Are Press Releases Still Good For Link Building???
They are if they are done right
Press releases are an excellent tool for link building when done correctly. You aren’t directly paying or buying backlinks, as with more questionable SEO tactics. The payment is solely for the distribution service to syndicate your announcement to media channels and websites.
The key is getting your news in front of high-authority sites and publishers in your industry. The release distribution puts your announcement on their radar. If it’s relevant and valuable to their audience, top-tier sites may re-publish your news as an original article, content roundup, or aggregator post – often linking back to your site as the source.
Major press release wires like PR Newswire and BusinessWire have networks of hundreds of thousands of media contacts and syndication partners. Some backlinks will be nofollow, but you can also gain followed, dofollow links from big authority sites picking up the news. The links are editorial, meaning they use your brand name, not keyword-anchored text.
Besides backlinks, press releases drive referral traffic when published on aggregate sites or used as a source in articles. Overall, it builds brand visibility and authority. Crafting something genuinely newsworthy relevant to top publishers in your niche is key. With a smart PR strategy, releases are an earned media opportunity for impactful links and exposure.
Tha main goal of press releases
The main objective when distributing press releases should not be the release itself or any links it may generate. The real value is in leveraging the announcement content to secure coverage on authoritative sites in your industry.
Generic distribution provides little value
Press releases published through generic distribution wires often provide little SEO value. These blanket, templated announcements spread across hundreds of syndication websites are easy for Google to detect and discount. Any links gained tend to be devalued.However, conducting targeted outreach to journalists, reporters, and influencers can generate high-quality backlinks and coverage. The key is creating genuinely newsworthy, unique content worth covering.
Your press release must contain value if it is to be noticed
The goal is to get journalists, reporters, and respected publishers to take notice of your news and use it as fodder for an original article. For example, if you publish a press release on a new product launch, you want top tech blogs writing full reviews and guides about the product itself, then linking back to your site as the source.
To boost SEO, identify relevant top-tier publications and writers covering your niche. Do targeted outreach pitching them the news, highlighting why it matters to their audience. Provide quotes they can use and graphics/assets to make their job easier. Follow up persistently and build relationships with press contacts.
Want press releases?
For example, if your startup conducted an insightful industry study with compelling data points, you could tailor a press release and pitch highlighting key takeaways. Reach out to writers at trade publications and big tech blogs focused on your market. Convince them why the data deserves a full article detailing the findings.Another example is developing a comprehensive beginner’s guide for your niche. Create useful, information-rich content and pitch it to online magazines and websites read by your target users. Position it as an exclusive piece they could publish to engage their audience, linking back to your site.
The payoff is earned media and high-quality backlinks from trustworthy sites when you successfully get your news covered more extensively. This lends credibility versus self-published content and builds brand visibility. In essence, press releases act as a conduit for securing authoritative links when you maximize their strategic value through smart outreach.
PR News Wire
Publishing press releases through major distribution wires like PR Newswire can generate some nofollow links that remain for the long-term. However, a large portion of sites that syndicate the press release tend to remove or delete it after a few weeks. The true value in distributing via PR Newswire lies in using it as a launchpad for additional outreach.
Once the press release is live on PR Newswire, you can take the content and directly pitch it to targeted journalists, reporters, influencers, and relevant publishers. Look for writers who cover your niche and story angle. Email them highlighting the announcement details and its potential value for their audience. Provide the link to drive them to the release. This follow up pitching is where you can land the highest quality backlinks, as writers may then link to your site in an original article or roundup piece related to the news. The links earned directly through manual outreach tend to stick around much longer than syndicated press release links.
So in summary – distributing through PR Newswire nets some links, but maximizing the opportunity happens by pitching the content individually to secure backlinks from authority sites. The distribution platform gives your outreach more credibility and a hook that writers may be interested in covering further.