This blog post was written in 2009 and contains some dated information that is no longer relevant. We recently updated our Press Release Wire Service Comparison to include 2016 rates and features for five of the top vendors. Click the link above to read that post, or call our public relations experts to get answers to your questions at 877-887-7611.
In our popular Press Release Wire Service whitepaper, we recommended a PRWeb.com package with BusinessWire. PRWeb recently discontinued this package.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve gone back to using Marketwire with great success. Media pickup, online news service and search engine rankings were much better than PRWeb. I also noticed many small to midsized high-tech companies were using this wire service.
Media coverage is far superior to PRWeb and pickup from MSNBC and Marketwatch also show up on Google page 1 for key phrases in your release title. Their editors are also very good at catching even subtle typos.
One drawback to Marketwire is you have to call their customer support if you need to make a change after posting. With PRWeb, it’s a simple matter of making the change online and then resubmitting. However, that’s the difference between a wire service and a distribution service. I’ve found Marketwire’s customer support staff to be fast, efficient and helpful.
Another Marketwire disadvantage involves long word count releases. You pay extra for releases over 400 words and for every 100-word block after that. PRWeb pricing is not based on word count.
Cost savings hint: If your business only serves a local market, try Marketwire’s state distribution service. Rates start at $145 and for less than $250 you can get a release with anchor text links of your key phrases. The excellent part from a search ranking perspective is sites such as MSNBC and Marketwatch usually picks up the cheaper one state releases.
Need help with writing or distributing a press release? Our public relations and marketing communications experts are ready to assist you. Call 877-887-7611.
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Author: +Chris Slocumb