At the broadest level, there are two ways to use and deploy content on the blog and smart organizations understand both angles and optimize press releases accordingly. The first way that people use content is to answer questions (through search engines), thus Bloggers must optimize content to be found by searchers. This will attract people who are looking for what your blog has to offer. The second way that people use content is that they want to be told something that they do not already know. This is why browse ability is so important, it allows users to “stumble” across useful information they didn’t know they were looking for. While many Web savvy marketers understand the importance of search-engine optimization, they often forget that sites must be designed for browsing too. You should deploy site navigational design in a way that provides valuable information visitors might not have thought to ask for in addition to answering any questions they may have.
To illustrate this concept, consider one of the Web’s best known sites, Google, which in its purest form exists only to answer questions. With a site or content product organized only around answering questions, users must already know what they want before proceeding. But people also look to sites to tell them something. Contrast Google with another famous site, Drudge Report. Drudge Report doesn’t exist to answer questions, rather, it tells visitors stuff they didn’t think to ask. While it does provide search functionality (far down the home page), Drudge Report provides content that’s meant to be browsed and, when you are creating content for your site or blog, you should too.
Press release pages are among the most popular parts of many Blog sites based on visitor counts because many people browse these pages as they research topics. Consider organizing your press release section using multiple ways to browse. Maybe create links to releases based on buyer profile (maybe by vertical market or some other factor appropriate to your organization), by product, by geography, and the like, in addition to providing a prominent homepage link to a media center or newsroom. You might also divide releases by different “solutions” or market-target landing pages to help users drill to areas of interest.
People who are searching for your release will still find them by searching with keywords and phrases, but people who do their own research and consider a decision over a period of time often browse releases to learn about an organization.
Do not forget to read about strategy to reaching visitors directly.
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