Are you still wasting money on spammy press releases?
I have a Google Alert set for the term “Raleigh Divorce Lawyer.” I get an e-mail any time that phrase shows up on Google News or in a few other places on Google. I like to keep up with the competition.
Mostly, I see blog posts (usually over-optimized and using the phrase “Raleigh Divorce Lawyer” over and over to the point where it’s odd). Sometimes I see press releases distributed by these commercial press release distribution sites.
Isn’t All Press Good Press?
There was once a time when spammy press releases had a positive impact on search engine optimization. Having a link back to your site with important anchor text (like “Raleigh Divorce Lawyer”) helped your ranking on Google for that phrase. That time has long since passed.
Back in July, Google updated its link scheme definitions to include press release links and examples of unnatural links that may trigger a manual action against a site. That means press release links are more likely to hurt you than to help you with the ranking of your site. On October 2, Google issued an update known as Penguin 2.1, which has further affected sites with unnatural links.
What to Do If You Have Already Published Press Releases
Do you have links back to your site from press releases? If so, it’s time to stop doing that. In fact, it’s well past time, and you should consider deleting the links you obtained in the past.
How do lawyers end up with spammy links like those found on press release sites? They blindly follow the recommendations of search engine optimization experts. Unfortunately, these experts don’t always keep up with developments.
If your “expert” is still doing press releases, you need to put a stop to it. In fact, you should probably put a stop to that expert. Your expert is charging you a fee for his or her expertise. Your expert is also passing along a fee from the press release services for posting your release. Stop wasting your money on press releases. They’re hurting you instead of helping you.
