Are Press Releases Good for SEO?
To determine the effectiveness of press releases for SEO, we gathered insights from 11 SEO experts, including strategists, consultants, and founders. From strategically using press releases to proper press release execution, these professionals share their thoughts on the role of press releases in today’s SEO landscape.
- Strategically Use Press Releases
- Focus On Original Content
- Target Trustworthy Sources
- Boost Visibility With Press Releases
- Emphasize Newsworthy Announcements
- Part of a Holistic SEO Strategy
- Strategic Press Release Approach
- Get Featured in News Stories
- Build Quality Backlinks
- Effective Link-Building Strategy
- Make It Interesting to Relevant News Outlets
Strategically Use Press Releases
I believe press releases can still be valuable for SEO. However, they should be used strategically and alongside other tactics, such as content marketing and link building. It’s also important to focus on creating high-quality, newsworthy content likely to be shared and picked up by media outlets and influencers.
Usman Ul Haq
SEO Strategist, WPExperts
Focus On Original Content
Press releases can still be an effective part of your SEO efforts. The key is to make sure that the content you are creating is valuable and original.
Writing a press release that is informative, interesting, and relevant to your target audience will help your website become more visible on search engine results pages (SERPs).
If you create something that is not just promotional but also interesting and provides value to readers, it can help drive traffic and increase your site’s visibility.
Dilruba Erkan
Consultant, Morse Decoder
Target Trustworthy Sources
To make a long story short, yes—press releases can still be great for SEO. The major caveat to this is that you should NOT game the system by spamming out content and hoping against hope that it will be picked up by tier 1 media—not only is that a terrible idea for your relationship with the media, it really just does not work from a practical standpoint.
A good press release needs to be on high-affected news, with a high-quality and relevant copy sent out to trustworthy sources like journalists in your industry and various platforms that cover your ecosystem.
Dragos Badea
CEO, Yarooms
Boost Visibility With Press Releases
My opinion is that press releases are no longer as effective for SEO as they used to be. Search engines are now more focused on quality content and user experience than just the number of backlinks.
Therefore, I recommend using them, but not to increase the link profile. Press releases can still be useful for creating buzz and driving traffic to your website. If your press release gets picked up by news outlets or bloggers, it can generate hype and increase branded searches, which can ultimately improve your search engine ranking. So while press releases should not be relied upon solely for SEO, they can still be a valuable tool for promoting your brand and generating interest in your products or services.
Yevhen Koplyk
Head of Marketing, WiserBrand
Emphasize Newsworthy Announcements
The short answer is “Yes!” But so many companies were using press releases for things that were not important that they felt spammy.
But if you have a genuinely newsworthy announcement, especially about a new service or product, use press releases to get the news out.
Be mindful of how you write them. Include answers to questions potential clients may search for and how they can find out more information.
Cari Bacon
Associate Director of SEO, Direct Agents
Part of a Holistic SEO Strategy
Press releases are still a useful way of sharing news and updates about your business with relevant industry publications and a range of news outlets.
Sharing information, updates, research, and creative campaigns can support increasing brand awareness and brand mentions while sometimes getting links to your site, which can support SEO improvement.
However, you should not rely on press releases and PR for SEO alone. PR should be used as part of a holistic SEO strategy and should support brand building and run alongside strong technical SEO, good UX, and a solid content marketing strategy.
Tilly Haines
SEO Executive, Infinity Nation
Strategic Press Release Approach
In short, yes, press releases are good for Search Engine Optimization. A press release is useful in several ways when published correctly.
For example, a press release is not just about building backlinks to a website, it also helps with brand awareness and entities.
Also, using a press release that covers a topic related to a company or person for whom an article is written helps build some semantic online visibility.
Using press releases for SEO is usually an ongoing tactic that is only one part of an SEO strategy. But here’s the secret. The downside to using press releases for SEO is that nobody tells you most publishers will purge the articles after 30-90 days off on their website.
There are a few publishers that keep an online copy live, or at least for a longer period. However, most distribution outlets replace your press release with newer articles.
When used correctly, press releases are still good for part of your SEO strategy.
Pete Hogg
SEO Consultant, Red Kite SEO
Get Featured in News Stories
Creating a press release and emailing it to a specific editor at relevant websites to get featured in news stories is still the best way to get links, so great for SEO.
However, republishing the press release on newswire-type websites can be bad for SEO, as it creates duplicate content. Sometimes syndicated content makes little sense if you want to rank for the queries. Instead, pick your goals and select the work that helps you reach them.
Marco Genaro Palma
SEO Manager, PRLab
Build Quality Backlinks
The availability of content creation tools has made it easier than ever to produce content, which has contributed to an increase in competition. As a result, the importance of building high-quality and relevant backlinks has grown.
By focusing on earning authoritative, relevant links from trusted sources, businesses can improve their online presence and search engine rankings. This, combined with valuable, engaging content, will help companies stay ahead in the ever-developing digital landscape and maximize their SEO efforts.
Jacek Żmudziński
Team Leader and SEO Consultant, MakoLab
Effective Link-Building Strategy
In my professional assessment, press releases stand out as one of the most effective link-building strategies for search engine optimization (SEO).
SEO often revolves around establishing a reputable brand and enhancing domain authority. Using press releases as a link-building technique proves highly helpful for SEO, as it fosters a mutually beneficial relationship.
Traditional link-building approaches typically involve requesting links and occasionally offering free content. However, this method can be time-consuming and restricted to the websites targeted for outreach.
In contrast, press releases enable the distribution of a single piece of content to a broader audience, increasing the likelihood of being featured in multiple articles. This not only amplifies online visibility but also provides value to journalists by supplying them with newsworthy information and streamlining their work processes.
Josh Byrne
Founder, Trail Digital
Make It Interesting to Relevant News Outlets
Absolutely, but it depends on how you do them!
Let’s say that you have an interesting study with some really cool findings about remote work habits! You write an article about it, publish it on your website with some stats, and you write a press release about it.
The angle of the press release could be “Did you know that X% of remote workers want to go back to the office?”, and you distribute the press release by yourself to relevant news outlets that cover remote work and maybe even some companies in the field. That’s one of the best ways to do press releases, and it’s still quite effective.
If you write a boring press release (X company launches this new feature that’s not groundbreaking at all), pay to have it distributed by newswires, and hope it’ll get picked up—it’s destined to fail!
Aleksandra Jovicic
Freelance SEO Specialist, Aleksandra Beka
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