A Review of Press Release Distributors
Every few days I seem to get an e-mail from someone asking me where they should distribute their online press release. Normally I just send them to Google and say “search”. Everyone has different needs and while one distributor might be perfect for you, it might be worthless for someone else. So I’ve decided to review a few of the press release distributors that I have used in the past.
UPDATE: This list was created before PRunderground went live as a distribution service itself. We’ve essentially taken all of the good elements of the sites below and put them in a single place.
PRWeb (http://www.prweb.com)
Price: $80 and up
The typical PRWeb release will appear (not 100% of the time) in most major news searchs (Google News, Topix, MSN News, etc…) and it will be distributed to thousands of people via RSS. They are the most popular, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they do the best job. They do fill a specific niche, but for the money you can probably get the same (or better) results elsewhere.
PR.com (http://www.pr.com)
Price: Free and Paid
I’ve submitted press releases to PR.com that have been reprinted in my local newspaper. So if you have a newsworthy announcement, it’s worth it to submit a release to PR.com… but there is a catch.
PR.com does not allow live links in their releases, well, not unless you pay ($30 per link). That and their online reach is pretty limited. They don’t have people republishing their releases like PRWeb does and a free PR.com release will only appear in Google News. In my opinion, they aren’t worth paying for, but the free option should definitely be used.
PRLeap.com (http://www.prleap.com)
Price: $49 and up
PRLeap used to be a favorite of mine. Their free option was fantastic… it allowed live links, appeared in a number of news search sites and always ranked well in Google. However, for some reason the folks at PRLeap decided to discontinue their free option on 01/01/2008. It’s really a shame, because that’s what made them so good…
PRLog (http://www.prlog.org)
Price: Free
PRLog has been doing pretty well over the past few months, especially with PRLeap starting to charge everyone. While PRLog doesn’t have a good reach in terms of actual distribution, they do rank well in Google. For that reason, I believe PRLog is a valuable tool in your Search Engine Optimization. They might not help you get news coverage, but they can help you rank better in Google… and they don’t charge you a dime.