Press release backlinks: worthless because they are nofollow?
Most wire services mark the links in a release. That ends one argument and starts a better one about what a release is for.
PublicLinks editorial team ·
The attribute is not the verdict. A nofollow link in a release does little for ranking credit, yet a release can still earn coverage, brand searches and the occasional editorial link from a writer who read it.
Google's older guidance listed keyword-rich links in distributed press releases as a link scheme. That explains why wire services mark their links, and why you should never stuff anchors. Use the brand name or a plain URL. That is enough.
A release is also paid distribution. Treat it like a sponsored placement, as the rel guide explains, and set your expectations to match. Cheap services differ little from one another, so choose on proof of past indexing, not on the length of the feature list.
What a release can and cannot do
Outcome
Realistic?
Notes
Pass ranking credit through the wire link
Rarely
Links are usually nofollow or sponsored
Get indexed on the wire page
Often
Not guaranteed, and indexing is not ranking
Reach a journalist who writes a story
Sometimes
Depends on the news, not on the service
Lift branded searches
Sometimes
Measure in Search Console over weeks
Build an anchor-text profile
No
Do not try
A release that earns something
01
Find a real news hook
A launch, a dataset, a hire, a number. No hook, no release.
02
Write for a reporter
Lead with the fact, add a quote and a source, and keep the copy short.
03
Link to a page worth reading
A data page or a press kit beats the homepage.
04
Pitch by hand as well
Email three writers who cover your topic, with the wire copy attached. Do not rely on the wire alone.
05
Watch the next six weeks
Log referral traffic, new mentions and branded queries in Search Console.
Duplicate releases
Posting the same text on BusinessWire, PRWeb and your own site creates near-identical pages. That rarely causes harm by itself, but only your own copy should be the one you want ranking. Add a short original angle to each local version.
Cheap releases: what to ask first
Does the service say which sites carry the release, by name?
Are links marked nofollow or sponsored, and does it say so?
Will the page be indexable, and can you see an example from last month?
Does it promise rankings? Walk away if so.
Is the cost smaller than an hour of pitching? Then pitch instead.
Measuring a release honestly
Give it six weeks. Check Search Console for branded queries that rose, Bing Webmaster Tools for the same, and your analytics for referral visits from the wire domain. Log new mentions in a sheet with the date.
Run the numbers against the fee. A $40 service that produces one journalist reply is cheap, while a $400 one that produces only a wire page is not. Compare with the cost of a sponsored post on a relevant niche site before you pick.
Tools such as Google Alerts, Ahrefs and Semrush can catch unlinked mentions. Ask the writer politely for a link. Many agree. A few won't, which is their right.
Hypothetical example
A bakery chain announces a regional bread-price index. The release goes out for $45, and the owner emails three food writers the same morning. Two replies, one quote, one unlinked mention, which she asks to be linked. That is an invented scenario to show the sequence, not a result to expect.