Creating a Press-Friendly Web Site Through Press Rooms and Search Engine Optimization

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Your company’s Web site isn’t just for your customers. Remember that interested media may be stopping by to research your company, product, or recent news. If they’ve taken the time to come to your Web site, make sure that they don’t have to do much work once they get there. In fact, keep them coming back time and again by doing all the work for them. Create a press room where all your current and past press releases are posted for quick, easy access.

You may need to examine your Web site positioning strategies. Can journalists and customers even find your Web site? Always include your Web address on all press releases, business cards, email signatures, and other forms of advertisement. Register all applicable names for your company’s Web site. For example, Barnes and Noble has registered BN.com, barnesandnoble.com, book.com, books.com, and probably many more. Either way, both customers and media will have an easy time finding their Web site.

Also make sure that your webmaster has chosen the best words for Meta tags on your Web pages. Meta tags are hidden HTML code that provide information to visiting search engine spiders. Optimizing your Web site and press releases and then submitting these pages to as many search engines as your budget permits is crucial to your rankings in the search engines.

Web sites should follow the KISS rule (Keep it Simple Stupid). Especially if you don’t have tons of money to develop your Web site, simple is most certainly best. Once on your homepage, anyone should be able to clearly surmise your company’s name, service or product, and locate the easy-to-use navigation menu. On this menu should be an option for the press such as Press Room, Media Kit, “Your Company” In the News, etc.

What should be in a press room:

• Online media clips about your company or product
• Scanned images of any media clips not on the Internet with contact information (you can type the text if the scanned image isn’t readable)
• Press releases from your company in chronological order with the most recent first
• Detailed contact information including who to speak to on what specific topics
• Product/service information, history, and descriptions
• Success stories or testimonials
• Study or survey results
• Calendar of events
• Important links to other research relating to your company or product
• Links to pertinent industry organizations (particularly if you are a member in good standing) or industry analyst
• Any useful company memos or executive biographies
• Downloadable pictures such as your logo, product photos, and executive photos
• Downloadable video clips
• Guest book to sign up for future press releases from your company
• Form for media to request a media sample product for review

Keep your media page up-to-date. If your most recent media clipping or press release is more than 6 months old, it’s time to focus on some new PR strategies. Journalists are always in need of timely information.