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Guide · 9 min read

Press release, sponsored article or guest post: what each one actually gets you

Four formats, four different outcomes. Pick by the goal, not by the domain score.

Press release on a national outlet

A page in the press-release section of a site such as USA Today or AP News. It is labeled as a press release, links are usually nofollow, and the page is indexed. Best for: brand-term rankings, "as featured in" credibility, launch announcements, and a citation AI answer engines can use. Not for: passing link equity.

Wire syndication

One release pushed to many finance and news sites at once: Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Benzinga, Morningstar and hundreds of smaller outlets. Fast, Google News eligible, and the same text appears on every domain. Best for: reach and speed, funding and product news, quick indexing. Not for: unique content per outlet.

Sponsored article

A full feature on a news or magazine site, written about your product and labeled per the outlet's policy (Sponsored, Partner content, or similar). Links are often dofollow, and the page can rank for review-style searches. Best for: "[brand] reviews" searches, longer explanations, evergreen pages. Not for: outlets whose sponsored sections are measured independently and no longer rank; check the live sample first.

Guest post

An article on a niche or regional publisher with a contextual link to your site. Authority is lower than a national masthead, relevance is higher. Best for: topical backlinks, country-specific SEO, building a natural link profile. Not for: brand visibility on a masthead your customers recognize.

Link insertion

Your link added to an article that already exists and is already indexed. The fastest route to a contextual backlink. Best for: quick, relevant links on aged pages. Not for: anything a reader needs to discover; nobody sees the insertion except search engines.

Choosing

  • Want your brand to rank for its own name within days? Press release on a national outlet, plus a wire.
  • Want a page that ranks for "[brand] reviews"? Sponsored article on a site whose sponsored section still ranks.
  • Want link equity for your own domain? Guest posts and link insertions on relevant publishers, dofollow shown per listing.
  • Want all three? One order in the directory; each outlet shows which format it is.
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Rolled newspapers stacked together

Order the format that fits the goal.

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