How To Embed Anchor Text in Press Releases & Best Practices

July 2013

How To Embed Anchor Text in Press Releases & Best Practices

July 2013

www.prnewswire.com

Contents:• What’s anchor text? • What’s the benefit of using anchor text in press

releases? • How to embed links

– Microsoft Word– Open Office– Google Docs

• Linking best practices• Contact us if you need more info

www.prnewswire.com

What is anchor text?

It’s a clickable

link that appears

in the text on a

web page, linking

a keyword or

phrase with

another

web page.

www.prnewswire.com

Why adding anchor text to your press release is so cool

www.prnewswire.com

It builds a portal directly back to your web site from all the other sites on which your release appears!

Company website

www.prnewswire.com

How to add links to your press releases (and any other documents you’ll be posting online, for that matter.)

•Microsoft Word•Open Office•Google Documents

www.prnewswire.com

Adding links: Microsoft Word

1. Highlight the keyword/phrase you want to link in your document. On the toolbar, click on Insert, then Hyperlink (or, just hit Ctrl-K.)

www.prnewswire.com

Adding links, MS-Word, cont’d3. You will see your highlighted text in the “Text to display” box. 4. Paste or enter the URL to which you want to link the words in the “Address” box.5. Click “OK.”

www.prnewswire.com

Adding links: Open Office

1. Highlight the text to which you want to link in your document.

2. Click the “Hyperlink” icon on the Open Office toolbar.

3. Paste the URL to which you want to link in the “Target” box.

4. Click “OK.”

www.prnewswire.com

Adding links: Google Docs

1. Highlight the text you want to link.

2. Click on the “Insert Link” icon (or Ctrl-K)

www.prnewswire.com

Adding links: Google Docs3. The text you've highlighted will appear in the “Text to display” box.

4. Enter (or paste) the URL to which you want to link in the box.

5. Click “OK”

www.prnewswire.com

This can do a few things: 1. Provide readers of your press release with additional

information

2. Bring qualified traffic back to a key page on your web site (this sort of thing gets your marketing department’s lead generation team excited.)

3. Provide a way for readers to take a specific action, e.g. register for an event, download a white paper, etc.

BEST PRACTICES: LINKS ARE FOR READERS, NOT SEARCH ENGINES

Use embedded links to provide calls to action or easy access to more information for your readers.

Link from relevant natural phrases, not exact keywords.

NO!

Source: http://explicitly.me/long-tail-link-building

Examples of linking from relevant phrases.

Source: http://explicitly.me/long-tail-link-building

Some other linking tips: • Use links to guide readers to the

logical next step, not for SEO purposes

• Use 1 or 2 anchor text links per story.

• Don’t link to a URL more than once. Repetition = spam, not emphasis.

• Don’t link to the home page. Create a deep link to a relevant product page.

• Provide the full URL for one really important page (e.g. the landing page to which you want to direct readers) within the release. Some sites don’t render anchor links, so this will ensure readers still know where to go for more information.

Too many links!

www.prnewswire.com

So get the most out of your press releases! Include anchor text, and engage opportunity (and your readers!) everywhere.

www.prnewswire.com

Need more info? • Contact PR Newswire at 1-888-776-0942• Follow PR Newswire on Twitter @prnewswire • Read Beyond PR, the PR Newswire blog, for ongoing

tips and advice to get the most out of your communications efforts: http://blog.prnewswire.com