Some say Ivy Lee invented the news release in 1906. But since its invention, a news release only rarely has scored anyone a placement in the New York Times. But, as we have discussed before, the news release is not dead. It has evolved into a powerful tool for publicity and driving web traffic.

Written and distributed correctly, a news release can provide a real boost to your online PR program. How so, you ask?
Linked Up. Properly implemented, an optimized press release campaign can lead to high quality one-way links to your site. Many of the links will be from sites with a high Google Page Rank, which boosts the credibility of your site in Google’s eyes.

Search Me. Once your release is distributed to online media points, it becomes part of a searchable database of information about you and the keywords you have built into the release. This improves your organic search results.

The “A” List. About 70 percent of Americans get most of their news online, and Yahoo! News is the most highly trafficked website online today. Properly optimized, a news release can receive very high placement in places like Yahoo! News, MSN News and Google News. Residual web traffic to your site can continue for as long as 30 days if you make it high on the list.

ROI. News releases are cost-effective vehicles for increasing exposure, web listings, and building brand awareness for your organization. Using low cost services like PRWeb.com, my news distribution portal of choice, allows you to bypass the media filter and go directly to consumers interested in your topic. PRWeb releases are syndicated by thousands of sites, increasing your reach. So, your return on investment is higher with a press release than with advertising.

Finally, if your release contains something really newsworthy, you might even get a call – or a pick-up – from the media. That used to be the measure of success for a news release. Today, it is just a bonus.