Consider a subdirectory. Choosing your newsroom domain can be a confusing task. If you're not sure, check out our help article which covers your newsroom hosting options. That said, if SEO is on your list of priorities, a subdirectory is probably your best bet. Unlike a subdomain, a subdirectory keeps all your content (website and newsroom) together under one domain umbrella. This means that your domain authority for your website and newsroom are linked and there's no need to duplicate efforts; your newsroom can boost your website's domain authority and vice versa.

Publish relevant, authoritative content. There is no substitute or quick fixes here - relevant, quality content is the most important factor for search engine rankings. Quality content created specifically for your intended user increases site traffic, which improves your site's authority and relevance. Fine-tune your web writing skills and present yourself as an authority on the topic you are writing about. And although your written content is key, make sure you've also filled in the other pages of your newsroom with things like optimized images, image ATL text and contact details. The more value you bring to visitors, the better your SEO will be; and the more visitors you'll reach. Win win! Check out our press release checklist for some tips and tricks on how to write a great piece.

Use keywords in heading tags. For each press release, decide and target a specific keyword phrase, thinking about the problem your reader is trying to solve and the search terms they might have used to find your article. Choose just one and focus on that, because it's unlikely that one page will rank on multiple phrases unless they're very similar. Once you have your keyword(s), include it in your title or a sub-heading of your release (make sure it's not just bold, but that you use an H1,2 or 3 tag). As a bonus, if you include it in the title, it will also appear in the URL of your article. However, tread carefully and don't repeat keywords too much for the sake of it. Remember, the golden rule of SEO, the best pages are written for the reader, not SEO.

Update your content regularly. You got it - we feel strongly about quality content, and so do Google and friends. But posting regularly is also key. SEO rates relevancy by checking how often you update your content so be sure to keep it fresh. Try setting a recurring reminder to review your newsroom pages (for example, every quarter).

Links. Incorporating backlinks (links to and from other websites) adds credibility to your articles, enriches the reading experience of your visitor and are especially important for domain authority, which is key for SEO. Make sure to include keywords or descriptive words in your links though - for example 'click here' has no SEO value whatsoever. You can add links in two ways in the text editor.

Caption it. Adding captions to your images is not only a nice touch for the viewer, but we also use the title as the ALT text (the words that will show even if your image doesn't load). ALT text will contribute to those backlinks, amping up your domain authority. Here's how to add captions to your images.

Enable the Leads feature. Our carefully designed leads feature comes as part of the basic newsroom package and allows visitors to sign up to your news updates. This is how you convert visits into business leads and helps you establish a really great curated press list of contacts who are interested in your brand.

Host an event. Events are a great way to generate buzz and build quality relationships, that you can use later for back linking, content creation and top notch press release material. In the newsroom, you have an events page as standard but we also offer an add-on which allows you to host your own virtual event directly from the platform. Find out more about our virtual events feature.