15 replies to this topic

[RisaBB]

Hello,

I just issued a PR for my client for the first time using prweb.

Even though I called prweb to get it clarified, I'm still not sure what "estimated pickup" means. Can I find out who picked up the PR, and if so, how?

Is the only way to see if it's been published somewhere to pick some unique phrases from the PR and do a search on Google?

Thanks.

Risa

[Jill]

Is the only way to see if it's been published somewhere to pick some unique phrases from the PR and do a search on Google?

Yes, I believe so. A google news alert can help.

[jehochman]

I've become very suspicious of the PRWeb stats. The amount of views seems to be out of proportion to the actual responses. For instance, if we issue a press release that gets 100,000 reads, I'd expect to see a little surge in web traffic, but I never have.

Does anybody have insight into whether PRWeb's stats are reliable or not?

Does a view mean that somebody downloaded the article, or just that the article heading and link flashed across their screen?

Jill is right that Google Alerts is a good way to monitor news about your clients for free. PR agencies have better tools (for money) that monitor many smaller publications.

[Jill]

Does anybody have insight into whether PRWeb's stats are reliable or not?

They sure don't seem to mean much, that's all I know!

[RisaBB]

Thanks.

The woman I spoke to at PRWEB said that Reads is the same thing as impressions. Every time the title of your PR appears, it counts as a read. Reads also includes click-throughs. She said that they will be changing either the wording of this, or something about this, because lots of people are confused by it.

Happy Holidays.

Risa

[Michael Martinez]

I carry PRWeb headlines on my network and I know some people look at those pages, but clearly they are only counting retrievals from their site. They cannot tell you accurately who is going to follow through on a press release.

Take all statistics with a grain of salt.

[RisaBB]

Hello,

I typed in a unique phrase from my client's PR, and at first I was excited to see that it showed up in Google 20 times. I clicked on all but 2 of the links (the first was my client's website and the 2nd was prweb) and I couldn't find the headline anywhere on these sites. The sites looked like lists of headlines. Some were wacky, like Bob's Shoes (my client is an attorney) and another was some sex website.

What's going on?

Thanks.

Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah everybody!

Risa

[torka]

Those sites are apparently carrying a feed of press releases from somewhere, maybe PRWeb's own XML feed, maybe from somewhere else. They may believe that having a page (or sometimes multiple pages) of unrelated "news" helps them rank higher (I don't agree, but that's a whole 'nother discussion ).

When the Googlebot visited their site, your headline was displayed, so that's what was indexed. By the time you got the alert and went over there to visit, your headline had already scrolled off their display to be replaced by more recent press release headlines.

Nothing nefarious, most likely, but nothing terribly meaningful or useful for you, either.

My :02:ww

--Torka

[RisaBB]

Thanks, Torka, now I understand.

So I have nothing impressive to show my client unless the PR is not a newsfeed, but a more permanent feature on another site. Right?

So how can I measure how successful a PR is - increased traffic, a request for an interview, a link from another website?

Thanks for getting back to me on Christmas.

Risa

[Randy]

So how can I measure how successful a PR is - increased traffic, a request for an interview, a link from another website?

All of the above Risa. And increases in conversions too if you have a method set up to track this.

Another little trick I use is to also set up a version of the press release on a page of the web site before I send it out. Then watch to see how many times this specific page gets visited. Since I set thes up 2 click levels at a minimum from the home page, and the linking text clearly indicates it's a section for Press Releases, these pages typically won't get a lot of ancillary traffic on their own. Just spider traffic and real people from the Press. Non-press typically won't care to go read your press releases.

In my experience, you can't get a good feel for how successful the press release is until a few weeks down the road. By then the release should have found its natural home in the archive section of other sites, so you can find them more easily. Plus by then someone may have contacted you/the client regarding interviews. Or you may start seeing stories that use the information provided in the release.

[Jill]

So how can I measure how successful a PR is - increased traffic, a request for an interview, a link from another website?

I would say that it's really only successful if it results in some real press. That usually would mean a reporter or the like contacting you. However, sometimes it could be as simple as some bloggers picking it up and mentioning it in their blogs. They probably won't contact you first.

[Michael Martinez]

As long as the paid PR inclusion still works with sites like Altavista News, Google News, and Yahoo! News, there is a chance that a timely, newsworthy press release will generate some legitimate surfer reads. I occasionally click on press release links when browsing the news searches myself, but it depends on my interests and what the search feeds show me.

[eAgent]

Thanks, Torka, now I understand.

So I have nothing impressive to show my client unless the PR is not a newsfeed, but a more permanent feature on another site.  Right?

So how can I measure how successful a PR is - increased traffic, a request for an interview, a link from another website?

Thanks for getting back to me on Christmas.

Risa

Hi Risa,

I've been consulting with PRWeb for a while now, and can tell you that the company is actively addressing this very issue.

Since Day-1, PRWeb has been concerned with PR accountability. As a seasoned Public Relations professional AND an early proponent of SEO for all web content, I absolutely need to have statistical data to provide my clients. The elements that provide statistical feedback in the PRWeb online visibility engine are varied, but relevant. Here's a top-of-mind list:

- Subscription emails to media professionals,
- RSS and mRSS pickups,
- Google and Yahoo News pickups and Inktomi spidering,
- PRWeb's "EyeCaster" program,
- The 20,000 or so blogs that subscribe to specific PRWeb feeds
- Individuals who visit the PRWeb site,
- People doing searches on www.NewsPad.com (PRWeb's internal news search engine)...
- People who actually click on and view your specific press release
- People who choose the "Print" dialog in the browser for a specific release
- People who click and enter an email in the Pass-on dialog
- People who open the PDF version of the release

Whew! That's a lot to track.

Each element is given a specific number, and you can view that number in your Administration console (I often make a screen shot of the stats as a part of my client presentation).

So David McInnis (CEO and Founder of PRWeb) and his CTO Al Castle and crew are developing a more meaningful Online Visibility Index that gets to the heart of your statistics. You'll see this come together over the next 45-60 days or so www.prweb.com/releases/2006/2/prweb349374.htm
www.prweb.com/releases/2006/2/prweb350045.htm
www.prweb.com/releases/2006/1/prweb331581.htm, and www.prweb.com/releases/2005/12/prweb317258.htm. Now that these technologies are in place, measuring their results is one of the key items the company is addressing).

So far, by using the format I've included in the attachment and link I've provided in this posting, I've been able to give my clients enough feedback, and produce enough real, measurable momentum that everyone is very happy with the results.

But I have to tell you: The Big Mo rarely comes from a single press release. A strategic PR campaign, where I schedule releases on a regular basis for the same client (1 or 2 per week) seems to be the magic bullet in getting momentum and press results (meaning I actually get calls from the media regarding our clients featured in PRWeb releases, website traffic and Alexa rank increases, and Google and Yahoo searches for the specific PR title number in the thousands).

Hopefully I answered your question in some reasonable fashion. If you email me directly, I'll put you on a list to let you know when the new metrics are in place.


P.S. In the Case Studies PDF, you'll see that we cover all sorts of PR: From Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at an event to a day trading software firm just getting launched. We provide our clients these types of presentations (in a more expanded format, of course) along with a SEO results document to ensure that they have some real numbers to work with.

Since PRWeb is both a direct to the media as well as a direct-to-consumer PR engine, it's important to focus on more than just the traditional media reprints and reporter/article requests. Those are valuable, but online visibility is becoming more and more key to client success - an area in which PRWeb really provides significant additional value.



[Edited links as per [url=http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?act=boardrules]Forum Rules[/url]. - Jill]

[RisaBB]

Wow! Thanks Mark. I'll print this out and read it more carefully later.

Risa

[eAgent]

Hi Risa,

Great. I'm going to attach that document again and see if it sticks this time. If not, please feel free to email me and I'll send it your way.

Have a great weekend.

best,
ME

P.S. Hi Jill! Thanks for the course correction re: my links! I'll take a gander at the rule book for future posts...