The press release is not dead. If you are using a press release to pitch media in a blast-fashion hoping to secure coverage, yeah, that's bad. Stop doing it now.

But an optimized press release sent to search engines brings your news directly to the masses, bypassing media gatekeepers through search. A user enters your keywords, and your news is found. That's online PR in action as related to press releases. Online PR makes your news findable through search, is the easiest way to put it.

Typically when you optimize a release for search, you put your keyword in the release title, sprinkle your keywords throughout your release, and also use anchor text to link your keywords and release back to content on your client's site. This connection you build tells Google to link your searchers' keywords back to your online content, and thus drives traffic to your site/news.

Here's an inside secret to help your online PR efforts and help make your news findable through search:

Google recognizes certain synonyms as valid equals to the keywords for which you are optimizing. What do I mean?

Say I'm writing a press release for a client interested in cultivating relationships with investors and entrepreneurs. I choose to optimize my release for "intellectual property." I can write an awkward press release over-using the term intellectual property.

That can make for bad copy, and put you at risk for spamming that particular keyword. No one wants to read a release using "intellectual property" 20 times, Google spiders included along with readers.

Here's the trick: Put a tilde (~) in front of your keyword (no space), and then search that term. So in this case I'd Google ~intellectual property.

Every result you see in bold - those are Google-approved keyword synonyms. Copyright, legal, etc. Those synonyms are, in Google's eyes, equal to your main keyword in terms of gaining SEO traction.

So back to writing your release. Now you know Google approves of copyright and legal as legitimate substitutes for intellectual property. Instead of hammering home your core keyword, you can make your copy much more fluid by incorporating your synonyms.

Now write your press release with these synonyms in mind. Don't fixate on trying to force your main keyword into your copy again and again, but allow your copy to flow a bit more naturally, as you incorporate copyright and legal into your writing.

Yes, put intellectual property into your headline, but make sure you also naturally mention copyright and legal in your copy. This opens up the gates for more conversational copy; but copy that is optimized nonetheless.

Example 1:

Intellectual property protection is important to entrepreneurs

Cleveland, OH - Protecting your intellectual property is crucial to your business success, as intellectual property loss causes U.S. companies several billion dollars a year. Take these simple steps to protect your intellectual property.

Example 2 using synonyms:

Intellectual property protection is important to entrepreneurs

Cleveland, OH - Protecting your intellectual property is crucial to your business success, as intellectual property loss causes U.S. companies several billion dollars a year. Take these simple steps to protect the information you copyright, to ensure proper legal protection.

In example 2, we are optimizing for the same keyword, but utilize all three Google-approved variations. The copy flows a bit more naturally, while you still gain the crucial SEO traction an optimized release is designed to do.

Bottom line: Google recognizes your synonyms as valid substitutes for your keyword, and views your release in the same context. And Google loves context.

So consider using approved synonyms to optimize your release for more fluid copy, while still gaining SEO ground.

As always, email me or comment for further elaboration.