Have you noticed how the news results are displayed on all the major search engines? Search for the name of a current business, service, product, or article, and if there’s a recent news story, Google, Yahoo, and MSN will include that article on the results page. These items are easy to choose because they have a photo, picture, or newspaper icon next to the search results.
Why does the newspaper image matter? Recent eye-tracking studies in search results show that non-text items, such as images, photos, or icons, draw the reader’s attention directly to the highlighted item. And news results almost always have a photo or icon next to them.
In addition to appearing on standard results pages, the major engines also offer a feature to search for news only. Although it may not be used as often as standard search, more savvy users rely on this news feature to find specific information that they are likely to act on. Additionally, according to a recent study by Top Rank Marketing, 27% of reporters use search engine news to find information about the articles they are writing.
Therefore, there is an opportunity to drive traffic to your site and visibility for your business through standard and news search functions. You can get in front of your consumers, potential partners, and the press by taking advantage of online best press release distribution services. But how can you be sure that the right people will find you at the right time?
To make sure you are using the proper service to gain search engine visibility, there are a couple of tests you can run to help you decide:
- Choose an online distribution service that can get your news results pitches fast. A good rule of thumb is to look up the provider’s name in a news search engine. Find out how recent launches for that service have come from and the number of results is displayed.
- Select one or two releases from News Search and use the title of that release to search normal search. Does that statement appear? Is there more than one result for that version?
- If you want the press release to provide lasting value and continue to drive traffic to your site, you should check to see if you receive a permanent-press release page provided by the provider. These long-running pages will start showing up in natural search when people search for your business name, adding long-term value to protect your reputation online.
Online press release distribution services are a valuable way to drive targeted traffic to your website, and choosing the right service will help you gain greater reach and visibility online.