Paid Press Release Site - Our competitors do it... and it seems to work?

[xoffie]

Hi

Im seeing our competitors use sites like 24-7pressrelease.com to release rather uninteresting and dubious press releases and it seems to be, looking at their link profiles, the lions share of all links to these particular landing pages. Yet since I've joined SEOMOZ all i've seen is that PR sites don't work and arent worth it.

So far, I've resisted doing any PR stuff and have just kept on creating and promoting content which is severely time heavy work. Is there really 0 value in these? If i have 0 PR currently and add just a couple is that worth it?

The co. we compete against are at it every week with this site and similar paid sites. Are they making a mistake?

[bronxpad]

The true power of Press Release submission is not in spammy press releases but in having a real issue to write a press release about and then making sure it gets printed and posted online by a real news site. If you can do that then you will get a coveted journalistic link that google loves. What your competitor is doing is not a long term strategy. Even if it is working now, at some point google will catch them and they will spend a lot of time fixing the issue. Just continue posting legitimate content on your blog and site and every now and then do something news worthy so you can then get a media mention online, in papers, radio and on tv. Charitable giving and actions go a long way.

[xoffie]

Hi Guys

Actually we have done, we've started to produce really good video guide content that is  involving a local community and we feel it's a real value/content play compared to the competition. So I'll push that one as far as i can first before the press releases.

[CharlotteWorksTheWeb]

LOL at "I hope that all of my competitors are working their asses off doing press releases." Me too, especially ones that actual media professionals laugh at.

My guess is that you'd be better served by taking the same content you would try to form an exciting press release out of, and crafting a great guest post instead. Find a respected blog in your field to post that on, then repeat with another (original) guest post, and you will SPANK the press release competitor in the SERPs in no time.

[EGOL]

Three things come to my mind about your situation...

1. links posted on mass press release sites are worth very little

2. if you submit one you might get a tiny tiny amount of credit, if you submit two the second one gets even less credit and if you submit twenty the most recent 10 combined might get less credit than the first.

3. if I want to beat my competitor I will try to do something superior rather than mimicking his methods

What can you do that is superior?

Honestly... I hope that all of my competitors are working their asses off doing press releases.

[xoffie]

Well, I guess I will add a couple of press releases and measure what happens. As long as it's not hurtful I'm happy (apart from the $400 burned of course)!

I'll make sure they are relevant and interesting. Thanks for all the comments.

[William.Lau]

I agree with CharlotteWorks, it really is useless as in generating traffic and buzz unless it is news worthy.

Case studies, product releases would be some good reasons to use PR, if those categories are attractive.

But I do believe it is possible that PR sites can help with link building, but might just be an expensive link. I've looked at places like PRweb(have not used any PR places yet), and they offer PR and submission to NYtimes and AP, for about like $400.

Now I am not sure if these links from NYtimes and Associated Press are actual 100% guaranteed but if they are, it might be worth it just in a link building perspective.

[anthonytjm]

I agree in theory with Charlotte, however in real world dynamics, I'm seeing a lot of our competitors using the same PR tactics you describe to inflate inbound links. Clearly this must be a better choice than using the over abundant link directories that are spam saturated.

I would think using PR services in moderation to distribute decent content would be more helpful than relying entirely on them for linking purposes.

[CharlotteWorksTheWeb]

I tend to think that unless there is actually something exciting or newsworthy to report, a press release is inappropriate, and probably not going to do much for you in terms of a link building boost.

I also tend to think that paid press release sites know there are plenty of people who think press releases DO work to their advantage, and capitalize on that by charging for publishing them.

Unless you have something the world really needs to know about, and therefore a chance of writing a press release that will actually draw some attention from the media, I would focus on other avenues, like maybe guest posting.