPoint documents also have document properties, which are hidden SEO gold. And of course c) PRWeb asks you to enter alt text and descriptions for the attachments. You did your keyword planning ahead of time, right? Good. Now put it to use on those underused alt tags. Nothing wrong with using the primary keyphrase for one attachment and secondaries for the others.
2. Don't Use Chrome, Yet.
PRWeb doesn't support Chrome, but you don't find that out the easy way. You make this pleasant discovery in the middle of attempting to attach files to the press release, having painstakingly formatted the body already, and... well, let's just say I had an frustrating afternoon redoing work. However....
3. After using PRWeb for years I discovered they have a top-notch help desk, even at 6:30pm their time. They handled the Chrome problem very well. I ended up calling them 3 times today (after never having done so before) & asked a total of about 5 questions, all of which were dispatched with by people who understood both technical and editorial issues equally well.
4. The Double-Contact Linkwheel Hackaroo
You get two contacts, each with live links. Normally this is wasted by companies who list, for example, a contact at their firm and one at their PR company. Pathetic, when you realize it means you're paying a PR firm to boost their search results. Use the second link (or even both) to point to a YouTube version of the press release, or a fuller version in slide show format at a document sharing site like Docstoc or issuu.
5. Specifying local markets widens instead of narrows distribution.
As you go up the fee scale you get to name more local markets. Even if you're national, use these. They do not restrict distribution. They are added to the national reach. I normally use the top media markets, sometimes using my local market if it's of interest to them.
6. Use the discount before signing up
Don't know if PRWeb didn't have discounts when I first signed on. They do now, but from what I can tell coupon codes don't work. You have to get a link to a first-time price cut, and there doesn't seem to be a way to use it after you've signed up, even if you haven't paid for a press release. So use the discount affiliate link thingie to join and start your press release; don't sign up and try to enter a coupon code.
7. Spend an afternoon with the Make It Better! Button
The new improved PRWeb user interface is quite a bit less awful than the old one, but the best feature is the Make it Better! button. It does a first-rate job of automatically analyzing the press release. Plan to spend an extra hour or so following its recommendations. As with EZA, PRWeb has excellent documentation on how to get the most out of on-page SEO.
Bonus tip: They don't allow HTML, but they do allow links. They're formatted using this familiar markup:
For evil sites that strip links out of your press release when they pick it up, be sure to include one link in the form
so that interested parties can at least copy and paste the web address. Otherwise only the anchor text (human readable portion) appears in the gutted press release.
Beginning at the $140 standard level, a PRWeb press release gets other files hosted with it. Here's the triple-whammy. a) You can include payloads such as PDF files with live links inside those attachments. Ka-ching! b) Complex file formats such as PDF, Word, and PowerPoint documents also have document properties, which are hidden SEO gold. And of course c) PRWeb asks you to enter alt text and descriptions for the attachments. You did your keyword planning ahead of time, right? Good. Now put it to use on those underused alt tags. Nothing wrong with using the primary keyphrase for one attachment and secondaries for the others.
2. Don't Use Chrome, Yet.
PRWeb doesn't support Chrome, but you don't find that out the easy way. You make this pleasant discovery in the middle of attempting to attach files to the press release, having painstakingly formatted the body already, and... well, let's just say I had an frustrating afternoon redoing work. However....
3. After using PRWeb for years I discovered they have a top-notch help desk, even at 6:30pm their time. They handled the Chrome problem very well. I ended up calling them 3 times today (after never having done so before) & asked a total of about 5 questions, all of which were dispatched with by people who understood both technical and editorial issues equally well.
4. The Double-Contact Linkwheel Hackaroo
You get two contacts, each with live links. Normally this is wasted by companies who list, for example, a contact at their firm and one at their PR company. Pathetic, when you realize it means you're paying a PR firm to boost their search results. Use the second link (or even both) to point to a YouTube version of the press release, or a fuller version in slide show format at a document sharing site like Docstoc or issuu.
5. Specifying local markets widens instead of narrows distribution.
As you go up the fee scale you get to name more local markets. Even if you're national, use these. They do not restrict distribution. They are added to the national reach. I normally use the top media markets, sometimes using my local market if it's of interest to them.
6. Use the discount before signing up
Don't know if PRWeb didn't have discounts when I first signed on. They do now, but from what I can tell coupon codes don't work. You have to get a link to a first-time price cut, and there doesn't seem to be a way to use it after you've signed up, even if you haven't paid for a press release. So use the discount affiliate link thingie to join and start your press release; don't sign up and try to enter a coupon code.
7. Spend an afternoon with the Make It Better! Button
The new improved PRWeb user interface is quite a bit less awful than the old one, but the best feature is the Make it Better! button. It does a first-rate job of automatically analyzing the press release. Plan to spend an extra hour or so following its recommendations. As with EZA, PRWeb has excellent documentation on how to get the most out of on-page SEO.
Bonus tip: They don't allow HTML, but they do allow links. They're formatted using this familiar markup:
Code:
http://www.example.com [Example Human Site name]
Code:
http://www.example.com [http://www.example.com]
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burnsai -
Thanks
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