Skip to content
    Moz logo Menu open Menu close
    • Products
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Pro Home
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Home
      • STAT
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Home
      • Compare SEO Products
      • Moz Data
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis
      • Keyword Explorer
      • Link Explorer
      • Competitive Research
      • MozBar
      • More Free SEO Tools
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO
      • SEO Learning Center
      • Moz Academy
      • SEO Q&A
      • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Digital Marketers
      • Agency Solutions
      • Enterprise Solutions
      • Small Business Solutions
      • The Moz Story
      • New Releases
    • Log in
    • Log out
    • Products
      • Moz Pro

        Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

      • Moz Local

        Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

      • STAT

        SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

      • Moz API

        Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

      • Compare SEO Products

        See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

      • Moz Data

        Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
      Moz Pro

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

      Learn more
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis

        Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

      • Keyword Explorer

        Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

      • Link Explorer

        Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

      • Competitive Research

        Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

      • MozBar

        See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

      • More Free SEO Tools

        Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
      Moz Pro

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

      Learn more
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO

        The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

      • SEO Learning Center

        Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

      • On-Demand Webinars

        Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

      • How-To Guides

        Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

      • Moz Academy

        Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

      • MozCon

        Save on Early Bird tickets and join us in London or New York City

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
      Moz API

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

      Find your plan
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Digital Marketers

        Simplify SEO tasks to save time and grow your traffic.

      • Small Business Solutions

        Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

      • Agency Solutions

        Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

      • Enterprise Solutions

        Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

      • The Moz Story

        Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

      • New Releases

        Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

      Surface actionable competitive intel
      New Feature

      Surface actionable competitive intel

      Learn More
    • Log in
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Dashboard
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Dashboard
      • Moz Academy
    • Avatar
      • Moz Home
      • Notifications
      • Account & Billing
      • Manage Users
      • Community Profile
      • My Q&A
      • My Videos
      • Log Out

    The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. Home
    2. SEO Tactics
    3. Link Building
    4. Press Release Sites for Backlinks

    Moz Q&A is closed.

    After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

    Press Release Sites for Backlinks

    Link Building
    9
    11
    9809
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
    • damon1212
      damon1212 last edited by

      OK, I read a previous thread about whether people found press release sites useful (specifically I am considering a reputable pay for release service).

      I understand the knock on press releases in this digital age (namely that no one reads them and arguably never did . . . ), but I was interested in moving the discussion in a different direction . . .

      Do press releases services really help a sites performance based on increased backlinking?  Is there a SEO benefit to PR services?

      My company is a local print company.  I've done quite a bit of research on my local competitors, and specifically for a couple products we would like to dominate.  The good news is that it looks like the hurdle would not be terribly high to really take over the web presence with a well planned and executed website/SEO campaign.

      My inclination is that for a relatively small company like mine (dealing with relatively small competitors) it WOULD benefit me to pay for the sheer number of backlinks a PR program would generate.

      The monthly cost is frankly about the same as the cost of this site, which OF COURSE I get value from (hey moderator, how about a couple extra MOZ points for that one!)

      Specifically, I am looking at this for myself, but feel free to expand the question to the broader topic.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • toddmumford
        toddmumford last edited by

        There is link-less citation value in having your business name, address and phone number on any indexed document in Google (in my opinion)

        Since you mentioned that you are a local company, I believe there would be value in the release from an SEO standpoint assuming the release is high quality and provides value, describing an interesting product or service you market.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • echo1
          echo1 @EGOL last edited by

          I was reading this post about press releases where Dr Pete Meyers - a Seomoz Associate, was expressing his opinion about the same subject, here it is:
          "I have some smaller clients who have had limited luck with it, but I think it's best to just stick to one of the sites and do periodic releases (maybe every couple of months). If nothing else, it'll give you a sense of what's working, and you can take some of the popular releases and push to get them a broader market.
          What I wouldn't do is go after multiple low-value PR services and plaster the same releases everywhere you can. At best, it's diminishing returns - at worst, they'll be devalued. I'm with Peter G. - the best press release opportunities come through relationships with the media. Obviously, though, that takes a lot more time".

          You opinion is that "repeatedly submitting to a the same few press release sites is not going to be a sustaining source of power.  A lot of links on the same site are not as valuable as one link on each of a lot of sites"
          I do not want to question your authority or his but there is a difference of opinions from to seasoned contributors. Any thoughts about this Dr Pete?

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • TKIGWebTeam
            TKIGWebTeam last edited by

            I was about to post a similar question, but found that this was already posted, recent and has some good discussion. Hope I am not "highjacking" thread. Figured it would be repetitive to ask the same question...

            If I may, how often would anyone suggest utilizing a press release service? My experience and other sources have given me the impression of once per month, maybe twice. This would be solely for the purpose of gaining backlinks.

            Thoughts?

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • MikeGracia
              MikeGracia @damon1212 last edited by

              Hey Damon,

              I sent you an email with a couple of suggestions for your site, things I think may have possible slipped through the net during your redesign, I hope that helped!

              Also, re: press releases, as someone that owns a Google news approved PR site, I can give you another angle on this if you like?

              I agree with what everyone here has said about quality for a start! One of the more traditional uses of a press releases is obviosuly to get the word out... these days some folks try to submit crappy spun articles as press releases. A visit for somewhere like the warrior forums will show you people using, and selling, that tactic.

              As a PR site owner that just means more work on our part, declining trash releases, and banning IP's from our system! Not everyone does this though, obviously the big sites do (prweb etc) but some of the smaller, free PR sites don't have much of an approval process.

              What that can mean for you, is that you may end up with your news release on a site promoting questionable products and linking to questionable sites. Whilst I doubt this would be bad enough to cause you much harm, it may not be the panacea that you could be hoping for!

              If you go down the PR site route on a regular basis, try to opt for sites that have some level of quality control, look for ones that are Google news approved, and also ones that will show your full contact details, ideally including a link back to your site.

              Write decent releases, and when you write an especially good one, take it offline too! Send it to your local papers and press.

              Regarding the local papers and press, if you want a higher success rate, pick up the phone, call the papers, and ask them who deals with small business news. Explain you have an interesting press release you would like to send them, and ask who the best person to send it to is.

              Doing the above can help your success rate pretty massively, as instead of going to a generic, contact@blah type email, then having to be sent around the block, you should go straight to the eyes of someone that is most likely to be interested.

              This is only worth doing if you have something to shout about. A relaunch MAY do it, winning some local award, or sponsoring a local charity or something almost certainly should! Look for local charity events to throw a few $ towards for sponsorship, offer a training day to local school kids, anything like that should be good enough to get the attention of the local press. If a reporter does interview you, explain that you would love a nice, clean SEO friendly link from the body of anything they publish online 😉 Give them lots of coffee, to keep em happy!

              The effect on your local rankings, if you manage to get a clean link from a quality local paper and some follow up news coverage, may well help you to get above the spammy sounding guys above you.

              Follow that up with some LOCAL (real local, not spammy ones) directory submissions, some 'social love' and some online press releases, and you may well secure a decent position in time.

              Anyway that was a bit of a long un, but I wanted to give you an idea of how you  could, pretty ethically, out do the guys above you, and also use online and offline PR the right way 🙂

              Obviously online PR gets used in all sorts of ways, and at the end of the day so long as what you submit is unqiue, well written and interesting, it should probably get approved, what I describe above is something that can give a nice bonus in addition, to help with your results (especially local ones), when you have a news worthy event to shout about.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 6
              • seospain
                seospain last edited by

                Really it depends on whether the release is "news worthy" or not.

                My personal opinion is that regular and consistent press release distribution should be a part of your overall strategy if of course it is warranted and you can produce something of value.

                I had one client who got a call and a write-up from Sky News, although a direct link did not result(completely gutted). I have had other clients who have also been contacted by media companies after viewing their releases.

                If it is backlinks you are after, regular press releases may provide this. Remember though, just because your release is syndicated by 1,000 websites, does not mean you will get 1,000 unique backlinks that pass any value as it will be seen as duplicate content for sure.

                If you are trying to build your brand and obtain more visibility, for the cost I think it is worth it.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                • EGOL
                  EGOL @damon1212 last edited by

                  Creating good source material serves many functions in addition to SEO.

                  Having a website that has a great display of expertise and maybe some video of your projects/activities can be very effective way to kick up the credibility of your website, flaunt the activities of your company, showcase the expertise of your staff and build the internal pride of your company.   Brainstorm this at your next staff meeting.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • damon1212
                    damon1212 last edited by

                    To give some perspective, the competitors I am dealing with have maybe a couple hundred external followed links . . . but only NINE linking domains.  As far as I can see, most of their external links are actually different versions of THEIR OWN website!

                    I'm just thinking a boatload of external links with a wide variety of sources would pretty easily get me leapfrogging these guys.  Obviously, elbow grease on forums, individual posts on PR sites manually and such will accomplish the same thing . . . but there is certainly appeal to only having to focus on creating good source material as opposed to worrying about how to distribute it as well (I'm less the SEO guy than the marketing guy . . . SEO is just becoming part of my job description!).

                    EGOL MikeGracia 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • kwoolf
                      kwoolf last edited by

                      Well, I can share an experience with a client of mine who, without my condonation, ran a Groupon campaign hoping to drive more customers to his restaurant but also to drive traffic to his site. He intentionally stuffed links in his Groupon description posted on Groupon. I monitored local search results for two months after he ran this campaign, and while he made out okay on his Groupon, his site traffic didn't move all that much.

                      I know this is different than a PR service, but I think it'd be safe to assume Google has quite a bit of information on who charges money for "descriptions" and "public relation" postings. If you really want an inbound link from this site, and assuming the domain authority is significantly high, see if there is any other way to get that particular site to post a link to your website. I'm not convinced the cost is worth a few mentions in an article that will become outdated and probably won't generate much traffic to your site.

                      Now if I've misunderstood your situation, please clarify and maybe I can add something to help you make a better choice on how to spend your hard earned money.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                      • EGOL
                        EGOL last edited by

                        If I was you I would attack a local search listing first.  Then move to organic SERP SEO.

                        =========================

                        The press release sites are typically HUGE.  So huge that your press release quickly disappears deep into the site where it is so far removed from incoming links that it is about worthless.  And,repeatedly submitting to a the same few press release sites is not going be a sustaining source of power.  A lot of links on the same site are not as valuable as one link on each of a lot of sites.

                        I would be sure that you have all of the easy links in your niche and in your local community.

                        Niche includes: suppliers, professional associations, customers, etc.

                        Community includes: Chamber of commerce, local business listings, landlord, community service groups, etc.

                        .... if there is a pro SEO in your community she might know how to get all of those community links and take care of the local listing campaign for you.

                        I would then think about some content for your site that will get links from other businesses in your niche, blogs in your industry and local websites.

                        echo1 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • AdoptionHelp
                          AdoptionHelp last edited by

                          There is a nominal value in submitting your press release to places like prweb.com. I've successfully used their site to get a few backlinks that helped out, albeit only a small amount.

                          Another tactic is to use HARO to get your organizations message published.

                          The true value of a press release is in its news-worthiness. If your PR is just thinly veiled advertising, its not going to be worth much. If your PR is exciting and new, it can go viral and a press release service can help with the first steps to getting it there.

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
                          • 1 / 1
                          • First post
                            Last post

                          Got a burning SEO question?

                          Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


                          Start my free trial


                          Browse Questions

                          Explore more categories

                          • Moz Tools

                            Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

                          • SEO Tactics

                            Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

                          • Community

                            Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

                          • Digital Marketing

                            Chat about tactics outside of SEO

                          • Research & Trends

                            Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

                          • Support

                            Connect on product support and feature requests.

                          • See all categories

                          Related Questions

                          • JJKM55

                            How to handle pre-existing backlinks on new site.

                            backlinks

                            Hi - We built a new site on a URL that had previously been used. We are noticing a lot of spammy backlinks pointing to our current site and ending up on a 404 page. Any recommendations on how to handle this?

                            Link Building | | JJKM55
                            1
                          • landlwoof4

                            How to get rid of bad backlinks

                            off-page seo seo backlinks spam score

                            So I noticed my rankings going down and spam score going up. So under my spam score there are over 100 links for different websites but ALL redirect to semalt.com I researched it and it says they hijacked a bunched of backlinks but don't know much more. How can I get rid of all those backlinks? I was told I could use the disavow tool but apparently that can hurt my ranking as well. The semalt.com site has no backlink to me - it looks like the pages that have/had my backlinks, they've redirected to them. For instance this is one of the links http://www.oxvideos.xyz/indianantyphotoxxx 422005fb-9240-40a4-8b65-f5b1f5079dea-image.png

                            Link Building | | landlwoof4
                            0
                          • heleneolsen

                            In Google search console all of sudden a lot of backlinks have disappear at "Link To Your Site"

                            Hi after update in Google search console yesterday a lot of backlinks in "Link To Your Site" have disappear, before we had 43x domains now we have 12x domains linking to the site. I have checked the sites where we had link do-follow before and they are OK. Can you please tell me the reason what has gone wrong. And also please guide me in fixing the issue , Hope to hear from you soon..! URL: https://www.finanstopp.no/

                            Link Building | | heleneolsen
                            3
                          • ShashankDubey1

                            If My site has 20 DA will it be good to get backlinks from a very low DA 3 site for free

                            is there any side effects to get backlinks from a site which has low DA than you?

                            Link Building | | ShashankDubey1
                            0
                          • Romaine

                            What is the best pinging service for my backlinks?

                            I am looking for a good pinging service that indexes my backlinks fast. After doing some research I found linklicious, backlinksindexer and pingfarm among others. My quesiton: do those services still work and if yes, which one is the best one out there at the moment. Thanks for the help.

                            Link Building | | Romaine
                            0
                          • BostonWright

                            Building backlinks for a newspaper site?

                            Anyone have tips on building links to a newspaper site? I am looking for a strategy to create links to a news site beyond building one link at a time. We have so much content that is constantly updated that it would be impossible to do this one page at a time.

                            Link Building | | BostonWright
                            0
                          • jgower

                            Frustrated with spammy backlinks from competitors

                            I've only been doing SEO for my company for the last month and I've made some headway but what is really frustrating me right now is a couple of competitors that have OBVIOUS spammy links ranking in the number 1,2,3 stops all over the board for the keywords i'm going for.  One competitor in particular has anchor text links EVERYWHERE that make absolutely no sense...junk like... "I have never been more saddened by anything in my life than when my grandfather got cancer.  I told my uncle he needed to buy some auto insurance.  I really like pork." I mean, these links are the pages with the most page authority and page rank out of all of the ones they have...and I'd venture to say that almost all of their backlinks are like this...well, half of them are just random links with good anchor text on the sidebar of a bazillion spam websites (diapers, toys, fake blogs, etc.)...while i have about 3k links and most of my top competitors have about 5k links...these guys have over 33k. Worse yet, when I look at something like Alexa rank, they have pretty high overall traffic rank but it shows traffic rank in MX (mexico) instead of the US...these guys only sell in the US!  I mean, they're black hat if I've ever seen such a thing and they rank superbly on all keywords. What can I do to compete with this junk?

                            Link Building | | jgower
                            0
                          • hfranz

                            Are backlinks to a domain that redirects useless?

                            I am working on trying to get backlinks. We are currently redirecting a few Domains to our current domain name. One of the Domains that is redirecting is the main Domain, we will be advertising in the near future. Can I send backlinks to the redirected URL or does it only carry link juice if it is to the main Domain?

                            Link Building | | hfranz
                            0

                          Get started with Moz Pro!

                          Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                          Start my free trial
                          Products
                          • Moz Pro
                          • Moz Local
                          • Moz API
                          • Moz Data
                          • STAT
                          • Product Updates
                          Moz Solutions
                          • SMB Solutions
                          • Agency Solutions
                          • Enterprise Solutions
                          Free SEO Tools
                          • Domain Authority Checker
                          • Link Explorer
                          • Keyword Explorer
                          • Competitive Research
                          • Brand Authority Checker
                          • Local Citation Checker
                          • MozBar Extension
                          • MozCast
                          Resources
                          • Blog
                          • SEO Learning Center
                          • Help Hub
                          • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                          • How-to Guides
                          • Moz Academy
                          • API Docs
                          About Moz
                          • About
                          • Team
                          • Careers
                          • Contact
                          Why Moz
                          • Case Studies
                          • Testimonials
                          Get Involved
                          • Become an Affiliate
                          • MozCon
                          • Webinars
                          • Practical Marketer Series
                          • MozPod
                          Connect with us

                          Contact the Help team

                          Join our newsletter
                          Moz logo
                          © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                          • Accessibility
                          • Terms of Use
                          • Privacy

                          Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.