Press Releases vs. Article Promotion?

What Can Each Do For My Business?

Press Releases:

• Create awareness
  
• Help public relations
  
• Showcase something NEW*
  
• Get printed within local newspapers
  
• Get talked about within radio stations
  
• May be featured on TV
  
  
• Free News Release Directories Can Also...
  
• - Increase awareness online
  
• - Increase website traffic
  
• - Increase link popularity online
  
• - Receive massive distribution online
  
• - Can be submitted for reprint
  
• - Medium amount of submission opportunities
  

Articles:

• Showcase your knowledge
  
• Teach the public about your industry
  
• Show visitors your professional status
  
• Increase awareness online
  
• Increase website traffic
  
• Increase link popularity online
  
• Receive massive distribution online
  
• Can be submitted for reprint
  
• Great amount of submission opportunities
  

============

Information About Submitting Content Online:

============

Will Submitting To 1000's of Directories Hurt My Page Rank?

Yes and no. Don't waste your time submitting to article directories and press release directories that don't receive any traffic themselves.

Another point to note is that companies who are only worried about page ranking online are not too concerned about increasing sales. Page ranking doesn't increase sales, the act of promoting does. Wouldn't it be better to get a news piece written about your company within 100's of newspapers as opposed to 1 or 2??? Think of the difference in exposure you'll get.

What About Duplicate Content Penalties?

Obviously this is a growing concern for webmasters and company owners. The real question to ask yourself is; why is it that when you search for a specific article, you can usually find numerous duplicate sources within each of the top search engines online? Another question to ask yourself is; why is it then that out of the 1000's of article directories worldwide, how it is that they can still receive millions of visitors every month even after posting an article already listed somewhere else???

The answer is: Content Credit.

I've talked with many business owners about the importance of receiving the "credit" for the source of the information. Each newspaper, syndication directory, article site all want the same thing... they all want to receive "credit" for the information. Duplicate content is not the worry, it's "who" will receive credit for the information. For example, if you look through news articles within Google News - their results provide only 1-3 websites CREDIT for the information. I'm positive that these sources aren't the only ones online who also had the same news piece at the same time.

So How Do You Earn "Credit" For The Information?

1. Post your news or article within your own web sites 1st.
   
   
2. Once the top search engines pick up your unique content, change it a little including; a new title, a different description than the original, and don't forget to tone down the body content before submitting it online.
   
   
3. You can also increase the value by adding images, maps, and/or graphs to help illustrate the information.
   
   
4. Don't forget to add the date it was posted like so YYYY-MM-DD. If you have a company RSS feed which is used online - it will also help to reflect the title, and time your unique content was posted on.
   

This strategy will greatly increase your visibility online due to the sheer fact that your company will always host the most original piece. All other sources you submit to will have a mere copy of the original.

Press Releases vs. Article Promotion?

Make sure your company participates in both strategies. The first helps people to know more about your company, the seconds helps to showcase your talents. There's no looser here, only an increase in sales.

About The Author:

Martin Lemieux is the owner of Smartads, helping thousands of companies to promote themselves online though;

Article Promotion:
http://members.Article99.com/

Press Release Distribution:
http://www.PRarticle.com/submit-press-release/

...and news feeds for publishers:
http://www.PRarticle.com/rss-feeds/

Copyright Š, Smartads - All Rights Reserved. Reprints accepted as long as the entire article remains the same.