When viewing a press release, webpage or article, the first thing people see is usually the photo. Using a killer photo attracts readers. They can instantly know the topic of your release before they even begin reading. Beyond that, adding a picture that is optimized for search engines can bring traffic to your news. Using pictures gets clicks.

Publicity Spark Tips to Increase Your SEO:

1. Add a Caption: Although many press release distribution sites do not allow captions to be added to photos, if yours does, take advantage of it! People’s eyes are automatically drawn to photos, and they will probably read the caption next.

To make a powerful caption: summarize your news, a key point of the story, or add a call to action.

2. Add a Keyword/Phrase to the Filename: Even though the filename is not seen by those reading your press release, it is still important for SEO. When the webpage is crawled by spiders they will pick up on these filenames, and usually give them extra weight since they are included in the images URL.  Instead of using a generic picture description, think of the filename as an opportunity to include your keyword into your release one more time. The benefit here is that it is hidden from your readers, so you get added optimization without having to spam your post with keywords to improve SEO.

Biggest mistake: naming your filename something generic – your filename should be a clue to your document. For example, use a portion of the title of your press release.

3. Add ALT Text: This is the text that appears when you put your mouse over an image and it’s called alternative text or ALT text for short. Since search engines cannot read pictures, it is important to describe your image in words in this section. This is another way to help your SEO without looking spammy.

For example, if your keyword phrase is “press release writing” and your photo is the company logo, you may choose to put “XYZ company offers press release writing!” as your ALT text.

Adding image files to your SEO press release is only one of the dozens of ways to optimize your SEO press releases. To access all our tips, purchase “How to Create a SEO Press Release” today.

Contest! Enter to win Publicity Spark’s Ultimate Online PR Kit (Value $97)! Go here to enter.

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For an additional contest entry, comment below with the answer to the following question:

• What are your favorite social media tools?

Have a question about our article? Did you learn a new tip? Do you have your own tip to share? Please comment below. We’re looking forward to keeping the dialogue open all week long.

Well, now that I’ve been working from home for a little while, and especially in the area of writing, I’ve had to learn about SEO and have come to understand it, a little better anyway.

One of the first things I learned about SEO was how to use keywords and keyword phrases. In a nutshell, the idea is to use words and phrases throughout your posts that searchers will most likely use to find your site or blog.

The next step was to learn about keyword research. Performing keyword research helps you find out what keywords and keyword phrases people are using to find your product or service. There are several different online tools you can download for free or for a fee.

Another aspect of SEO I learned was organic search traffic. What that means is basically getting traffic from terms people search. When your potential customer types in terms related to what you offer, they see a link to your site, plus an excerpt directly from the content you’ve placed on your site. This is why using keywords and keyword phrases are so important, in addition to having great content.

SEO Links: Search Engines also look at links coming into your site. In other words, search engines actually take into consideration how other sites link to yours. This is why it’s so important to build relationships with others in the same field as you. When a highly successful website links back to yours the search engines find that and then place more importance to your site in the rankings.

But Search Engine Optimization doesn’t end there. You also need to take into consideration Search Engine History. Search engines use bots, also called spiders, to go out and crawl the internet. These spiders look for new content, which is why it’s important to update the content on your site often and regularly.

Obviously this post gives you an overview of SEO. Be sure to click on each of the links for an in depth description of SEO. Once you do, you’ll too realize that SEO isn’t so scary.