One of the best ways businesses can advertise themselves in an increasingly Internet-dependent world is through an online press release. Not only can an online press release help you reach a broader audience—potentially in the millions—it can help you establish credibility in your particular industry.

What’s more is that creating an online press release doesn’t have to break your bank, especially during rough financial times like these. There are numerous sites that will publish your press release for free, and others that will make sure it’s distributed to top news sites like Google and Yahoo! for as little as $80-$120. This is a small price to pay for a great amount of publicity.

But you have to be savvy in what you submit for distribution. Below are 5 tips that will help you spread the word about your services and increase your visibility on the Web:

1. Have a purpose – In other words, say something other than, “hey, we’re here!” People don’t care. So make sure your press release has something to say. For instance, do you have a recent success, verdict, event or milestone to announce? Those would all be worthy of a press release.
2. Write for your audience – Of course the search engines are important. But they’re not everything. Remember your audience first. Then go back and think about how to target the search engines too.
3. Include keywords – Don’t overdo it though. Shoot for between two and five keywords, and be sure that one of those is in the title. Also, link keywords back to your website.
4. Make it interesting with media – Use images, video, pdf files or other documents to engage your reader. Plain text is boring, so do something to keep your audience interested.
5. Include a call to action – Invite readers to visit your website to learn more about you, your work, your services, etc.

You also need to keep in mind that press releases tend to follow a specific format, which many distribution sites will outline for you. We like the following press release distribution sites, but keep in mind that there are countless outlets to choose from: PRWeb, PR Newswire, Marketwire and Business Wire.

Good luck!