As we all know the Internet has changed the face of the press release. But what’s more, the web has changed the way we measure the effectiveness of it.

Back in the day, PR pros would use “clip books,” which contained clippings from publications that picked up the story, to prove success. But how many people read it and acted on it? Those numbers were simply not available. As Greg says, you can’t take the “clip book” to the bank.

The web gives us the tools to prove the true worth of a release.

• PRWeb reports – If you use PRWeb to distribute your release, you will have access to a host of reports including Headline Impressions and Full Reads. You’ll be able to see how many people actually read your release, clicked on a link or printed it out. (PRWeb will be introducing some new reports in the new future including reports of sites where your release appeared and actions taken from the release such as downloading a pdf or forwarding the release.)

• Connect the dots – If you have more than one property or brand, Greg recommends using your analytics to compare the number of queries (searches) of the promoted site or product against the unpromoted property.

• Were there conversions? – Embed a unique tracking link in your release and point it to a unique action-oriented landing page asking the visitor to fill out a form, download a pdf or buy a product.

• How do you measure the value of a “tweet?” –A Twitter search for your keywords will show you if your release is a topic of conversation as well as offer clues as to who may have blogged or will be blogging about your story. Greg says “Tweets are early morning radar to blogs that may show up later in the day.”

Greg points out that there is still value in the traditional press release, but with fewer and fewer journalists out there, it is harder to get coverage through these channels. “When you get it, it is precious and rare.”

You can view the PRWeb webinar with Greg Jarboe of SEO-PR here.

Related posts:

1. Why I like to use PRWeb for online press releases
2. Shipping your online press release overseas – different story
3. Why free press release sites may be all you need

PRWeb releases hit top sites like Google News and Yahoo News – the #1-ranked online news site – as well as industry-specific websites and blogs. Depending on the level of service purchased, you can choose to issue your release to a number of specific industry and regional newsfeeds. At the top level, your release will be distributed to the Associated Press top-circulation daily newspapers.

Like many of us in this business, PRWeb has had to evolve with the changing landscape of the Internet. Now you can add images, PDFs, videos and podcasts to create the multimedia release. To capture the attention of the social media crowd, you can link it to your Twitter account and add Technorati tags for the blogging community.

Then there are the reporting functions of PRWeb. Want to know how well your release did? You’ll get a PDF report that indicates:

• The number of headline impressions
• The number of full page reads
• Percentage of visits by country
• Top 20 search terms used to find your release
• Comparisons of releases for your organization
• At the top level, your report will actually show you what city in the world your release readers are coming from

If you want to take advantage of this great service with a great press release, I can help. Let’s talk.

Related posts:

1. Did it work? Tips on measuring the success of your online press release.
2. Why free press release sites may be all you need
3. Shipping your online press release overseas – different story