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There are two approaches we use:

1. The client hires a PR agency. We teach the PR agency how to do SEO press release and give them our manual. Than - and this part is important - before the PR agency sends the press reales, they have to send it to our agency to check it and optimize. After we check the press release it can be send to the media. The point is the links are not important for PR folks. So the most you can demand from them is to put an URL or your home page at the beginning of the press release (sometimes they even don't mention it). But it is just the beginnig. Different online media handle the links in the press releases differenty and you have to know, how make and hypertext from them, how to do a deep-links and how to handle with keywords in the press releases. This is not typical PR work.
2. Because we provide the PR services, we write and optimize press releases. We do the PR even off-line. But not all PR agencies provide this kind of service.

Press releases are good sources of links, but it is just a part of link-building. But very valuable.

Another point is that sometimes (manytimes?) is it more valuable to get a link from specialized, but not so known website (e. g. a blog) or discussion board, than from generally oriented huge website/media.

I am not so familiar with the prices on US market but e. g. 600 USD/per month per link-building is a minimum by our agency here in Central Europe. But is someone wants just link-building for 600 USD/month, we have to reject it. If an account manager has to be able to deliver results, he or she has to spend a lot of time with his or her team to work on a project. And many times link-building is not enough. So it needs o lot of time. I cannot imagine a serious project, where you spend less than 20 hours per month doing SEO - and this is really just a minimum. E. g. 20 hours by our Central-European agency is 1 750 USD.

If you want a reputable US agency, you have to prepare to pay higher prices.

We aim to create the material and distribute them through PR agencies of our clients in HTML.

If we are not the creator, we get the material in DOC, optimize it and send it in HTML to the PR agencies.

However, one of our large clients, has an worldwide system from which you can dowload material in HTML, optimize it and send in HTML to their local PR agencies or upload back to the system.

In one of cases we worked on Google suggested "Brand name - very harmful keywords". It was mainly thanks to "tabloid campaign."

We negotiated with the owners of websites and with a small legal help they deleted the pages where were the brand name and the harmful keywords. Then we use Google Webmaster Tools to inform Google about these changes (Webpage removal request tool).

After that the harmful keyword dissapared from suggesting.

Since than we use it successfully again and again. It seems, Google needs pages where are both brand name and problematic keyword(s) highlighted (title, Hn...).

It is like to find an ad agency - you have to ask yourself e. g.:

• Where am I or the targeted market oriented? (Do you want a company from different city/state/country/continent?)
• What is my budget? (Some SEO agencies are focused on small budgets, some on enterprise level.)
• What kind of work or cooperation I am looking for? (Some agencies are experts in link-building, some in information architecture, some can offer everything on very high level.).

You can try http://www.sempo.org/?page=member_directory but it is not useful in all countries nor some good SEO companies are not participating.

Another resource is http://www.topseos.com/search-engine-marketing-companies/seo/, but less reputable.

You can find some SEO experts even here: http://www.seomoz.org/users and http://www.seomoz.org/marketplace/companies..

My best advice is to send press releases in HTML with appropriate links.

Many journalists work in a style "receiving press release -> CTRL + C -> CTRL + V -> making some small changes -> publishing."

The old-style PR workers send just press releases in MS Word. The new style is to send both MS Word and HTML. The journalist just copies the pure and perfectly coded HTML file into their CMS and publish them. The journalist save a lot of time by coding and you get the point.

Apart from already mentioned, I like http://www.seroundtable.com/:

1. They provide really up-to-date information.
2. They have mobile version. I read them mostly on my BlackBerry while standing in queue, waiting on something, on the lift etc.
3. The provide a lot of links for deeper discovering.
4. Their articles are useful.