This guest post was written by Lior Levin, an entrepreneur who works for Producteev, which makes a task management tool. He also advises a small neon signs online store in Oregon.

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By Lior Levin

Once upon a time, there was a search engine called AltaVista. It was mighty and considered to be untouchable.

Then along came Google and knocked it out of the search engine game in a matter of about 12 months or less.

How?

Google developed an algorithm that was based on looking at how many people linked to your site and what those links said. So lots of links from lots of websites increased your website’s ranking in Google. The term used to describe the popularity or your website was known as PageRank.

You can measure your Google PageRank by installing the Google toolbar for your web browser or through any number of PageRank measuring and analysis websites. But to be blunt, measuring the PageRank of your own website or that of your competitors is absolutely pointless.

Why so?

Once people realized that they could “game” or manipulate the Google search algorithm by building masses of links from high PageRank websites, things had to change. 
     
    
You Can’t Fool Google

Those PageRank updates we used to love seeing every month or two became less and less frequent. And right now they’re pretty much pointless because the data shown in the PageRank update is not even close to being current, or even useful, at any real level.

Here’s how you can tell if this is true or not.

Pick a popular search term in your industry or niche and search Google for it. Now go through the top 10 results for that keyword and make a note of the PageRank for each website. What you’d expect is that the sites with high Google PageRank are listed at the top of the results, and then everything else is listed beneath it. But that’s not what you see, is it?

What you’re seeing are sites with little or no (like zero) page rank, achieving higher search engine rankings than sites with lots and lots of PageRank. How can this be?

It’s because PageRank itself stopped mattering a long time ago. Google is just updating PageRank on the toolbar now out of courtesy, I’d imagine. I would guess that within the next two to three years, they’ll stop updating PageRank permanently.

So if page rank doesn’t matter, then what does?
     
    
TrustRank Matters

Trust Rank has mattered more than PageRank has now for some time. As the term implies, TrustRank is about how trustworthy your site is in the eyes of big G. And right now, the more TrustRank your site has, the better. 
   
But how do you measure TrustRank? Is there a TrustRank toolbar?

Nope, and there never will be. Google learned the hard way that you cannot expose the inner workings of your search engine to the general public because some people will do their best to manipulate it and ruin the experience for everyone else.

Here’s a list of things can that can influence your TrustRank and, therefore, your search engine rankings:

• The domain is registered for 5 or more years.
    
• The site is hosted on a dedicated server.
    
• The site loads quickly.
    
• All content is original.
    
• The visitor duration on each page is more than 90 seconds.
    
• The site is linked to from multiple international IP ranges. 
    
• The site is an authority in its niche.

 Are you seeing a pattern here? These are all qualities of a website or blog being run as a business—not just to scoop up some quick cash with spammy content and bogus inbound linking strategies.

You build TrustRank by starting a site or blog in one niche and becoming the authority in that niche or industry by providing content or resources that cannot be found anywhere else on the Internet. Google then rewards your efforts by putting you at the top of their search results for everyone to see.

PageRank was like Communism—a wonderful idea that could benefit everyone. But just like Communism, it was abused and had failed before it really had a chance to make a difference in the world.

What do you think about PageRank vs. TrustRank? What are you doing on your website to earn Google’s trust?

When Google, the King of Search, gives Publicity Hounds an easy way to let our websites and blogs stand out, we need to embrace it with all four paws.

The newest tool is the +1 button, shorthand for “this is pretty cool” or “you should check this out.”

You’ll start seeing it popping up on websites and blogs.

Here’s how it works.

When you install the code that makes the button visible on your own site, people who like your content can click on it and tell Google and others that they’re recommending it.  It’s Google’s equivalent of Facebook’s Like button.

But here’s the really powerful part.  When you recommend somebody else’s content, your photo shows up when that person’s website is listed in Google’s search results.  But your photo will show up only if you already have a Google Profile. Here’s an example:

 
Do these four things today:

1. If you don’t have a Google Profile, create one. 
       
2. Read more about the Google +1 button.  Here are Google’s FAQs. You can find a video and a helpful tutorial from Francisco Rosales at the SocialMouths blog.
      
3. Install the button at your website and blog.  Or save yourself the headache and have your webmaster do it for you.
     
4. Start recommending content you see elsewhere by clicking on the +1 button.

It’s too early to tell how successful the button will be, and whether it will go to the Google graveyard like the failed Buzz experiment, but you’d be crazy not to at least try it.

Do you think this button will catch on?

Does your LinkedIn headine set you apart from everyone else in your field? It should say to journalists and others who find you: “You need to contact his person, pronto!“

Until recently, my headline was so lame that I’m not even going to bore you with it here. It made me sound like every other publicity expert. So I came up with one that I think really sets me apart, and includes a call to action.

This isn’t an original idea. If I remember correctly, I saw someone else who is not a direct competitor use the “Call me at…” phrase, and decided to adopt it for my own headline. (It may have been Nathan Kievman, who created the excellent Linked Strategies group on LinkedIn.)

A week after I changed it, the phone rang. It was Matt Schumacher, a financial services consultant from Milwaukee. The first words out of his mouth were, “How can you help me?”

I explained how, and now he subscribes to my free ezine, The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week.” He knows all about my free content that’s available, like the free publicity ebooks I give away at the end of each year, my free publicity articles at my website, and the archives where he can read all the back issues of my newsletter. I also told him about my telephone consulting, and where he can find the products I’ve created that can help him market his practice, like special reports and videos, CDs and electronic transcripts.

Your headline, by the way, is the two lines of type that appear to the right of your photo when someone searches for you on LinkedIn. When you edit your profile, the headline appears to the left of your photo. It should always include keywords that the search engines can find.

You’re allowed 120 characters. So use them! No wimply one-liners.

I’m not suggesting that you must use the words “Call me…” and then include your phone number. But why wouldn’t you people to call you???

I’m simply saying that the headline must set you apart from everyone else in your industry.

Do you have a LinkedIn headline you’re proud? Show us by linking to your LinkedIn profile. And explain what it’s done for you.

Looking for people in a certain niche on Twitter, but confused about how to find them?

Twellow to the rescue.  It’s like the Twitter Yellow Pages, with hundreds of categories and some really obscure niches. I spent several hours there recently looking for people who one of my corporate consulting clients can follow.

Twellow grabs publicly available messages from Twitter. It analyzes the tweets and places the writer into several categories. That helps you narrow your search into specific niches where you can find who you are looking for.  We’re talking really narrow niches. Like Tourette Syndrome, fence repair, numismatics, sake and rockabilly.

While you’re there, check to see if you’re registered.  If not, get onto Twellow pronto!  But you must have a Twitter account first.

If you’re already on Twellow, you can be listed in 10 categories, delete categories that have been assigned to you, or add categories where you aren’t listed. Read the Twellow FAQs.

Here are six powerful ways to use Twellow:
     
    
1. Be listed in 10 categories.

When you create an account, you can choose to be listed in a maximum 10 categories, which can help even more people find you. Choosing 10 from the hundreds of topic categories available isn’t as difficult as you might think. Here are all my categories:

2. Create an Extended Bio

It accompanies your Twellow profile and allows an additional 2,000 characters so you can better explain what you have to offer. You can see a Sample Extended Bio or read mine.

Because I have an extended bio, here’s what visitors will see when they do a search for my name or Twitter handle (“Publicity Hound”). The notes in the yellow boxes are mine.

3. Include links within your Extended Bio.

Valuable links to your website, blog, or social media profile pages from this popular site will mean more Google juice. Take a look at the seven links I included in by bio, chock full of keyword phrases:

4. Use TwellowHood.

This giant map of the world lets you place your cursor on a continent, and then zoom in to locate who’s on Twitter in a certain city. 

I zoomed in on Wisconsin, and a window opened with a list of cities where people on Twitter live. I searched for Port Washington, Wis., my town, and learned there are more than 60 fellow Twitters who live near me. They work as a virtual assistant, search engine optimization expert, digital photo expert, photographer, graphic designer and even a woman who I might hire to redesign the inside of my home, using things I already have in it.

You can use Twellowhood for business leads and to find joint venture partners.

Looking for the best deals in a city you’ll be visiting soon? Use TwellowHood to find people on Twitter in those cities, follow them, and then ask what hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions they recommend.

You can also use TwitterLocal to find local Twitterers, though I prefer TwellowHood.
     
    
5. Read Twellow’s Advanced Search Tips.

By using certain characters like an ampersand, quotation marks or a minus sign in your search, you can narrow it or broaden it to include people you might not otherwise find in a simple search.

For example, if you want to find all people on Twellow that identify themselves as having something to do with dogs OR cats in New York, try this:

(dog | cat) (“new york” | nyc)

Greg Lambert of 3 Geeks & a Law Blog offers some advanced search tips here.   
  

6. Use a Twellow sticker

Don’t wait for people to find you on Twellow. Let them know you’re there by placing these stickers at your website or blog. Choose from four standard colors, or customize your own.

How do you use Twellow? What’s happened as a result? Any tips for Twellow newbies?

This month’s guest blog post is from Mark Macias, a crisis communications consultant. He runs a TV production and PR company that has consulted with restaurants, retailers, lounges and Congressional candidates. He also wrote the communications book, Beat the Press: Your Guide to Managing the Media.  You can read excerpts at BeatthePressBook.com. 

By Mark  Macias
Guest Blogger

Everyone likes to secretly Google himself, but what happens when Google turns up results you don’t like? How do you get your name removed from the search engines when the material is damaging?

The next time you write a press release, don’t forget hyperlinks.

Too many writers do. Or they’re simply unaware of the three most important reasons to include them: they improve your search engine optimization, drive traffic to your website, and amplify your message.

Used correctly, links can also push consumers to take the action you want them to take, whether it’s buying a product or calling for a reservation.

Business Wire has a helpful White Paper, ” Six Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Press Release,”  that you can download for free, and using hyperlinks is one of the tips. The White Paper givest two examples of when you should consider linking. If the release includes a quote from your CEO, link to the CEO’s bio. If the release announces a new business opening, link to a map that shows readers where it’s located.
  
  

17 Other Opportunities to Use Links
  

Here are 17 of my own ideas:

1. A sales page, where brilliant sales copy can push consumers to buy your product or service.
     
2. A video that demonstrates how to use the product you’re writing about, or provides helpful tips that tie into the topic of the release.
     
3. A page of testimonials from happy customers.
     
4. A blog post you’ve written where your readers are engaged in a lively conversation about a particular topic.
     
5. An earlier press release that offers more perspective on the topic.
     
6. A podcast that ties into the topic.
     
7. Your online press room where journalists and consumers can find more background information about you and your business.
     
8. Your social media profiles, with a recommendation that readers follow you.
     
9. A page at your website that includes an opt-in box where people can request something like a free White Paper, special report, or list of helpful tips.
     
10. A book you’re selling on Amazon.com.
      
11. A page at your website that includes frequently asked questions.
      
12. A page at your website where visitors will find product photos.
      
13. Quotes from analysts.
      
14. A page where readers can ask you a question about a particular topic. (A great way to generate sales leads!)
      
15. Reviews from customers.
      
16. An online catalog.
      
17. A photo gallery that ties into the topic of the release

  
But Don’t Go Overboard

A word of caution. Don’t go nuts when using hyperlinks. 
  
Press release expert Janet Thaeler, who was my guest during a teleseminar on how to use keywords in press releases, says a good rule of thumb is one link for every 100 to 150 words in the release. Use more than that, and the release can annoy readers as well as the search engines. It will look like you’re spamming. 

If you need more help on how to write press release, sign up for my free email course, 89 Ways to Write Powerful Press Releases.

Those are my ideas. Now, lets hear yours. When do you use hyperlinks in press releases and what kinds of results have you seen?

Writer Ed Davis asked me to pass along tips on how coffee shops can do competitive intelligence online, for an article in Specialty Coffee Retailer Magazine.

These tips work just as well for any retailer selling online or offline, or anyone who wants to spy on their competitors, or any Publicity Hound who wants more publicity than the competition:

1. Start at your competitor’s website. 

They might have an RSS feed (subscribe to the feed) or links to their social media profiles or a blog. 

While you’re there, be on the lookout for any customer service type things you see that make it easy for customers to contact or interact with them.  Example: A phone number placed prominently on the homepage.  If you see something you like—an introductory video, a “contact us” form, etc.—steal the idea and add it to your own website (but don’t plagiarize).

2. Create Google Alerts.

Create separate Google Alerts for every major competitor’s business name and website URL.  Google will deliver to your email inbox, as often as you wish, information it finds on the web about your competitors or their website.  

When creating the Alert, choose “Everything,” “Once a day” and “Only the best results.”  Be sure to set up Google Alerts for your own name and business, too, so you know instantly what people are saying about you online.

3. Look for their blog.

Are they blogging?  If so, subscribe to the RSS feed.

Check to see how many comments they’re getting.  Are the comments positive or negative or both?  Do they seem to have a loyal following?  Join the conversation if you wish, but do not post a snarky comment at their blog under your own name or a fake name.  Often, it’s more valuable to just sit on the sidelines and watch.  

4. Look on Facebook. 

Do they have a Facebook profile or Fan Page?  If so, become a friend and a fan and watch closely to see what they’re sharing with their followers. Read comments from their friends and followers. Are they offering  discounts, coupons or anything special for their fans? (See 11 Ways to Avoid Missed Opportunities on Facebook)

5. Look on Twitter. 

If they have an account, follow them. Their tweets might tip you off to new products and services they’ll be offering, events they’re hosting, etc.

Have they created Twitter lists? If so, review them. You might see lists that include marketers or coaches who they’re learning from, or others who are passing along valuable information that you, too, can learn from. (See How to Use Twitter Lists & Directories to Generate Publicity & Build Your Brand.)

6. Use SocialMention.com.

This is just like Google Alerts, but for social media.  Receive free daily email alerts of your brand or your competitor’s brand, company, CEO, marketing campaign, etc. Social Mention monitors more than 80 social media properties including Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, YouTube, Digg, Google, etc.    

7. Use Grader.com.

This website has a nice selection of tools that help you measure and analyze your marketing efforts, or those of your competitor.  You’ll find tools for measuring on FourSquare, Twitter, Facebook, a blog, and more.

8. Search for their videos.

Have they created videos that are pulling in traffic to their website? Go to YouTube and search under their name. Or, do a Google search for their name and then click on ”Videos” in the upper left corner.

9. Check their search engine ranking.

How well do they rank on  Google’s organic search list? Let’s say you’re a coffee shop in Port Washington, Wisconsin, where I live. Search ”coffee shop + Port Washington, Wi.” and compare how each of you rank.

There are dozens more tools for keeping track of what your competitors are doing, but these are the best and easiest places to start. What tools do you use to spy?

I usually frown on free press release distribution services for three reasons:

1. They seldom “distribute” anything. Instead, they park your press release at their website, to be found—or not—by the search engines.

2. You can’t be certain that the releases are getting into the major news feeds unless you check. 

3. It’s next to impossible to contact them if you notice an error, like a wrong telephone number, in your release after you’ve posted it to their site. So the incorrect release lives online forever.

Yet one of the most frequent questions Publicity Hounds ask me is: “Which free press release service should I use?”

I now strongly recommend you take advantage of the free press release service that comes with the free Press Room Page in the “Expert Book” at ExpertClick.com, published by Mitchell Davis of  The Yearbook of Experts, Authorities & Spokespersons. Register here.
   
  
What You Get with the Free Service

I’ve been promoting Mitch’s paid service for many years because it allows you to post up to 52 press releases a year at no additional per-release charge. And if you notice an error in your release, you call his office. A human answers the phone and fixes the error. His releases are picked up by Google and LexisNexis. Until now, you had to pay for that service.

But not anymore. You get a very basic version at the “Freemium” level.

It gets you a News Room page, photo, profile and a link to your website. You can also post one free press release each month which will also show up in Google and LexisNexis.

Only the paid service has free telephone support. But theFreemium members are offered support via email with a 24- to 48-hour commitment to questions.  You can email support questions to mitchell (at) yearbookofexperts.com and the answers will be posted at their customer support blog. Mitch’s staff will notify you to visit the blog to see the answers.

Other things you need to know about the Freemium level:

• You’re ranked in the topic lists and search results after the paid members, but you can include 39 topics for indexing.
• These free accounts are supported by contextual Google Ads, on their profiles and news releases.
• Freemium member accounts are not included in the printed Yearbook of Experts, Authorities & Spokespersons.
• Inactive Freemium accounts may be removed from the system, when members do not send a news releases at least every 90 days. (I like this feature because it forces you to send releases several times a year.)
• You can’t edit news releases once they’re sent, but you may cancel them.

The Paid Services

The other two membership levels are:
–Classic at $95 a month
–Club at $295 a month.
 
Paid members get telephone support at (202) 333-5000.
 
You can see the Member Handbook and the benefits you’ll get by becoming a paid member. You can also see how to send a news release. (Full disclosure: I’m an affiliate, and get a commission on any sales that result from the paid services through my affiliate link.)
  

A Note for PR Pros and Publicists

Participants may only send news releases about their businesses. 

If you’re a PR person who wants to send news releases about clients, you’ll need to open additional unique accounts for them.

Why? Because the press room page system is what drives search engine optimization. That’s just plain smart.
 
 
Press Release Success Stories from Expertclick Members

Child safety expert Debra Holtzman knows journalists love Top Ten lists, and she has been invited to be on the ”Today” Show, based on her child safety tips.  

 Here’s a sample of a recent Top Ten List News Release on Ten Life Saving Tips Every Mom and Dad Should Know.

You can see all of Debra’s releases here.
 

Ed Poll adds his HTML subscriber newsletter and his subscriber opt-in form. He integrated his Constant Contact system into News Release Wire.

Here’s an example of how he uses the archive feature in Constant Contact to get the HTML code, and then sends a news release using that code. And here’s how Ed had added the HTML code to get more opt-ins to his email list in his Press Room Page. If you have an email system, you can do this too, by logging into your email account platform to create the HTML code and inserting that code into your Press Room Page. 

You can send many types of content via News Release Wire, not just news releases, and you can upload in many formats. They will push your content to your Press Room Page, via email, and to Google News and Lexis. Content can include:

• News Releases
• White Papers
• Blog Content
• Links to your website or subpages for SEO
• Your email newsletter
• Your opinions on news, many follow Google Trends to get ideas.
• PDFs of your brochures. 

Hounds, this is a no-brainer. You’d be crazy not to sign up for at least for the free service. 

If you can’t afford your own photographer, or you take lousy photos, or you hate creating graphics, use a stock photo service to enhance everything from press releases to media kits in a PR campaign.

Royalty-free stock images can save you a lot of time and money trying to generate graphics on your own. Royalty-free means you can use the downloaded images forever and not have to worry about infringement issues.

Shutterstock has given me a complimentary subscription so I can try their service, and their photos come in handy at this blog. They’ve helped me compile this list of 13 ways you can use stock image photos in a PR campaign.

1. Blogs. Many bloggers are missing the opportunity to dress up their posts and make their blogs more attractive. Regardless of what topic I write about, I can usually find a stock image to accompany it.  
       
2. Ezines and print newsletters. Stock photos and illustrations can enhance articles in company newsletters and ezines. Now that so many ezine publishers produce HTML newsletters, stock images come in handy.
         
3. Press releases. Most press release distribution services allow customers to upload several images at no extra charge. If the headline doesn’t call attention to your release, the stock photo just might. Adding editorial stock images of premier events such as concerts or sports competitions can add weight and influence to a related press release, blog post or ezine article.
       
4. Presentations. Whether you’re submitting a proposal for a client, or you’re a speaker who’s presenting to an audience, compelling stock images used to illustrate business presentations can help capture the attention of your audience. Highlight key points with photos and illustrations in PowerPoint. 
       
5. Reports. Stock photos are a great way to add excitement to client reports and reinforce your accomplishments.
       
6. White Papers. White Papers often cry out for colorful stock imagery to break up text and hold readers’ attention. 
        
7. Media kits. Including stock photos and illustrations when designing a media kit or media kit inserts to add extra visual appeal. 
       
8. Event invitations and posters. Stock photos and illustrations allow PR professionals to create attractive event invitations. Stock images can also help create just the right mood for the event itself. Simply enlarge them to poster size and place them throughout the event location.  
       
9. Social media. Use them to enliven your your social media presence on sites such as Facebook, Twitter (Twitpic), Wikipedia, and more.  
       
10. Search engine optimization. By properly tagging a stock image within a release, blog or website, you can raise your site’s rankings. PR clients will appreciate the added value as well as your SEO savvy.
        
11. Your own website. Stock photos and illustrations are a great way to demonstrate creative flair and generate interest in your website, or your PR client’s.
        
12. Advertising.  If you’re buying an ad, a good stock photo can come in handy.
        
13. For the media. Offer stock photos to journalists if they’re coving a story about you, and the photos are a good tie-in. Sure,  the media have access to their own stock photos, but Rule #1 when working with the media is “Be helpful.” 

My ebook How to Use Photos & Graphics in Your Publicity Campaign offers thousands of helpful tips on how to  incorporate images into your publicity efforts.  

The next time you write  a press release, don’t let youself lapse into gobbledygook.

They’re annoying, overused words most people wouldn’t use when they talk, but they don’t hesitate to use them when they write because buzzwords make their releases sound ”important.”

I’ve written before about aggravating words in press releases. In this week’s Daily Dog newsletter published by Bulldog Reporter,  Ken Makovsky comments on the most annoying, overused words in the workplace. When I saw the list of words—leverage, interface, viral, cutting age—I couldn’t help but think that the list is identical to words that should be banned from press releases.

If you think I’m exaggerating, just hop on over to PRWeb and glance through some of the press releases that were posted today. (The worst examples are those from technology companies.)

Instead of relying on buyzzwords, pay more attention to keywords. That is, words and phrases that people type into the search engines when they’re looking for information. Press release specialist Janet Thaeler gave dozens of kick-butt tips when she was my guest expert on Wednesday during the teleseminar on “How to Use Keywords, the ‘Magic Magnets’ That Pull Consumers & Journalists to Your Press Releases.”  

Here are four tips from that call:

• Use keywords in the headline, the first sentence and throughout the body copy. 
    
• Use keywords in anchor text that links to your website or your blog–about one anchor text link for every 100 words of copy. For example, if one of the keyword phrases in my press release was “free publicity tips,” and I wanted people to visit my website to sign up for my free ezine called “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” I wouldn’t say “Click here to sign up for Stewart’s free ezine on publicity tips.”   I’d say “Sign up for Stewart’s free ezine on free publicity tips.” If people were searching for free publicity tips, they wouldn’t be typing “click here” into the search engines.
      
• Use the URL again in your press release but spell it out, like this: http://www.PublicityHound.com. The place to do this is in the boilerplate, also known as the “About us” paragraph at the end of your press release. If someone cuts and pastes your press release and uses it on their website, or forwards it to a friend, but doesn’t bother to make the links live, people won’t be able to find your website unless your URL is spelled out.
      
• Janet’s favorite keyword research tools are the Google keyword tool and Wordtracker’s free tool.

Using keywords in press releases might feel strange at first because we’ve all been taught to concentrate on things like the headline, a great “hook” in the first paragraph and powerful quotes within the release. But the more you practice using keywords, the easier it becomes. And the more skilled you become at using keywords, the easier it is for people to find your release.