In this article, I’ll explain why optimizing your cybersecurity press releases for SEO is a super easy technique you could use to gain immediate social proof on search engine pages.
If you ever looked at your competitors’ search results and got a little jealous, you’re in the right place.
This SEO methodology you’re going to learn requires no link-building, acquiring DoFollow backlinks, or outreach to bloggers or journalists.
We’re going to show you how to easily create search results that look like this, and rank high:
We’re going to do this by using a dedicated cybersecurity PR distribution platform while fusing knowledge in Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
This will make your cybersecurity press releases get attention from leading tech journalists, investors, prospects, and basically anyone that researched your brand online.
Contents
Why SEO for Cybersecurity Press Releases Matters for Organic Search
What we’re going to show you is an SEO hack that will easily help you establish search authority in the cybersecurity industry.
If you’re Palo Alto Networks or McAfee, you don’t really have to worry whether googling your company is going to bring back some reputable search results.
You know you’re going to find some big news in big news outlets like Yahoo.
But what if you’re an up and coming startup in the cybersecurity sector, and you’ve yet to make headlines for yourself or your company?
Ask yourself this: what will your potential prospects and/or investors feel if they Google you, and find zero mentions of you in the news section?
I can tell you a few things they’ll feel (even subconsciously): Mistrust. Suspicion. Apprehension.
Put yourself in their shoes. Would you take out your wallet and pay an organization that has no online credibility? Or would you feel doubt, skepticism and wariness?
Now ask yourself what will they feel if they find a search result like this:
That is the result of an SEO-optimized, well-written cybersecurity press release, neatly placed in a reputable cybersecurity media outlet: CSO Online.
CSO Online is a DA 85, 466K monthly traffic website. It’s well-known in the cybersecurity industry.
SEO-optimized press releases strengthen your site’s overall search authority in the cybersecurity niche by increasing your brand’s digital footprint, which is a critical component of effective cybersecurity marketing.
You see, Google uses the EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) framework to determine a site’s search authority on a topic.
Frequent brand mentions on news outlets and high-ranking press releases are strong authority signals that help Google determine your site’s quality.
Lastly, it’s important to know when press releases are effective in general: when they align with significant company milestones or major industry events.
Companies typically use press releases for funding rounds, product launches, strategic partnerships, research reports, cyber crisis management and more.
Understanding Technical SEO for Syndicated Cybersecurity Press Releases
Before we dive deep into learning how to rank your syndicated cybersecurity press releases, I want you to be somewhat familiar with the fundamentals of technical SEO and what makes an article rank well on Google.
1. Core Web Vitals and Page Speed on Syndicated Sites
Google evaluates page experience through Core Web Vitals, which measure loading speed (LCP), interactivity (FID), and visual stability (CLS). Faster-loading pages with smooth user experiences are favored in rankings.
When press releases are syndicated to multiple sites, the ranking potential depends on how well these publishers optimize their performance. High-authority news sites often meet these technical benchmarks, increasing the likelihood of visibility.
2. HTTPS and Secure Syndication Platforms
Google prioritizes secure websites using HTTPS, as it ensures encrypted connections and protects users from data interception. Secure pages tend to rank better than their HTTP counterparts.
Major cybersecurity news sites typically follow security best practices, which positively impact press release visibility.
3. Mobile-First Press Release Formatting
Google’s mobile-first indexing means it primarily evaluates the mobile version of a page when determining rankings. Articles that are mobile-friendly, with responsive design and optimized layout, tend to rank higher.
Syndicated press releases must be formatted for readability on mobile devices. Publishers with well-structured mobile experiences increase the chances of ranking success for syndicated content.
4. Maximizing Crawlability for Syndicated Press Releases
For an article to rank, search engines must efficiently crawl and index it. Factors like a well-structured URL, clear navigation, and avoidance of blocking directives in robots.txt impact discoverability.
Syndicated press releases benefit when they are placed on well-organized publisher platforms that facilitate search engine crawling. Large media outlets typically ensure effective indexation, which improves the ranking potential of distributed content.
5. Leveraging Structured Data for News Visibility
Structured data, such as NewsArticle schema, helps search engines better understand the context of an article and can increase the chances of appearing in rich results or Google News.
Syndicated press releases published on news platforms that implement structured data markup are more likely to gain enhanced visibility, improving their search presence.
6. Image Optimization for Press Releases
Optimized images improve page speed and search rankings. Using compressed formats, descriptive filenames, and relevant alt text helps search engines interpret image content accurately.
When a syndicated press release includes optimized images, it has a better chance of appearing in image search results, increasing discoverability across Google’s search ecosystem.
7. Optimizing URLs on Syndicated Platforms
Short, keyword-rich URLs improve an article’s search relevance and ranking potential. Descriptive, well-structured URLs provide search engines with clear context.
Although URL structures on third-party sites are controlled by publishers and not you, press release titles heavily influence the auto-generated URL. So if you optimize your titles, your URLs shouldbe fine.
8. Understanding Google’s Crawl Patterns for News Content
Google’s crawl frequency varies depending on content type and website authority. High-authority news sites receive frequent crawls, making their content more likely to rank quickly.
Press releases syndicated to frequently crawled media outlets benefit from this ranking advantage, allowing news to surface in search results faster than if published on lesser-known platforms.
9. JavaScript SEO Considerations for Press Releases
JavaScript-heavy content is a complex topic when it comes to SEO, as it has its own issues and advantages. Since I’m going to teach you how to rank articles placed on websites you don’t own, you don’t need to learn the best practices required in order to optimize the content for crawlers.
What I do want you to understand is that syndicated press releases are typically formatted as static content by publishers, ensuring proper indexability without JavaScript rendering issues.
10. Ensuring Proper Indexation with XML News Sitemaps
XML sitemaps help search engines discover and prioritize fresh content by providing a structured list of URLs for indexing.
While standard XML sitemaps assist in general indexing, Google News sitemaps are specifically designed for news content, allowing faster discovery of time-sensitive articles like press releases.
When press releases are syndicated to media platforms that maintain Google News sitemaps, they have an improved chance of being discovered quickly, especially if Google treats them as timely or newsworthy content.
11. Hreflang Tags for Global Press Release Visibility
For content targeting multiple regions or languages, hreflang tags indicate the appropriate language version to display in search results.
If press releases are distributed in multiple languages, publishers using hreflang tags improve their chances of ranking in international search results, expanding audience reach.
12. Reducing Load Time with Optimized Content Delivery
Faster-loading pages tend to rank higher. Factors like content delivery networks (CDNs), efficient caching, and optimized media assets contribute to improved page speed.
Syndicated press releases on publishers that use CDNs benefit from reduced load times, ensuring a better ranking experience.
13. Structured Navigation for Better PR Discovery
Clear site navigation improves both user experience and search engine crawling. Proper categorization helps search engines understand content relationships.
When press releases are placed within structured news categories, they become extremely accessible to search engines, increasing their chances of ranking.
How to Create Cybersecurity SEO-Optimized Press Releases
So now that we got the technical stuff out of the way, let’s get to our main subject: How do you optimize your cyber security press releases for search engines?
1. Find Relevant Keywords For Your Cybersecurity Press Release
To rank higher in Google Search, the content of your press release must include the keywords your target audience is searching for.
How do you find relevant keywords?
Let me quickly share a couple of methods.
Use Your Brand Name
Before getting lost in keyword research, let’s not forget the most important KPI here:
Creating social proof on the SERPs for prospects who research your brand.
Therefore, one of the main keyword you’d like your press releases to rank for, is your brand.
Think about it like this:
- Top-of-the-funnel prospects are finding your brand when searching for a solution (i.e. “
iso compliance” or “endpoint security“). - Then, they research
your brand - Then, they struggle to find you mentioned in any top tier media (if any).
- Then, they feel doubt and mistrust towards your brand, and are less likely to go down the funnel.
What good is it if you manage to attract top-of-the-funnel prospects who found your brand when searching for a solution, if they never convert because they don’t trust you?
So before we dive into tricks on how to rank content for long-tails, let’s give room to the no. 1 KPI:
Creating social proof on the SERPs, by optimizing your press releases for the keyword that is your brand.
Use Google Search Suggestions
But now let’s get to the nitty-gritty.
Type the main topic keyword of your press release in Google Search to get instant suggestions. For example, if your PR is about a malware checker, here’s what the search suggestions will show.
Notice how I only write “malware c” to get more suggestions from Google.
If I add space in the middle of my keyword, I’ll get more long-tail suggestions.
If you’re wondering how my search results are showing keyword volumes, it’s a Chrome extension called Keywords Everywhere that I use for research.
Add different letters before and after your main keyword to get more suggestions and choose the most relevant ones with the highest search volumes.
Now let me give you an example of how one of our clients got ranked for their keyword: CMMC 2.0 Compliance.
The title of the press release here is “INE Security Alert: Expediting CMMC 2.0 Compliance“.
I googled “cmmc 2.0 compliance” and went to the news section. Low and behold, look who’s at #2 on DevOps.com (DA 66, 127K SW traffic).
Use A Keyword Research Tool
Ahrefs and SEMrush are two of the best keyword research tools you can use to find relevant keywords.
They’re both paid tools but help you uncover keywords you can’t find with Google autocomplete. We use both of them every single day.
For example, Ahrefs not only shows you a keyword’s search volume but also gives you a score indicating how difficult it would be to rank in the top ten for your keyword.
Additionally, it gives you less competitive variations of your keyword that you can target in your content.
Simply enter your top competitor’s URL in these tools to uncover the keywords they’re ranking for. Alternatively, enter your main topic to get a list of keyword suggestions.
2. Optimize Your Press Release Title, Description And Content
Once you’ve found your target keywords, it’s time to write your cybersecurity press release and optimize it for maximum search coverage.
Below is a table summrizing all the elements you need to optimize with instructions on how to do so.
| SEO Element | Description | Instructions |
|---|---|---|
| Title [H1] | The SEO title and main headline of your PR | Insert keyword in the first 3 words |
| Meta Description | Brief summary of your press release | Make sure your keyword is in the first sentence |
| URL | The address of your syndicated press release | Keep your title (H1) SEO-optimized |
| Content | The body of your your press release | Use your keyword in the: – First sentence – Middle of the content – End of your PR |
| Sub-Headings [H2s, H3s] | Signposts of your press release | Insert your keyword into 30%-75% of your H2s/H3s |
| Image Alt-Tags | Describes the appearance of an image on your PR | Include 1-2 images in the PR |
Press Release Title and H1
The SEO title and main headline [H1 tag] of your press release should ideally begin with your main keyword, or at least show up as the 2nd or 3rd keyword.
It can also include your brand name, depending on the nature of your press release.
Let’s take a different example now of a different CyberNewswire client, SquareX, who coinedterm “browser syncjacking”.
This is a smart move by the way. When you coin a term and it gains traction, people google it, find your brand, and attribute authority to your brand as the one who coined the term.
So, the term we’d like to rank for is browser syncjacking.
Now I should say – an SEO-optimized title should be less than 60 characters.
But I should also say…
This article got ranked anyway on the 1st SERP of “browser syncjacking” when it got syndicated through CyberNewswire to CIO.com (DA 87, SW traffic 946K):
Meta Description
Your press release description should give readers a summary of your content and its main offer, using your target keyword.
When dealing with press releases, most media outlets just take the first sentence and use that as the description.
So your goal is to simply make sure your keyword is in the first sentence.
In this example we have Doppler with their press release they distributed through CyberNewswire:
Doppler announces integration with Datadog to streamline security and monitoring.
Datadog is a well-known cloud monitoring service. Their brand name has 86K monthly search volume from the US alone, and a keyword difficulty of 64.
Still, when I google “datadog” and went to the news section, look who I found at #3. Doppler’s press releases syndicated through CyberNewswire to Hackread.com (DA 77, SW traffic 237K).
Look at the meta-description, and of course the title (H1) – both of which include the keyword “datadog“.
URL
As discussed in the technical SEO section above, though you can’t officially control the URL of your press release on a third-party media outlet, you kind of can…
In most cases, the URL publications use for syndicated press releases is simply the title, with hyphens replacing the spaces between the words.
Therefore, if you keep your title SEO-optimized, your press release URL will be optimized as well.
Press Release Content
A commonly recommended keyword density is between 1% and 2%, meaning your primary keyword should appear approximately 7 to 20 times in a 700-1,000-word article which is the typical length of a press release.
However, when optimizing the content of your press release, avoid stuffing keywords unnecessarily.
Instead, try writing a persuasive press release that creates interest in your offer and makes it newsworthy for journalists, potential investors and of course top-of-the-funnel prospects.
If you’ve chosen your keywords correctly, they’ll naturally feature in your content.
Generally, you should use your exact keyword and its variations:
- Within the first couple of sentences
- In the middle of the content
- Toward the end of your press release
Search engines are smart. Especially now. Don’t stuff your keywords and overdo it because we want to keep your press release engaging, interesting, with a natural flow.
Sub-Headings (H2 & H3s)
Make your press releases easier to read by using at least a couple of sub-headings. Subheadings not only make your content more digestible but also allow you to optimize them more effectively.
Use your main keyword and its variations on 30%-75% of your H2 and H3 subheadings for maximum search impact.
Here’s an example from a CyberNewswire client, CyTwist. The title is CyTwist Launches Advanced Security Solution to identify AI-Driven Cyber Threats in minutes.
The keyword we’d like to rank for here is ai driven cyber threats, or similar variations of it.
Inside the press release, CyTwist used the following H2s:
So, I googled “AI-Driven Cyber Threats” and easily found a syndication of this press release on DevOps.com (DA 66, 127K SW traffic).
Image Alt-Tags
Google encourages using images in content because they make it more engaging and easier for search algorithms to interpret. They also increase your chance of ranking for Google’s image-related searches.
For press releases, it’s ideal to include 1-2 images that journalists can use when covering your story.
The title image of this press release on CyberNewswire, is a great example.
To ensure these images are searchable, add optimized alt-tags with your target keywords to accurately describe each image.
3. Use The Inverted Pyramid Approach To Write Your Content
If you’ve ever read the New York Times, Washington Post, or any major newspaper, you’ll notice that their stories lead with the most important information, followed by the details.
This is called the inverted pyramid style in journalism.
Not only does this method keep readers engaged, but it also improves your chances of ranking higher in search results.
Here’s why.
Starting your press release with the key information saves readers time and builds trust, showing you’re a credible source.
Criminal IP’s press release is a great example of this approach.
But won’t they immediately leave your site when they get their desired information? Isn’t it better to keep them scrolling till the end and boost time on site?
In theory, yes. But research shows the opposite happens. If users don’t find what they need right away, they’re likely to leave and search elsewhere.
So, it’s better to give them what they want upfront and hope they stick around for the details.
This idea is also behind Google’s featured snippets and AI overviews that offer direct answers on search pages.
In short, to boost your press release’s search rankings and hold readers’ attention, structure it using the inverted pyramid style.
4. Syndicate Your Press Releases With A Cybersecurity PR Newswire
Ready for our shameless plug? Well, here it is.
But to tell you the truth, we’re proud to say that going about the methodology laid out in this article was only made possible because of CyberNewswire.
You see, we started this article by stressing how crucial earned media is for your credibility, social proof and reputation.
So for this principle to work, your prospects need to find your press releases on many authoritative, cybersecurity-relevant media outlets, such as:
- CIO.com
- CSOonline.com
- DevOps.com
- SecurityBoulevard.com
- CyberNews.com
And the only way to do that at scale, is by using a cybersecurity-focused press release distribution platform. And I’ll tell you a secret – there’s only one, and it’s called CyberNewswire.
With CyberNewswire, you can submit a press release that gets syndicated (published) on many top-tier cybersecurity and mainstream news outlets.
So if you optimize your PRs for SEO as instructed in this guide, we’ll publish your SEO-optimzed press releases on these top-tier cyber news outlets.
Then, you’ll see similar results as our clients, displayed in this article. Simple, right?
And rememberall the technical SEO stuff we talked about at the beginning of this post?
Well, since we work with the top cybersecurity news publishers in the industry, rest assured they got all those best practices covered.
If you’d like to see a case study and see an example of a cybersecurity press release syndication, just click the link below, where you can check out our full media list.
To see our case study and media distribution list click here.
Ready To Create SEO Optimized Cybersecurity Press Releases?
Optimizing your cybersecurity press releases for SEO is one of the easiest ways to gain social proof on the SERPs.
It also increases your probability of reaching relevant journalists and media publications, along with making sure that your prospects find you, no matter where they are in the funnel.
By combining cyber security SEO with targeted press release distribution, you’ll get high-quality backlinks for your site, improve its overall search authority, and get media coverage faster than your competitors.
If you need help developing a press release distribution strategy, get in touch with one of our experts today.