Are sites like PRWeb and other similar major free PR services worth it for backlinks? Also, if your link is something like a "www.mysite.com" on the page, as the actual text of the link instead of "My Site," will the backlink still be good for something? Will it be less or more? How does that work? TIA
PRWeb is an authority site without a doubt. I've never used it before, but if they dont use nofollows, it'll have a good effect using anchor text in links..
Do you know, are you allowed to use anchor text in PR releases? I thought it has to be all text and no html.
So I guess the next question is what is the best bang for the buck on marketing your site for 200 bucks?
I posted a lens on Squidoo about this the other day - getting high quality backlinks through press releases. It's less about getting the immediate links from distribution sites, but instead about how going about press releases the "right" way can bring you high quality backlinks from relevant authority sites, for the same (or not much more) effort than you'd spend writing and paying to post them to PRweb.
Using them as they're intended to be used... to entice journalists to cover a worthy story, and not simply for the immediate backlinks. The fact of the matter is that using press releases correctly doesn't ignore the backlink benefit in the slightest... it amplifies that potential, and getting that added benefit doesn't make it cost much more, if at all, in time or money than simply having one written and paying for an upgrade to get on the front page of PRweb. The effects are simply greater if you know what you're doing from the start. Unfortunately, too many people do nothing but write a generic article which they've formatted to look like a press release (although it's not), so they'll never reach that full potential.
I have several articles set this way ..i see some results ..BUT I would not spend it there unless you have a HUGE headline ..some will pick it up but most will not. PRWEB and all of them have a nice trusted spot in google so the intial articel per-say will be seen to what you attach it to quickly ..sometimes that's all you will see. Your resource box allows for a lot of info to help your cause. :0)
The problem is that PRweb isn't a "relevant" link the way a large niche media outlet is. Simply formatting an article to look like a release won't get you that, and will hurt your credibility with journalists in the future if they see a lot of "garbage releases" related to your company / site. You'll never get the best ROI possible for the time and/or money you'll spend by going that route. I'm not saying you can't get links that way, or that it's not effective... only that it's irresponsible marketing to do that when the same amount of effort can bring you better results. As always in marketing, the return is the key... you have to maximize it. The huge headline is a part of that. The trick is in knowing how to take something relatively "normal" or mundane, and turning it into an opportunity to do something newsworthy.
Might as well ask this while we are on this general topic, though its kind of off the main topic. Jenn, what are your thoughts on the $200 PRWeb package? is it worth upgrading from that to get the release higher on the page? Also what do you think of the PodCasts they are doing now? worth the $100-$200?
I couldn't really recommend a package without seeing the release, the news angle, and the niche. Generally I say, if you're serious about wanting attention, and you insist on using PRweb, then aim for the top 10. If you can't afford top 10 placement, at the very least aim for top 30. If $200 will get you in there (watch for a few days to see how many in the $200 package are below that point on average), then go for it. If not, go with the $120 package. Even if you go with the $200 package, pay a bit more to beat out anyone buying the straight package deal (ie $201, 205, 209, etc. to try to get nearer to the top of the list in that star level). However, if you're going to pay for the top placement, you may as well just pay a little bit more and use a real newswire service to get it directly in front of your target journalists (by niche/industry, region, or even national distribution). As for podcasts, I only know of one client who actually used them. They were picked up by two large online media outlets, but then again, their release ranked highly from their upgrades, and it was an interesting angle on an interesting subject, so it likely had nothing to do with that. I haven't heard too much feedback on that service otherwise.