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Search for the Best Press Release Wire Service

By November 24, 2013March 30th, 2017Guide to PR, PR Tech, Public Relations

This blog post is part of “The Ultimate Guide to Public Relations” blog series.

Wire Releases are a great way to get word out to the masses. Distributing a press release via wire generally includes a posting on the wire site itself, distribution via newsfeeds on authoritative news websites, and direct distribution to the top newsrooms in the country.

Wire services vary greatly in terms of features and pricing, so make sure to find the best fit for your company.  In terms of price, wire services can range anywhere from free to around $1500, with a nice range of services available in the $300-$500 range.  Here is a quick snapshot of the Big 4 wire service providers and one free service.

If you’d like help sending a release or figuring out the best distribution options for you, please give me a call or email me.

 

PR Newswire (www.prnewswire.com) was the first wire service to market and currently is the most indexed wire service by search engines. They are also among the most expensive and are the only service that charges a yearly membership fee. It is a great solution for connecting with journalists, but it may not be the best choice for a company looking for SEO benefits. They are also the only service of the big 4 that removes your press release from their search index after 180 days.

 

BusinessWire (www.businesswire.com) is the most connected wire service on the Internet with the leading number of inbound links and some of the best SEO and social media sharing capabilities.  It is also the most expensive of the big 4.  Another unique feature is that the website comes in 5 different languages, which is great for multinational campaigns.  If you are on a budget, this is not the service for you.  However, for large companies who are comfortable paying for the best, this is a solid choice.

 

PRWeb(www.prweb.com) is the most watched of the big 4 wire services according to Alexa.  They offer competitive pricing at different levels for national distributions and one of the more user-friendly platforms on the market.  There is no option for state-by-state distributions.  This is a great option for small to medium sized companies who seek SEO benefits more than media pickup.

 

MarketWire (www.marketwire.com) offers a search engine and social media friendly wire distribution.  It is especially effective for localized releases and offers competitive pricing.  They don’t have the highest traffic rank or number of indexed pages of the big 4, but they are a good choice for medium to small companies looking for competitive product with a good balance of social media and media distribution services.

 

PRLog(www.prlog.org) offers a free wire service supported by advertisements. This is the choice for the most budget conscious companies who are looking to post their release externally, but are not especially concerned with SEO, reach, or distribution.

 

Hopefully this is a good start to your investigation into wire services. Wires are a great tool to use for search and mass press distribution. If you’re looking to pull off an event or get actual media coverage, a more targeted and personal approach is usually best.  We’d love to talk to you about your PR campaign and our connections in your industry and in Northern California media.  Feel free to drop us a line, or if you’re in the San Francisco Bay Area, drop by our offices.

This blog post is part of “The Ultimate Guide to Public Relations” blog series.

Andrew Erickson

Andrew is a partner at Alaniz and is responsible for heading up digital strategy and our organizational and technology infrastructure.