PRtrax Report Dashboard Overview

HOW TO USE THIS SIMPLE GUIDE

This "Quick Tour" is a useful guide to understanding what exactly is included in your PRTrax™ report dashboard for 2024, in the simplest possible language and least amount of verbiage. This tour is presented in same order, top to bottom, as your PRTrax report.

How do I access my dashboard? Report comes end of the day news is issued via an email link once it's been setup by a member of our team.

The main things to keep in mind are:

• CLIP REPORT: This is not a media monitoring service; we are not tracking bylined media pickups over time, only tools to help you find syndicated partner content - and then search tools to help you track any other content over time.
• EXPLORE: You need to feel safe to "explore." Go top to bottom in each section of report, scroll down on page, open tabs, click links. Nothing will explode or bite your fingers off!
• PAGE ZOOM: You can use the zoom function in Chrome or similar (e.g., view at 110-115% to make text larger if needed). Page is responsive and will scale. Always note this report is designed for desktop and tablet, and while usable on phone, not very pleasant at small size.
• SAVE TO PDF: You can now open all the 'tabs' and save as to PDF from the Chrome browser (or any other browser with built-in PDF support). This feature was broken for a long time (oops).
• SAVE TO MS WORD: Most sections can be copy/pasted into MS Word, along with live links and graphics, to save custom internal or client reports, as needed.

SECTION BY SECTION

There are many sections (or "tabs") in your report as you scroll down on the page. With the new format, the first section of "quick links" is now open, so you no longer need to click to view. Similarly, if you purchased the S2P+CISION plans, the CISION report section will be open for you already.

Other sections you simply click/tap the [VIEW/HIDE] button to open the tab section to see the information. One example would be the "Social Clips and Metrics" section, which has two data tabs. See each section described below.

HERE ARE THE SECTIONS:

• TOP OF REPORT:

This top section has your headline, clear time, permanent link to your story on our main site (aka the "permalink") as well as the shortcode most often used for social sharing. It also notes the distribution package you purchased as a reference.

Also in this top section are some quick metric "pinwheels" which are just some general numerical info that some folks like to see. These are static, and do not change over time. They will vary by your distribution package level, where numbers are higher for a National plan vs a State plan.

There is also a link to the latest version of the Quick Tour (in the customer-only report area), and a link to any past reports for your company/org/personage.

News Syndication Clip Reports

• QUICK CLIP REPORT

This first, main, section has two columns, and the left has quick links to find your news on Google News, Apple News, search engines, the AP, and content partner sites. In the second column will be some links to some newspaper/broadcast sites via the AP and GoMedia networks. (The AP icon search links usually work, but some may not, outside our control.)

Search Engines:

• Custom search for Google News. Due to how Google sometimes messes with their search, we have created multiple custom search links, with "show duplicates" enabled.
• Custom search for popular search engines like Google, Yahoo!, DuckDuckGo, and Bing. These also may have more than one custom search option for your news.
• Note: Searches will generally be by headline, and sometimes by company name, and/or custom keywords. You can also modify searches based on what is shown in the search bar.

Top content partners and common sites:

• Send2Press permanent link for your news release (all syndication copies link back to this original to avoid duplicate content penalties).
• Associated Press (AP) links; including link to your story on APNews.com, a general search of past news items on AP (based on company name; not in date order), and our main APnews index of most recent news items (last day or two).
• AP Syndication custom Google search - showing syndication of your news via the AP (these will generally expire in 30 days with all other AP news from same day)
• Apple News - link to our channel on Apple News (requires Apple News app; cannot be viewed on Windows), as well as the California Newswire channel.
• Search links to business sites like: Digital Journal, BENZINGA, and Street Insider

Neotrope News Network Sites

Part of the Neotrope News Network, launched in 2005, these sites are exclusive to our service and are owned by the same company that owns Send2Press Newswire. You will find links to find news by both headline and by company name.

Some sites will present news as bylined aricle (eNewsChannels.com and MassachusettsNewswire.com, are two examples) with custom headline. This is a free "content marketing" tool we have used for well over a decade to help break up Google's pattern recognition and to present alternate SEO focused headlines for SERPS. Some of these sites are time delayed 4-48 hours from release clear time.

Sites show up in Google News, search engines, X/Twitter, Facebook, and more.

Top sites include:

• CaliforniaNewswire.com
• FloridaNewswire.com
• eNewsChannels.com
• MassachusettsNewswire.com
• PublishersNewswire.com

Example AP and GoMedia Quick Links

In the second column you will see some 'icons' (logo graphics) of popular sites in the AP syndication partner network, as well as small town newspapers in the GoMedia network. AP links will be headline searches (not all sites pull every one of our stores; this ir normal if there is no result for your news). GoMedia links will be direct links to your news on the noted site.

There is a separate tab with all GoMedia sites (up to 100 sites) all in a list form. Similarly, in the left column the custom AP search tools provide list of all sites. This section is really there for folks who want something fancy to put in report, or just want to quick click/tap stuff without going into Google searches.

ADDITIONAL QUICK CLIP SECTIONS:

• Send2Press Content Partner Clips

This "tab" section of the clips reports has some specific links to various additional sites which may or may not capture your news (varies by content), and which may only grab snippets vs the full text.

• Neotrope News Network Clips

This tab/section will show sites in the Neotrope News Network capturing your news. Some sites are content specific; e.g., Mortgage & Finance News, Publishers Newswire, Advertising Industry Newswire, MuseWire, feature news on specific topics.

• GoMedia Network

Thie tab/section will have a complete list of up to 100 sites syndicating news via the GoMedia small newspaper sites. These sites show up better in Yahoo! vs Google, due to how Google's algorithm works. This bullet list can be easily copy/pasted into a Word doc.

• CloudQuote Network

Thie tab/section will have a complete list of up to 300 sites syndicating news via the CloudQuote (Financial Content) Network. These sites show up better in Yahoo! vs Google, due to how Google's algorithm works. This bullet list can be easily copy/pasted into a Word doc.

• Retired and Missing Clips [INFO]

This section addresses the issue of how some syndicated content (and some paid content placement) will "end of life," either through partnership break-ups, and/or sites changing content focus, etc. For instance, MarketWatch chose to remove most third party press releases in mid 2023, without warning. We booted the "ghost post" platforms like Financial Content Network due to sites never showing up anywhere in search, so having news on 350 sites nobody will ever see is both "pointless and stupid."

CISION (PR Newswire) Reports

This section will only be visible if you purchased one of our S2P+CISION distribution packages, which add PRNewswire distribution on top of what Send2Press (and the AP) does.

This section will have clear time and headline for PRN version of story, link to your report dashboard in the CISION platform, as well as some quick links to sites running the PRN version of your news item. This may include Yahoo! Finance, MarketWatch, and more, depending on whether you got the BASIC or PRO version of package.

For help using the PRN report, see the help function and PDF download option on the report site. We cannot provide support for PRN reporting.

Social Clips and Metrics Reports

This section of the report has two elements related to how we have shared your news release to our social platforms. We share news to X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Pinterest. We use custom #tags on X, Facebook and LinkedIn.

• Social Media Clip Report

In this tab/section you will find helpful search links for X/Twitter and Facebook to find your news as we have shared with custom #tags. You will also find links to our LinkedIn and Pinterest pages where you can locate your news item, shown in reverse date order.

• Social Media Campaign Metrics

This section will show some ROI on actual "click through" of impressions from X/Twitter and Facebook who have read the news item. This number may be lower than in the old days due to X/Twitter breaking many public facing elements.

Numbers will be higher if you purchased a paid Facebook Social Boost™ package for your news. Social Boost targeting information and potential audience will be shown here also, as applicable.

Media Targeting Report

This section of the report is related to "where your news was sent." This may include push to AP Newsrooms regionally or nationally by U.S. state, trade media in business/finance via the AP; and depending on package may include email push to daily and/or trade/periodical media targted based on the news being announced. This Direct-to-Editors™ media targeting has no relation to the online syndication portion of your distribution package.

NOTE: for clients who choose our S2P+CISION PRO package, PRN/CISION no longer provides lists of their complimentary trades ("comp trades") included with tier-1 plans.

Print and Broadcast Media Targets

This section will provide links to PDF and DOCX files to locate the media targets specific to your distribution package.

As applicable to your plan/package, avaiable docs include:

• AP Newsrooms in U.S. - Our news is placed into all AP newsrooms by state, region and/or nationally. We are not sending an email in hopes it will go into an AP newsroom; all newsrooms pull our content as part of our strategic partnership with AP. Newsooms shown by state in alphatbetical order.
• AP Trades in U.S. - Our news is pushed to numerous major finance and business news portals, evening news, and more.
• Send2Press Daily Media by U.S. State (sent by email).
• Send2Press Trade Periodicals in U.S. (sent by email).

Direct-to-Editors™ Media Lists

This section simply hae a direct link to separate media lists page with all the PDF and DOCX files in one place. Redundant, but helpful.

ADDITIONAL SECTIONS AT BOTTOM OF REPORT:

At the bottom of your report you will find some additional sections and we will cover them very briefly here. As ever, best to simply "explore" the information directly by clicking the [VIEW/HIDE] buttons.

 

• "Laundry List of Clips" [BETA]

This tab/section of the report is a BETA attempt to create a simple "laundry list" of direct and search links to copy/paste into a Word doc; for those who want something super simple to keep for posterity. This will evolve over time. Randomly, some content partner links may not work outside our control.

• Free Media Monitoring

This section provides some super useful help for using Google to create custom searches that replace expensive media monitoring solutions, which can cost $500/month and up. Using these tools from Google you can keep an eye on your brand, team leaders, and product mentions in search. Includes both example search code, and links to Google's own documentation / examples. Information provided as a courtesy: we cannot provide asisstance with custom Google searches or how content is indexed or displayed. (Hint: the main trick is to be sure to enable "show duplicates" where possible.)

• Optional Engagement Report

This section provides information, examples, and a free Excel template to help you create ongoing "engagement score" reports for internal or client ROI. Briefly, many sites, including our main Send2Press.com/wire news release pages have a visible "view counter" on the page, which you can copy into a report, along with social click through, and PRN/CISION data if appliable to create a unique "score" per project/release (based on views/reads and click throughs from social). This is entirely optional and information provided as a courtesy: we cannot provide help or support with this option beyond what is shown in the report section.

• Your News Room and RSS Feed

This section has links to your News Room / Bio page in our news platform, which some folks miss entirely. Also, the RSS feed link in case you are adept enough to want to automatically pull in your news from Send2Press into a custom section of your website. Note: we cannot assist you with RSS feed import into your site. If using WordPress we can recommend the free "FeedWordPress" plugin.

Reminder that inactive clients may lose their news room and content after five years of inactivity.

• Your QR Codes

Generated by Google, these custom QR codes provide a link to both your newsroom and your specific news release. May be useful to those doing certain kinds of mobile marketing. Copy the QR codes to your own platform to use.

Important Reminder: reports for inactive accounts will generally be deleted after 2 years of inactivity (not using our service). You should always make some effort to save any data from these reports you find useful. Reports cannot be recovered once deleted.

Questions?

For questions about reporting, please email Chris at: help@send2press.com

Last updated. Oct. 2, 2023. Images and text are © 2000-2024 by Neotrope® - all rights reserved. Material may not be reproduced for any purpose. Elements found in images subject to change without notice. Information presented is believed accurate but is not guaranteed.