Vocus Acquires Online Press Release Newswire PRWeb

[akagorilla]

View the press release at Vocus.

(LANHAM, MD) August 7, 2006 – Vocus, Inc. (NASDAQ:VOCS), a leading provider of on-demand software for corporate communications and public relations, today announced that it has acquired privately-held PRWeb, the pioneer in online visibility and search engine optimized (SEO) press release distribution.



PRWeb uses proprietary SEO tools and a team of specialized editors to help ensure that its customers’ news receives maximum exposure throughout the full spectrum of new media. PRWeb-distributed press releases are indexed by major search engines, distributed to thousands of news sites, including Google News and Yahoo News, and delivered through more than 20,000 RSS feeds, that collectively reach tens of millions of consumers and thousands of journalists daily. The company was also among the first to embrace the “social media” press release concept through the integration of such technologies as podcasting, blog trackbacks and Technorati tagging.



“The internet has led to a dramatic increase in the number and types of media outlets and other website destinations from which consumers and journalists get their news,” said Rick Rudman, President and CEO of Vocus, Inc. “PRWeb has fully developed the technologies, features and pricing model to enable organizations of all sizes to maximize their online visibility and to exploit the potential of this new communication channel.”



Vocus customers will benefit significantly from having PRWeb integrated into their product. For example, they’ll be able to simultaneously distribute their press releases via PRWeb, their own Vocus-managed media lists, and their Vocus Online Newsrooms. As a result of its ability to manage every step in the communications lifecycle, Vocus Public Relations software will save customers even more time and make them more efficient.



The Vocus Public Relations on-demand software suite allows companies to manage media and analyst relationships; launch interactive email campaigns to journalists; monitor news in real time; manage projects; and maintain online newsrooms. The software also analyzes media coverage and other PR information to provide real-time feedback on the effectiveness of PR campaigns and early intelligence on trends unfolding in the press.



“Vocus has a great reputation as the leading provider of public relations software-as-a-service and an integrated, all-digital PR solution,” said PRWeb Founder and President David McInnis. “As a part of Vocus, PRWeb will have the resources to remain the thought leader in online visibility, direct-to-consumer news distribution, and search engine optimized PR and marketing.”



PRWeb operations and staff will remain based in Ferndale, Washington.

[evilgreenmonkey]

I've moved this thread to the Padded Room for open discussion regarding this topic (not really appropriate for the SEO board).

Thanks,

Rob