Press release links are links placed inside press releases, usually distributed through newswire services that syndicate the text to many sites. Because the company writes the release and pays for distribution, these links are not editorial, and Google's earlier link scheme guidance named optimized anchor text in press releases as an example of unnatural links. Many wire services apply nofollow by default.
What a press release can and cannot do
A release distributed on a wire puts an announcement on record and can reach journalists who monitor wires. The syndicated copies themselves, often on low-traffic partner sites, rarely bring meaningful traffic or ranking value. The value, when there is any, comes from journalists who read the release and write their own stories with editorial links.
Using links in releases safely
Include links where they help a reader: your site, a product page, a data source. Use plain brand or descriptive anchors rather than keyword phrases. Expect them to be nofollow, and do not treat release distribution as link building.
Better options
For SaaS companies, newsworthy announcements usually land better through direct pitches to relevant writers, a well-written post on your own site, and partner promotion. Reserve wire releases for news that genuinely needs formal distribution, such as funding, acquisitions or regulated disclosures.
Example
A funding announcement
An illustrative compliance automation startup, Auditbrook, announces a funding round. It publishes the announcement on its own blog, sends a wire release for the record, and pitches the story directly to a few trade reporters with an angle about the problem it solves. The wire copies carry nofollow links; the trade articles link to the blog post editorially.
Common mistakes
Keyword anchors in releases
Optimized anchors in syndicated releases are the pattern Google has warned about.
Counting syndicated copies as coverage
Dozens of auto-published copies are not the same as articles written by journalists.
Questions
Indirectly at best. The release itself rarely passes value. Coverage it prompts from journalists can.
