Free press release distribution outlets provide an inexpensive option for sharing your press release with as many outlets and people as possible – along with other benefits that help build your site's position in the search engines...
A press release optimized for SEO is one of several ways to build inbound links and site rankings, and establish your business as an industry authority.
Of course, the first place your press release should be is in an optimized pressroom – much like the one found here. Your pressroom basically serves as a one-stop shop for all company news and a hub for journalists, bloggers and visitors to connect with your company.
To reach a wider audience though, you need to distribute your press release through a paid or free distribution service
As for determining which outlets will benefit you the most, the criteria are the same as paid press release distribution services – they allow you to specify keywords, use text and anchor links, optimize metatags and so on. There are many free outlets out there to choose from, and it would be impossible to list them all here.
The big difference between free and paid is the extent of distribution. Most free services only create one page on a particular site and do not syndicate the press release to other news sites – however, any links are valuable and many services are geared toward specific industries. This alone is worthwhile since it puts your company news in front of a target audience.
Considering the differences between each service, it's recommended you post your press release to more than one. When you distribute a PR on an outlet, keep track of where it's going and how it's appearing on the particular outlet.
Keep notes on how many hits your press release gets over a week, and keep track of the services that allow clickable links and other important functionalities.
Examples of the five most popular free press release distribution outlets include:
PRLog – Our personal favorite, PRLog distributes to Google News and numerous search engines and allows user to choose categories that fit their topic/industry. HTML links are allowed in the body of the press release along with your firm's banner. For a nominal fee of $49, PRLog will submit your news to the Associated Press and top news sites like MarketWatch, Boston.com, IBTimes and others. You can also include 3 keyword anchor-text links, up to 5 pictures and even video.
PR.com – Free distribution to one industry channel, general search engines and on PR.com. Additional industry channels, visibility enhancements, and keyword anchor-text links are available for a nominal fee.
Free-Press-Release.com – Considered one of the premier free outlets, Free-Press-Release.com indexes your submission on major search engines and offers permanent hosting. For a nominal fee, the service will allow clickable keyword links and post your PR to other popular news websites.
I-Newswire.com – Allows one press release per business per week. Does not allow HTML, but users can place a full URL to their site in their press release. Anyone found abusing the service will be banned. Other paid options on the site provide for more formal keyword anchor-text links and other additional benefits.
1-888PressRelease – Free option designed to help customers reach journalists and boost visibility in the search engines. Customers can include a clickable URL link to direct readers to their website. Paid options allow keyword anchor-text links and distribute your PR to other online news sites.
These are only a handful of the free press release distribution outlets available out there. Many services also offer paid options which you can consider for additional SEO benefits and exposure. Carefully research an outlet for the criteria mentioned above and in related articles found in the search engine optimization knowledge center.
Contact us today and see how a press release optimized for the search engines can bring valuable benefits to your small business.
About SEO Advantage®
Led by Stone Reuning, SEO Advantage®, Inc. is an online marketing and search engine optimization firm that helps businesses turn their web presence into a powerful revenue generation medium. Our clients enjoy dominance on Google, Yahoo and Bing through a suite of unique pay-for-performance search engine optimization and online marketing services implemented by a multidisciplinary team of SEO engineers, copywriters and web designers. You'll find us referenced in books such as "Writing Web-Based Advertising Copy to Get the Sale" and the BusinessWeek bestseller "The New Rules of Marketing & PR," as well as the popular ebook "The Small Business Blogging Blueprint." Find out more today by calling us at 1-800-366-1639 or email us here.
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