10 Ways to Find the Best PR Distribution Services | PR News Release Sites

2017 Guide: 10 Ways to Find the Best PR Distribution Services & PR News Release Sites

Whether you have a product or service to promote or want to get the word out about an upcoming charity event, PR distribution is of key importance.

PR is short for press release, the announcement written to tell news outets about your event so you can alert PR websites and PR press to encourage them to write about your news. It can also be used in some formats for “public relations,” as in the term PR press release.

Image Source: PR Websites

For those new to PR sites, it can be confusing knowing where to go for good PR distribution services and which are the best PR websites to use to send out your announcement.

In this article, “10 Ways to Find the Best PR Distribution Services, we try to take the mystery out of finding an online PR news outlet where you can gain exposure for your PR press release.

We will give you tips on finding both free PR sites and the best PR websites that are paid, plus PR distribution review sites, so you can make an informed decision on which PR sites are worth the time and cost.

Also included will be what fees to watch out for and what metrics to review when looking through PR websites so that you aren’t stuck thinking your news is going out, when it really isn’t being sent anywhere.

1. Ways to Find PR Distribution | Check Google News

According to NetMarketshare.com, Google currently has 71.11% of the global search engine marketshare, so before you begin a simple search for “free PR distribution” or “PR websites,” it’s a good idea to search a few of your PR press release keywords on Google News and see what PR websites are listed as distributors on PR press pages that come up in the results.

For example, a Google News search on “announces new contractor service” brought up a PR press release from PR Newswire, PRWeb, and GlobeNewswire on the first page of the search results.

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2. Ways to Find PR Distribution | Search Yahoo Finance

If you’re a public company that needs to make sure your PR press is going out under the SEC Fair Disclosure (Regulation FD) guidelines and also shows up under your company’s ticker symbol, then checking a PR news release on Yahoo Finance from several public companies will show you some PR sites that do those type of Regulation FD releases.

Suggested steps:

Choose “Industry News” from the top Yahoo Finance menu
Look for your industry
Choose a company listed
Click on Press Releases, which shows under the Summary information
You can see the online PR news service they used at the top of each PR news release

Image Source: VisitPR Free PR Websites

3. Ways to Find PR Distribution | Research PR Websites Review Articles

By cross-referencing articles that have compared and reviewed multiple paid PR sites and free PR websites, you can save a lot of time in gathering information to decide which may be the best PR websites for your news distribution. We’ve made it easier for you by searching for and referencing several review articles below on free PR sites and paid PR sites.

CyberAlert.com | “Free PR Distribution Services that Drive Traffic and Readership” – This article provides rankings for some of the top free PR websites, and they tested nearly 50 free PR sites in total for the comparison.

AdvisoryHQ.com | “Top Rated Best PR Distribution Sites Ranking” – Our article has a ranking of the top online PR websites you can use, and it includes both paid PR press sites and free PR websites.

Mequoda.com | “The Best Paid and Free PR Sites” – This article nicely divides the top free PR distribution sites from the top paid online PR news sites and includes the Moz Domain Authority score on each one.

Vitispr.com | “60 Free PR Sites Tested – A Detailed Review” – When they say “detailed,” they mean it. This article provides data gathered from a month of research trialing 60 of the free PR distribution websites. It includes winners and runners up for best ranking on Google News and Google web searches.

Mashable.com | “20+ Free PR Distribution Sites” – In this article, they give a straight-forward listing of free PR websites and paid PR distribution services, including which are ad supported and other notes specific to each of the PR sites.

4. Ways to Find PR Distribution | Check Word Count Fees

If you’re using one of the paid PR websites, you might see $199 for a PR press release and think that sounds great. But then you upload your PR press announcement, only to find the price has doubled due to your word count. Many sites offer a flat rate based upon 400 or 500 words (Business Wire, for example), but then charge a certain dollar amount per 100 words beyond that.

If you don’t know the full costs for word count up front, it can cause you an editing headache later on. It can also change your decision on PR sites and make you realize that what you thought was one of the best PR websites is not so great anymore.

Don’t Miss: Top Rated Best Press Release Distribution Sites | Ranking | Paid and Free Press Release Sites

5. Ways to Find PR Distribution | Know the PR Press Release Turnaround Time

This is another item that can cause unexpected costs if you want your release sent out same day or within an hour or two: you will get hit with an extra cost at the last minute. Some PR websites offer their flat rate based upon a 48-hour turnaround time, and you have to pay extra for “priority distribution.”

For example, PRweb charges $100 for priority PR distribution services with a one-hour turn around time.

This may not be an issue for you if you don’t mind waiting a day or two for your PR press to go out, but if your news is time-sensitive, then the costs for hourly or same day turnaround time will be very important in your evaluation of PR distribution services.

Image Source: Social Share PR Sites

6. Ways to Find PR Distribution | Check for Social Media Inclusion

In this day and age, having a social media connection and sharing ability for your online PR news is important so you can aggregate the message across all mediums.

It also allows you to encourage your followers to share your PR press easily and in a way that incorporates those all-important social media photos and hashtags (#).

While most PR websites will offer social sharing, some will charge extra for the feature, so this is another area where you need to research any hidden costs.

7. Ways to Find PR Distribution | Look Through Their PR Sites Distribution List

When you see a long list of media publications on an online PR news site, it can look reassuring that your news is going to go out to tons of people, but double check the quality of the PR sites where your PR press release is being sent. Not all are created equal, and not all will give your announcement the same coverage.

For example, you want to look to see if some of the top news outlets like the Associated Press (AP) are included in the PR distribution, rather than only smaller local outlets.

You can also check to see if the paid or free PR sites you’re researching have an option for industry trade publication distribution (like PRLog.org does).

8. Ways to Find PR Distribution | Test, Test, Test

Finding the best PR distribution for your needs requires testing several PR websites yourself. By seeing the type of website traffic and response in the form of emails, phone calls, and visits that you get, you can best gauge how your PR press is getting distributed to the public by a particular online PR news site and get a better feel for the cost/benefit ratio.

Suggested ways to test:

Set up a Google News Alert for your company name to see when a PR press is picked up by the search engine and where it’s coming from.
A few days after your news has gone out, search your company name over the main 3 U.S. search engines – Google, Yahoo, Bing – to see if you find the release.
Use a website analytics tool to track website traffic and see if your traffic has increased after the PR press went out.
Spot check one or more of the media listed in the PR news release site’s distribution list to see if your PR press was picked up on that media’s website.
Check with your customer support team to see if there was any increase in phone calls, store visits, or web inquiries the days after the online PR news went out.

Image Source: PR Sites Reputation

9. Ways to Find PR Distribution | Check Out the Company’s Reputation

Another way to narrow down your list of the best PR websites to trust with sending out your PR press release is to check out the company’s reputation online. There are many different websites you can use to see how trustworthy the PR sites are that you’re considering and what type of comments customers and employees are making about them.

Here are a few sites you can use to do this:

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10. Ways to Find PR Distribution | Make a Cost/Benefit Comparison Sheet

Price and cost/benefit are usually the primary deciding factors when you’re choosing between PR websites. Whether you have a large marketing budget for your business or are looking for the best free PR websites to get your PR press sent out on, the value of what you get for your time, efforts, and money is important.

This is where a cost/benefit comparison sheet comes in handy in your evaluation of the many PR sites out there.

Adding cost columns into a sheet for pricing per same number of words and same distribution turnaround time is fairly easy once you get all the pricing information from the PR websites; however, the benefits area can be slightly more tricky.

You need to decide on the metrics you’re going to use to judge the benefit you’re getting from a PR distribution.

A few metrics you can use are:

Visitors to your website
Phone calls to your business
Signups for your event
Contacts through your website
Shares for your news on social media, like Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn
Sales or donations reported due to your PR press
Number of Google News listings of your online PR news
Number of media PR sites that list your PR press release

Ways to Find the Best PR Distribution in 2017 | Conclusion

With the multitude of free PR sites and paid PR sites out there to choose from, the task of finding the best one for your public relations needs can seem like a huge task.

However, if you take a methodical approach to evaluating your most important needs, such as price, turnaround time, and distribution capabilities, you can narrow down the list of top PR websites that check all your boxes pretty quickly.

Remember to also save time by checking out the review articles by others; these often encompass a lot of research and can give you good comparison information on a variety of PR sites and how well they accomplish PR distribution for news.

By using the information available and going through our 10 ways to find the best PR distribution services, you can greatly shorten the search time and come away with a wining partner for all your PR press release needs.

AdvisoryHQ (AHQ) Disclaimer:

Reasonable efforts have been made by AdvisoryHQ to present accurate information, however all info is presented without warranty. Review AdvisoryHQ’s Terms for details. Also review each firm’s site for the most updated data, rates and info.

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