Press Releases benefit from having an author
-
We just started doing some Press Releases and want to maximize the benefits of them to our full potential.
Would it be beneficial for our PR to have an author? We know Google likes real people and was wondering if attaching the author to the PR will provide more strength to that particular author?
-
Adding on to what Peter said, a press release is not a news story, it's a statement about a newsworthy item. The purpose of a press release is to grab the attention of journalists/bloggers so that they will want to to contact you (the press contact) for the information they need to craft their own news and feature stories.
A press release should be concise and scannable. Leave out the details. They will get those after contacting you.
While I agree with EGOL that distributing content authored by Christie Christie on bridge traffic would definitely garner a ton of attention, I would consider that an article meant for syndication if widely distributed to publishers --- not a press release. Including a direct quote from Chris Christie would be one way to grab attention with the press release, as would mentioning an opportunity to interview Chris Christie in a press conference, for instance. And yes, press releases are often released solely to let journalists know about press conferences and other PR events.
I hope that helps!
-
Would it be beneficial for our PR to have an author?
Maybe.
Depends who is the author.
Although most press releases are written for an organization that is not a law or a requirement. Imagine a press release written in the first person by Chris Christie on bridge traffic... or by Dr. Richard Besser on a new measles vaccine... or by Pope Francis on "Who am I to judge". Those would get awesome attention.
Now, if Joe Schmoe is writing about any of those topics... people will not care about it.
So, if you have somebody who is somebody who will be doing the writing it might be to your advantage to use them.
And, if you are thinking about this from a google authorship perspective a sleepy press release written by a schlepper might have negative value compared to something inspiring written by the nameless author.
-
Typically, press releases are issued by companies not people, unless the person is representing their own brand.
So in the case of a company, I would say no, because whilst you may have written it a press release is really a statement and not something you would consider as 'authored'.
For blog articles however, definitely yes. Link the article to the individual's Google+ account in the page code by using the rel=author tag in the page to do that.
I hope that helps,
Peter
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Domain authority vs indexed pages
Hello, There are many articles and from our personal experience we can say that you can rank a page without backlinks with high DA but we cant figure out if DA of domain help to rank as the link juice ( so the link juice going from home page thru all pages to specific page) or it will rank a page even if its not linked in any way from homepage or any other pages and even if it not linked in any way from other pages and still ranks just because of high DA, does that DA value will spread even above all indexed pages if you have lets say 100,000 pages, i mean if domain has 100 indexed pages and DA of 50 and another domain has 100,000 and DA of 100, if both pages are the same on those domains and have no backlinks to it from my understanding page on domain with 100 indexed pages and DA of 50 suppose to rank higher ? Please share what you think
Branding | | maxdelop0 -
No Domain Link In Press Release, What About Yelp?
Hi Moz, I understand that using a PR for SEO benefit is old-school, black hat, and largely outlawed by Google. We are simply trying to get our name pushed further into the local market, i.e., using a press release for it's natural intention. Our company offers free quotes through our site and the scheduling of jobs with new clients is largely done online. I think it seems silly NOT to have a link to our URL in the press release, but rather than poke Google, we're fine omitting it. However, would linking our Yelp near the end be a big deal? Yelp no-follows their URLs back to the company site so there isn't a risk with pumping up a support link through PR and we can provide SOME clickable link to our information. Thoughts?
Branding | | kirmeliux0 -
High authority brand expanding product line, domain question
Hi MOZers, I've been given a handy little domain puzzle to deal with and would love insight from the community. Here's the situation: We're retailers of one specific, big, nationally known product. Let's pretend it's the Snuggee (IT'S NOT). People search for it and buy it from our site, or from Amazon or other retailers that we distribute it to. We're about to expand to carry a bunch of related, but different products - so from a one-product brand to 5 or 6 different items, relating to different keyword searches. Imagine Snuggee people want to start selling a whole bunch of products that solve the same needs of warming the front of your body and making you look silly. The owners want to change the main domain from [specific product] to [name similar to specific product, but is more general]. What concerns me is how to handle the fame of the branded product in terms of domain names. Current domain, based on that product, has a ton of links and a decent age. Owners are thinking to redirect everything to fresh new unestablished domain. While I know 301s will pass most link value, it will also be a home page that will be about a bunch of products - not just that main known one. In fact, we're considering making a URL for each product as landing page, of which old famous product would be one of 5 or 6 pages. Two main options we're considering right now: Keep old domain as a doorway page featuring just old product, with same look and feel, and from which any links would point to the new domain. Try to keep this as ranking for top result for this search, which should be easy. Unify everything under new domain, with old product being featured on a separate page / subdirectory. Hope that new home page still can rank pretty well for our old product, even though it will be talking about other products now as well. What we'd stand to lose would be the SERP for old products featuring too many big box retailers that sell our stuff and take a chunk out of our margins. The goal is to help us become known for many things, while still being always the best search result for what we're already known for. Which of those two options seem best, or is there another I'm missing altogether? Thank you!
Branding | | advancedSemiotics0 -
Using Press Release For Promoting Linkbait?
We all know that a thinly-veiled ad masquerading as a press release is not a good link building tactic. Of course, if the press release is newsworthy, then it can generate some real publicity and honest backlinks. My question is a bit more specific - are press releases an effective way to promote linkbait to niche websites/bloggers? Has anyone had success using press releases to promote linkbait to relevant bloggers and websites in their niche? My gut tells me that most niche bloggers are not reading press releases on a daily basis to find story ideas. I know that outlets like the Huffington Post and TechCrunch pay attention to press releases, but I'm guessing most blogs not run by professional journalists do not. Anyone know if this is a generally true assumption? Anyone know of a way to get a better feel for the type of bloggers that are signed up to get press releases from PRNewswire or similar services? (In other words, how do you figure out if bloggers in your target groups are signed up to get press releases?)
Branding | | AdamThompson0 -
Should I create a Google + account for the brand for Rel=Author
Hi, What I meant is should I use the above mentioned account as rel=author for category pages etc? It seems to me improper to use my account (with my picture) in a category page and to show my face in the SERPS for searches like "Toshiba Laptops". On the other hand, if in the SERPS it will show our Logo it might increase CTR... Any thoughts? Thanks
Branding | | BeytzNet0 -
Are press releases still useful?
In light of so many Google changes are press releases with PRWeb or the like still worth using?
Branding | | uniquegifts-2778791 -
Has anyone had success with product page rel=author? Can I protect the content but dump the face on the SERPS?
Hi, Is there a way to get the benefits of rel=author for protecting site content but to disconnect that from the face photo on the SERPS? We added rel=author to our unique and individually written product descriptions and reviews. This has led to a decrease in click thru thus far. I suspect this is because when searching for a product to buy the user sees the face and thinks "review" or at least "not corporate". I don't nec. want to dump rel=author in the sea yet for our ecom pages, has anyone had success with product page rel=author? Four our keywords, we are the only company of 10 well known travel sites that have the face in the SERPS, far from improving our CTR, it has trashed it. Any ideas?
Branding | | xoffie0 -
Any reason not to use rel=author?
Hi Like everyone I've read a lot about rel=author but is there a reason not to use it? For instance, if you're running the content, as I am, for a travel company, we have individual writers writing the content and guides to cities/hotels/tours etc, but none of our competitors are using rel=auithor, so we certainly do stand out. But does the "personal" touch of rel=author dilute trust in some cases? For instance, if you're booking a specific hotel in London and you type in the hotel name looking for the best rate, do you really want to see a face you don't know beside a "corporate result"? Is anyone in an industry where rel=author is being used in conjunction with products/product reviews. It will work for Gary V and wine, but will it work everywhere? Rel=author is touted everywhere as a sure fire bet... but are there times to back off from using it?
Branding | | xoffie1