This is just a note that we are phasing out Technorati and Keyword tags from PRWeb news releases.  Our rationale for doing so is as follows:

Why We Removed Technorati Tags

The initial function of the Technorati tags was to serve as a directional tool for news release visitors who might want to see what was being said in the blogosphere about certain topics relevant to the news release. Our research has driven us to the conclusion that Technorati tags are not being utilized with any significant consistency.  In fact, our initial research indicates that click-through rates on customer links has increased on releases where Technorati tags have been removed.

Why We Removed Keyword Tags

Keywords were initially added as meta tags to support the performance of the release in search.  For several years now it has been generally accepted that keywords have had a minimal effect on search ranking.  This belief was validated when Google publicly affirmed that they do not use the keyword meta tag in web rankings.

However Keywords Still Matter

Keywords still play an important role in the performance of the release in search.  It is just the placement of these keywords in the meta data is what has lost relevance.

It is still important to consider the placement of relevant keywords in the the following areas of the release:

• Title
• Summary
• Body
• Anchor text links
• ALT tags
• News release URL

In Conclusion

At PRWeb, we put customer content and customer links front-and-center.  We are always in the process of looking at the different elements of the news release and analyizing how we can improve the release as a tool to create online traction, build search equity and ultimately traffic to customer Web sites.  Technorati and Keyword tags had gotten to the point where they were no longer providing value to our customers so we made the decision to phase them out.

Filed under: News Release Features, Social Media by Jiyan