Free press release sites: are they worth it?
Free press release sites let anyone publish an announcement at no cost. They are quick and easy, which makes them tempting for small businesses and startups with limited budgets.
This guide gives an honest view of what free PR sites can and cannot do, when they still help, why your own newsroom is usually a better home, and a free outreach routine that tends to produce far more real coverage.
Key takeaways
- Free sites publish your release; they do not pitch it to anyone.
- Few journalists look for stories on them.
- Links from them carry little SEO value.
- Free personal outreach usually achieves far more.
What free press release sites offer
- A public, dated page for your announcement
- Sometimes basic syndication to partner sites
- A searchable record of your news
- Paid upgrades for wider distribution
What they do not do
They do not put your story in front of the journalists who cover your industry, and they do not create articles written by those journalists. Most links on these pages are treated as low value by search engines, and many pages receive almost no visitors.
In other words, publishing on a free site is closer to posting on a noticeboard than to doing PR.
When a free site can still help
If you need a public, dated record of an announcement and have no newsroom of your own yet, a free site can fill the gap. Some niche communities also have free submission sections their readers actually browse. Treat these as a supplement, not a strategy.
Set up your own newsroom instead
- Create a news or press page on your site.
- Publish each release with a date, summary and full text.
- Add downloadable logos, images and executive bios.
- Include a press contact with a real response time.
- Link the newsroom from your footer so journalists find it.
A newsroom costs nothing beyond time, and it gives every future pitch a credible place to point and every earned link a useful destination.
Better free alternatives
- Personal emails to journalists who cover your topic
- Answering journalist requests with expert comment
- Sharing the news with customers and partners
- Local business groups and trade associations
- Industry newsletters that accept short news items
A worked example
An illustrative startup launches a new feature. It publishes the release on its own newsroom, emails eight journalists who recently wrote about its category with a short personal pitch, answers two related journalist requests that week and sends the news to its customer list. Two trade titles cover the launch with links to the newsroom page. A free press release site would have given it one more copy of the release and nothing else.
If you do use a free site
- Use your brand name naturally rather than keyword-stuffed anchors
- Link to your newsroom, not to a sales page
- Keep the release identical to the one on your site
- Do not expect it to replace pitching
A free outreach routine
Set aside an hour twice a week. Check journalist request platforms for relevant queries, answer the best fits and send two or three personal pitches to writers covering your topic. Over a few months this routine usually produces more real coverage than any free distribution site. When you are ready to scale it, that is what our expert commentary service runs every day.
Frequently asked questions
Can free press releases hurt SEO?
Rarely, but avoid keyword-stuffed anchor links in them.
Are paid upgrades worth it?
Only if you need wide disclosure. For coverage, spend time on pitching instead.
Should we still publish releases on our site?
Yes. Your own newsroom page gives journalists a source to link to.
Will Google index free press release pages?
Often, but they rarely rank for anything beyond your brand name.
Are there any free sites journalists use?
Journalist request platforms are free for sources and are actively used by writers.