Is only Press Release distribution a waste of money?
Many businesses spend hundreds of thousands of dollars each month distributing press releases online. For some companies, press release distribution is their only link-building strategy. They assume it works because it allows them to accumulate backlinks, which obviously carrying weight. What these business owners don’t realize, however, is that they could be wasting their time and money by placing so much importance on online press release distribution.
Online press release distribution should only take up a small portion of your link-building efforts because it isn’t an effective link-building strategy on its own. If you’ve spent any time building links, you likely understand the importance of accumulating links naturally, incorporating social signals, and acquiring links from unique domains. The primary problem with sending out press releases through press release distribution sites each month is that you’re getting backlinks from the same domains over and over again.
Moreover, when you submit press releases through an online press release distribution service, the same content gets submitted to various hubs with identical links and anchor text. This doesn’t look natural to the search engines. What’s more, press releases aren’t very “social” in nature because they aren’t widely read and people typically don’t share them in social networks.
Why Press Release Distribution is Still Important
Press release distribution isn’t effective as a standalone link-building strategy, but it often does form part of an effective link-building campaign. Press releases also help you manage your online reputation and build your brand because they tend to rank well in the search results when people search for your company’s name.
Only write press releases for your company when you have news that’s truly worth sharing. Focus on quality, not quantity. Publishing two to three high quality press releases that share important news each year is far more worthwhile than publishing multiple press releases about uninteresting topics each month.
How to Improve your Link-Building Campaign
The most important aspect of any link-building campaign is reaching out to the right people. You need to create excellent, link-worthy content and then share it with influential bloggers, social media users, etc. You also need to make an effort to get your work published on popular websites. When you publish an article on a respected website, it’ll increase traffic to your site and help you garner valuable links. In addition, grow your following on social networks like Twitter and Facebook. Your followers and fans are likely to share the content you publish and help you attract even more links.
If you are an authority in your industry, publish your best content on your own website to reap the full benefits. But if your website still isn’t well-known and your readership is small or non-existent, publish your best content on a popular website. That’ll help to build your site’s authority, traffic, links, and overall reputation.
Ultimately, there’s no such thing as a “one-size-fits-all” link-building solution. Every site and industry has unique needs that must be considered. As a business owner, strive to maintain a diverse link profile and never put all of your eggs into one basket – that includes press release distribution!