Small businesses are often challenged with ways to get PR for their companies. Here are 10 creative ideas to help you get free press online.

1) HARO

HARO (or, Help a Reporter Out) is an online tool that connects reporters looking for an expert or story angle with qualified sources, like you and me. Every one of us has an area of expertise – from dealing with bridezillas to consulting small businesses on communications to being an expert on all things chocolate. Nearly 30,000 members of the media (including The New York Times, ABC News, HuffingtonPost.com) have quoted HARO sources in their stories. It’s as easy as creating an account & reading the daily emails and responding to a request and you could be quoted by one of the Nation’s power publications.

2) Google Adwords

Even reporters use Google to find answers to their story questions. In fact, many actively seek experts on a particular topic by using web search. Some of you may have heard about Alec Brownstein’s uber creative approach to landing his dream job. In a nutshell, he recognized the popularity of vanity Googling (that’s when people Google themselves) – so using Google Adwords, he bid on the names of 5 prominent creative directors that he most admired so that when they Googled themselves, his listing would ‘hopefully’ appear in the top search results. The campaign cost him $6 and landed him a job with Young & Rubicam (Y&R) New York. Why not translate this idea to the reporters you’d love to be quoted by.

3) Repurposing Blog Content

If you author a blog you are likely pumping out high quality content in your area of expertise. Why not repurpose great posts by way of new releases? Also, many credible industry outlets are looking to aggregate industry-specific content on their blogs. Check out BizBash Hive for one example.

4) Good ‘ol Relationship Building

We do business with people we know, like and trust. This concept extends to PR as well. Take the time to build relationships with the people who make decisions on content. Twitter is a great resource for this. Here’s the top 10 PR Lead Sources to follow on Twitter …but please keep in mind that it’s important to stay relevant to your area of expertise. Take the time to search Twitter for relevant contacts.

5) SEO

If you author a blog, SEO can be one of your best friends. Think about how people would search for an expert in your field. Hint, it’s probably your industry keyword + expert. Ensure you’re ranking for this search word / phrase.

6) Social Bookmarking Sites

From Stumbleupon to Digg to Reddit to Delicious, social bookmarking sites can be a great way to extend the reach of a story beyond your blog readers.

7) Guest posting / Commenting

I was in the process of training one of my clients on social media. I had him schedule 5 minutes every morning to read industry publication blogs and an additional 10 minutes choosing one story to comment on. On his first day, he left a comment on a very popular Branding publication’s blog post. By the next day, his comment had been highlighted by the publication and featured in a story. 15 minutes trumped years of my client trying to get quoted by this publication.

8) Free Press Release Sites

This one goes without saying. If you have a press release, consider these 20+ free resources for getting your releases in the hands of the media.

9) Research

Consider conducting research or collecting data that can be helpful for identifying industry trends. Journalists often seek valuable and credible research sources for stories.