In one of my previous articles I covered the best online press release distribution services, and since publishing that post I’ve received a ton of feedback from readers asking why online distribution is so important. Today I’ll touch on some of the benefits of distributing press releases online.

One of the biggest reasons to distribute press releases online is to improve ROI. A vast majority of medium to large-size companies distribute news on a regular basis, which is usually sent to trade magazines, newspapers, etc. They pay top dollar for PR agencies, however most don’t distribute press releases online. Online distribution will not only provide additional publicity, but also high-quality backlinks as well as social engagements. A press release appearing in Google News typically spurs retweets, Facebook likes, and other engagements.

From an SEO perspective, press releases are extremely valuable. Most distribution services allow 3 backlinks with custom anchor text, so they’re excellent for targeting specific keywords and also a variety of keywords to provide for a more natural backlink profile. However, according to Google’s recent algorithm update all links from press releases should be no-follow (PageRank isn’t passed).

For the minimal cost of online distribution, I feel all companies should be taking advantage of all the Internet has to offer.