Press releases are a major focus of online marketing. Historically, press releases have been a key link-building method, offering a wide range of quality links embedded in rich, rewarding content. With the most recent updates to Google’s search algorithms, however, traditional press release distribution models have had to adapt: Google is now much stricter as it evaluates links, assesses sites for duplicate content, and assigns rankings to pages. Modern marketing professionals need to carefully select the most suitable option from among the many PR distribution networks to ensure SEO benefits and prevent search engine penalties. In this post, we’ll look at a few of the different networks available to today’s business leaders.
When considering options for a press release distribution, professionals can choose from two major groups: paid sites and free sites. Paid sites typically offer a more robust network, higher quality links, and more insightful analytics for tracking results. Free sites tend to be more streamlined by comparison, but still offer online exposure without a heavy expenditure of resources.
Paid Sites
Award-winning and trusted by top global businesses, PRNewswire.com represents the highest quality standard in the industry. This network enjoys the highest PageRank among its field of competitors, meaning that links from PRNewswire.com sites offer the most rankings benefits to customers. PRNewswire.com is considered by many to have the best network of affiliated sites and offers users a full suite of tools to help optimize a release to complement high-quality content. All these benefits, however, come with a significant price tag: a fully-featured PR can cost up to $1,000. For those who want to make a serious investment in press release marketing, PRNewswire.com is a smart choice. Those on less flexible budgets may want to choose a pared-down option from this site or explore another network as an alternate.
PRWeb.com offers a similar experience to PRNewswire.com, but has a slightly lower PageRank. Even so, its competitive pricing and SEO reporting tools make this network an ideal match for companies just starting to explore paid PR distribution. PRWeb.com has an effective and comprehensive distribution option available for around $200, allowing newcomers to the field or businesses with more conservative marketing budgets the opportunity to conduct meaningful, affordable outreach.
eReleases, a prominent paid distribution network, is a good fit for businesses with unique needs or clear and focused marketing goals. With a wide range of targeting options, reliable reporting, and attentive customer service, eReleases is an ideal platform on which SEO professionals can pursue an innovative custom strategy. In terms of cost, eReleases is in the middle of the leading paid sites. eReleases is best for delivering on specific goals and works most effectively for clients with a distinct plan in mind.
Free Sites
There are many free distribution sites available online, each with its own advantages and drawbacks. While the free networks don’t offer the same benefits as their paid counterparts, they do still give companies a chance to reach a broad audience without needing to make a financial commitment. Most free sites share a core selection of features, such as links, tags, and other logistical and SEO options, so selecting a free site comes down largely to personal preference. One of the most popular options is PRLog, the free site with the best PageRank in its field. This site offers multimedia options, a free account complete with a personalized Press Room, and other helpful features free of charge.
Best Practices
No matter which press release distribution network you choose, you’ll want to ensure your release is rewarding, informative, and newsworthy. Writing a press release that conforms to Google’s latest recommendations is the best way to get the most value from your distribution. Be sparing with your use of keywords, especially in anchor text, provide unique information to your audience, and prioritize original content over copy-paste boilerplate, and you’ll find your releases much more successful. When you match clever writing and careful editing with a distribution network that meets your needs, you can claim search benefits inaccessible to other types of online marketing.
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