Is It Really Worth The Money?
Using web-based press release services, such as PRWeb, to promote your business may seem like a great idea, but is an online press release really worth the money?
Traditionally speaking, press releases provide reporters with enough basic information to create a news article for publication. However, nowadays there are online press release services, which not only provide reporters with potentially newsworthy material, but they can assist your business’ Search Engine Ranking through quality backlinking. These services have become extremely popular in recent years, but is it right for your business?
To answer this question you need to decide upon your objective. What is it that you are trying to achieve by creating a press release? There are generally two major objectives. Firstly, to generate external content with quality backlinks to your website to help boost your Search Engine Ranking. Secondly, to generate a “newsworthy” article that has the potential to be picked up by traditional media (newspapers, journals, magazines, etc).
There are an abundance of online press release services out there and knowing which one to choose for your business could be a nightmare. Does it work? Is it reliable? How will I know if they’re trustworthy? And will I see a healthy return on my hard earned dollars?
These are just some of the questions you may have when looking for an online press release service to suit your business’ needs. Here at Melbourne SEO Services we’ve been using PRWeb for quite some time and we’ve learnt a few vital things along the way.
- Your press release must be newsworthy. It is not a platform to blatantly promote you or your business (although that might be the objective).
- If you want your press release to be picked up by the media, then it’s wise to tailor your article to something topical (something that’s currently happening in the news. ie. Will & Kate’s Wedding, The War On Terror, Facebook, etc).
- Put yourself in the reader’s shoes. Write something that you would want to read yourself.
- Optimise you headline. Not only should it be catchy enough to rope an audience, it should also contain your primary keyword.
If you’re just looking to boost your Page-Rank through quality backlinks, then an online press release is definitely worth the money if created correctly. If you’re looking for some guaranteed media exposure, then you may be disappointed.
Nobody can really predict what a reporter might choose to produce as a news article. That said, there are some guidelines that you can use to give your press release the best chance of success. Click here to learn how. Once you’ve written your press release, watch the video below to learn how to submit it to PRWeb:
I’ve never tried doing press releases for any of my web projects. I think some services tend to dilute the requirement of newsworthiness. I do agree with you that a press release should still, first and foremost, be newsworthy.
Do you have a suggestion on the right timing for doing this, say how many weeks should you do this before you launch your product/website?
Hi Melba. I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes I come across press releases online that aren’t newsworthy and thereby go against the definition of press releases. There’s nothing wrong with using PR to promote your business but business owners should at least publish content that’s newsworthy.
Just like with anything online even with press releases people can abuse them. And it shows. If a press release is not newsworthy then no one will pick it up and publish it. It would be a complete waste of time for the person who wrote it in the first place.
How many weeks should you do a PR prior to launch? It really depends on your strategy. If you want to create a very early buzz you can do it months before your launch.
Do you find backlinks from online press releases better than those coming from article marketing services?
Just thought about it today. If links from online press releases appear to be more credible, then online entrepreneurs might focus on this rather than submitting articles to different services. Any thoughts?
Hey Annie/Greg, usually I wait till the product/website is live and ready to go… there’s not as much benefit to do a press release to say “coming soon”.
And Sam, it’s not that the links are better but rather you get a whole bunch of them from a whole variety of sources. Many of the alternative link building methods get links using the same method… obviously this isn’t as natural as a whole variety.
Hope that helps.
Dave