Paid Press Releases: Good for SEO or bad?

[aj613]

Press release services like prweb.com and emailwire.com seem to work, but are they a good idea?

[DavidKonigsberg]

Only if your release is newsworthy enough that you expect it to get picked up and rewritten.

[anthonydnelson]

If you are sending it "for SEO" it is probably a bad thing. If you are sending it because you have a legitimately Newsworthy story to share, I think it's a good thing.

[JackieChu]

Agreed...they should be used exclusively for press mentions, not for SEO. However, if your story gets picked up then that's all the better for your site. One of the examples of a "link scheme" in GWMT guidelines are: "Links with optimized anchor text in articles or press releases distributed on other sites."

John Mueller comments on press releases for SEO in the video embedded on Search Engine Roundtable

[GrowthHackingGooglesIndex]

There is amazing trust flow with press distribution and it is VERY possible to rank certain queries with Press alone (read low comp local), however, ignoring the branding and view/traffic potential is a mistake.

Do not believe the hype that they are ineffective as an inclusion to your ranking strategy.