my PR distribution results

[devin]

i submitted a PR through PRWeb and a few other free sites. I upgraded the one on PRWeb with a $40. after seven days, these are the stats:

Reads 27,082
Estimated Pickup 272
Prints 3
Forwards 1
PDF Downloads 0

no significant increase in traffic. does it work? may be too early to tell. would like to hear your opinions.

[MattUK]

Do you have a way of tracking backlinks gained?

[Darkhodge]

I've used PR several times and didn't really see a significant increase in traffic. Quite a significant increase in backlinks through - one PR ($40) increased my backlinks by around 4,000 (from 1k to 5k) but that said it's not worth much in terms of value... Also after a certain time period the PR gets removed etc... so the link count falls again.

Well that's my experience of PR anyway. :o

[devin]

Do you have a way of tracking backlinks gained?

nope, none in MSN either.

[jhmattern]

It's worth it in terms of value if you use the tool properly. Too many people send press releases about anything and everything, and there's really nothing newsworthy or significant about their site. If you do that, you're not going to get any real results. You need to do something newsworthy first. Launched a new site? great. So why is it different than your competitors? Set up an impressive contest. Set up something to benefit a charity through your site. Implement a new technology your competitors aren't using. Be on the forefront, not a follower. If you put in the effort, PR will bring you enormously more than advertising or other marketing efforts combined. But don't expect miracles when you give the media nothing to work with. Releases aren't backlink-generating tools. They're "news". They're written for the media, not the end-user. If you don't understand what a tool is meant to do, and how it can best benefit you if used properly, you'll never be happy with the results.

Jenn