Beyond DoFollow: Insider Secrets Behind Press Releases Links

If you are from an SEO background, you probably have many questions about receiving thousands of backlinks from hundreds of different media outlets.

You are probably asking:

• Would all the backlinks be ‘dofollow’? (No, not all of them)
• If some sites are doing ‘nofollow’, wouldn’t that be worthless? (No, that’s not true)
• Why don’t I just get some dofollow from guest posts? (You can, but it is different)

These are all very fair and valid questions which we will cover in this study here today.

We’ll dive into their untapped potential and reveal how they can significantly impact your search, brand awareness, and industry recognition. We'll showcase real-life examples and explore advanced tactics that go beyond link-building to elevate your press release strategy to a whole new level.

By the end, you'll gain the knowledge and confidence to leverage all types of press release links strategically, helping your brand stand out online and become a recognized authority in your industry.

NoFollow Debunked

Entity Synergy

NLP Hacking

Misconceptions about Nofollow Links

First, let’s debunk a few myths about nofollow links. It’s time to break free from the outdated mindset that prioritizes dofollow links above all else.

Myth #1: Nofollow links are useless for SEO

Nofollow links are powerhouses for improving ranking and driving valuable traffic to your website. They guide users who are genuinely interested in your content or products to click on these links, leading to increased visits, engagement, and potential conversions.

This influx of mention and traffic serves as strong signals to search engines that your site is relevant and popular, positively impacting your SEO efforts in a broader perspective.

Let’s take a look at Adam White, a blogger with a mission. He wanted to improve his blog’s ranking for the keyword “backlink software.” Challenging the conventional wisdom around dofollow links, Adam purchased only nofollow links on high-ranking authoritative sites and smartly linked them back to his own blog.

The result? His blog didn't just climb the rankings; it shot up from #19 to #1. This wasn’t just luck; it was a deliberate and strategic application of nofollow links.

Myth #2: Nofollow links do not help with indexing

Forget the misconception that nofollow links hinder indexing! Although they are called “NoFollow”, search engines still crawl and index nofollow links! This means the sites you include in your press release will be discovered and included in search results.

Eli Schwartz’s experiment from SurveyMonkey illustrates this perfectly.

To find out if Google truly follows nofollow links, he included a nofollow link in a 404 error page pointing to an unindexed page.

In theory, Google would ignore the link, right? But no, it followed the link and indexed the page within just 48 hours!

This proves that nofollow links do indeed assist in content discovery.

Myth #3: Nofollow links are ignored completely

This belief is old news. Yes, the rel=”nofollow” HTML tag in nofollow links is believed to be a simple “ignore” sign for search engines like Google, but things have changed. 

Google has implemented significant alterations to its treatment of nofollow links.

“When nofollow was introduced, Google would not count any link marked this way as a signal to use within our search algorithms. This has now changed. All the link attributes—sponsored, ugc, and nofollow—are treated as hints about which links to consider or exclude within Search. We’ll use these hints—along with other signals—as a way to better understand how to appropriately analyze and use links within our systems.”

In simpler terms, Google’s algorithm doesn’t completely disregard nofollow links; rather, it considers factors like the frequency and placement of nofollow links, especially when they come from authoritative sites.

Likewise, our newswire service ensures that your press release gets the spotlight it deserves by distributing it to top-tier platforms like Yahoo! News, Business Insider, and beyond, helping your website become more visible and discoverable online.

Now that we’ve cleared up some common misconceptions, let's explore the undeniable value of nofollow links within press releases.

The Value of Nofollow Links in Press Releases

1. Amplifies Brand Awareness and Reach

When high-authority websites or influential individuals include nofollow links to your press releases, it exposes your brand to a wider audience who might be genuinely interested in your products or services.

This increased visibility on relevant platforms can lead to:

• Increased brand awareness: More people become familiar with your brand name and offerings.
• Enhanced industry recognition: Being featured on a reputable platform establishes you as a legitimate player within your industry.
• Potential for future collaborations: Increased visibility can attract potential partners or collaborators interested in your brand.

This indirect impact on brand awareness and industry recognition can significantly benefit your long-term SEO strategy by positioning your brand as a trusted and valuable resource within your field.

Let’s see this in action with SurgeGraph. Following the publication of their product update press release, their presence has echoed across numerous platforms.

They saw a surge in YouTube content, featured on podcasts in multiple languages, gained attention from writers and experts, and received interview requests from media outlets and influencers.

2. Enhancing Diversity and Promoting Ethical Practices

Building a natural and diverse link profile is crucial for optimal SEO health. Including nofollow links demonstrates to search engines that you've acquired links naturally and haven't engaged in manipulative practices. This practice aligns with ethical SEO guidelines and promotes long-term website health.

Take Sergey Grybniak’s client, for example. They saw a steady growth in high-quality traffic to their website, thanks to whom? — nofollow links.

While the website had over 12,000 links, a significant 67% were nofollow. Yet, they still experienced a substantial 69% increase in organic traffic and a 340% surge in referral traffic, highlighting the potential of nofollow links to drive valuable website growth.

Remember, a well-rounded SEO strategy leverages both dofollow and nofollow links, but don't underestimate the unique power of nofollow links in press releases, especially those from reputable sources. They can attract targeted audiences genuinely interested in your content, leading to increased website traffic and potential conversions.

3. Building Long-Term SEO Value

When you publish press releases on big-name sites, it's not just about the immediate impact; you're also setting up for future success, making your brand more known, and opening up chances to work with key people in your industry.

While dofollow links remain valuable, remember that nofollow links are also important. They help spread the word about your brand and can lead to strong relationships.

By regularly getting your press releases on well-known websites, you might start to get more links naturally. People see your good content and want to share it on their own sites.

Think of this approach as a long-term plan. It's all about making real connections and providing valuable content. This not only helps your site stay healthy but also keeps you visible on search engines for a long time.

In a case study conducted by Brian Dean, a nofollow link from a high-profile site could set off a chain reaction, leading to a bunch of dofollow links.

So what happened was Brian wrote a guest post for Noah Kagan’s blog, but Noah made the link back to Brian’s site a nofollow one, just like the rest of his outbound links:

Now, you might think, “Well, that’s a bummer, right?”

But turns out it wasn’t all bad. Brian got a ton of referral traffic from that post.

And here’s the kicker: lots of folks who found Brian through that post ended up linking to him on their own blogs. And guess what? Those links were dofollow ones.

And you know what that meant? It helped Brian’s rankings in the search results.

Now that you’ve seen the power of nofollow links, let’s take your press release to the next level.

We'll further explore how to leverage press releases for maximum impact, going beyond traditional link-building tactics to encompass valuable co-citation and co-occurrence strategies.

Hidden Power: Co-citation and Co-occurrence

One of the hidden powers of good press release distribution is to create Co-citation.

Co-citation occurs when the same source(s) mentions two different websites, even if they aren’t directly linked to each other.

Achieving co-citation means when your website and another authoritative source are mentioned together by a third party (in our case, in hundreds of press releases published on authoritative media sites.)

Co-citation is like being mentioned alongside a popular friend. When two websites are frequently mentioned together by other websites, it’s like they’re buddies from the perspective of search engines.

Search engines would think, “Hmm, if these two websites are often talked about together, they might be related or have similar content.”

This can boost both websites’ credibility and visibility in search results, as they’re seen as part of the same trusted circle.

Below is a visual representation of co-citation:

Website B and C are not linked to each other, but Website A co-cited both Website B and C. And because of that, Website B and C are connected.

Let’s take a look at an example.

InnoWear, a startup in the tech gadget industry, strategically boosts its online presence by sparingly mentioning market leaders in its press releases.

By organically mentioning market leaders like Fitbit or Garmin while announcing partnerships or product updates, InnoWear subtly associates itself with industry giants.

Over time, search engines recognize the association between InnoWear and these established brands, leading to increased visibility and credibility for InnoWear when consumers search for leading brands. This strategic approach helps InnoWear carve out a niche in the competitive market of the wearable tech market.

Another hidden power of press releases is co-occurrence; co-occurrence looks at how certain words or phrases appear together.

For example, a press release about a new line of sustainable clothing might naturally include terms such as:

• "eco-friendly materials”
• “sustainable fashion”
• “ethical manufacturing practices”

For press releases, co-occurrence helps in conveying the key messages and significantly improves how search engines interpret the content and context of your announcements. As a result, your press release will more likely appear in search results related to sustainable clothing or related topics.

In short, the key difference between these two:

a) Co-citation: Frequent citation of multiple websites together by any other website(s). 

Example: Website A (gardening portal) and Website B (gardening marketplace) are mentioned by Website C (a random blog). Co-citation occurs and this suggests a thematic connection between Website A and B.

b) Co-occurrence: Pairing of complementary words/phrases to help search engines see the connection.

Example: If multiple websites frequently talk about ‘fried chicken’ and also mention ‘high calories’, this will help search engines to understand that searches on ‘fried chicken’ may be relevant to ‘high calories’ search. 

Now that you understand these terms, let us explain why these two concepts are important and how you can leverage them in your press releases to drive more traffic and engagement to your brand.

Why Co-citation & Co-occurrence Make Sense in Press Releases

1. Aligns with Google’s Focus on Understanding Search Intent

In examining Google’s past algorithm updates, it becomes evident that the emphasis on co-citation and co-occurrence has been steadily growing:

• Hummingbird Update (2013): Shifted focus to pages that matched the meaning of a query, rather than just specific words.
• RankBrain (2015): Introduced a system to find similarities between valuable pages, emphasizing thematic connections.
• BERT Update (October 2019): Enhanced understanding of the context of words in queries, especially in conversational language.

Considering the evolution of these updates, it’s clear that Google increasingly values content that reflects natural language and intent. By leveraging co-citation and co-occurrence strategies in press releases, businesses can align with these algorithmic preferences, enhancing their visibility and credibility in search results.

2. Signals Authority and Credibility

Remember how co-citation and co-occurrence help search engines to see a connection? This helps search engines to match up relevant content with what users are searching for.

So, when your press release is mentioned (co-cited) alongside other reputable sources discussing similar topics, it tells search engines that your content is trustworthy and relevant.

Similarly, incorporating terms that naturally occur together (co-occur) within your field further convinces search engines of your press release’s relevance to the topic at hand. 

By doing these two things—getting mentioned with reputable sources and using related keywords smartly—your press release can reach more people and be seen as more authoritative. It’s not about following the latest trends but about making sure your announcement is part of the bigger conversation in your industry.

3. Enhancing Search Visibility

Beyond mere keywords, the strategic use of co-occurrence in press releases helps search engines understand your topic’s contextual depth better. This in turn, helps to match more accurately with what users are searching for. 

You may encounter issues where your keywords alone are unable to capture users’ search intent. Let’s say you are a sustainable fashion label, using keywords such as “organic cotton” and “recycled materials” may be inefficient. Although they may be relevant, they could also be too vague; thus failing to capture the broader picture of sustainable clothing.

For example, “recycled materials” is too general and may target the wrong audience, who are perhaps just looking for a place to sell recyclables. In a similar fashion, ‘organic cotton’ can also attract the wrong audience who are perhaps just doing research on organic cotton.

Therefore, keywords alone may not suffice. This is where co-occurrence comes in. By naturally incorporating complementary terms like "eco-friendly practices," "ethical production," and "environmentally conscious design" alongside your press release, you can paint a broader picture of your message.

This helps search engines understand the context of your content and potentially connect it with a wider range of relevant searches, even if the exact keywords aren't explicitly used. This increases the chances of your press release reaching users searching for related topics beyond just "recycled materials" and "organic cotton."

4. Promotes Natural Link Building

When you create a press release, you want as many people as possible to see and share it. Co-citation and co-occurrence can further help with this:

• Increased Credibility among Readers (Co-citation)

When you're connected to well-known sources and use the right group of related words, search engines and readers think of your press release as relevant and reliable. 

For instance, if a well-regarded news site mentions your press release in the context of industry innovations, this association boosts your content's perceived value, encouraging others to link back to your press release as a source of authoritative information. 

This makes others more likely to mention it and link to it without you having to ask. Such organic mentions and links are invaluable for building your website's authority and trust with search engines, thereby enhancing your SEO performance over time.

• It’s Easier to Find (Co-occurrence)

Let’s say your press release is about a new coffee shop; you might use words like "fresh coffee," "organic beans," and "cozy atmosphere."

By using these related words, you help search engines understand exactly what your press release is about. This means it's more likely to show up when people search for something related to your press release, like "where to find fresh coffee."

By doing these two things, your press release doesn't just get seen by more people; it also gets shared more naturally. This is because:

Using a bunch of related words makes your press release easier for search engines to understand and match with what people are looking for. So, when someone searches for something that has to do with your press release, they're more likely to find it.

To sum it up, co-citation and co-occurrence don’t directly build links, but they pave the way for natural link-building by making your press release more relevant, discoverable, and authoritative.

As your press release garners organic mentions and shares, it not only amplifies your reach but also solidifies your standing in search engine results. Prioritizing these SEO strategies in the crafting of your press releases ensures that your content remains aligned with both user interests and search engine algorithms, so no matter how search engines change the way they pick the top results, your press release stays popular.

Conclusion

While keywords remain the foundation of SEO, a focus solely on them can limit your reach. Today's search engines prioritize user experience and comprehension of the complete context behind a search query. This means capturing the diverse aspects of a user's search intent becomes crucial for crafting content that truly resonates.

Fortunately, press releases are powerful tools in this endeavor. By strategically leveraging co-citation, co-occurrence, and nofollow links, you can elevate your press releases, establish yourself as a thought leader, and achieve higher rankings in search results.

Co-citation and co-occurrence work together to paint a richer picture of your content's relevance. Co-citation involves earning mentions from relevant websites that also cite each other, demonstrating your position within a specific topical landscape. Co-occurrence, on the other hand, focuses on the natural inclusion of related terms within your content, helping search engines understand the broader context and potential search queries it might address.

Nofollow links add another layer of nuance. We’ve proven that they do pass link value (ranking power) to the linked website, and they are valuable for building trust and credibility. Including nofollow links to authoritative sources, even competitors, also demonstrates your commitment to providing users with comprehensive and informative content, regardless of origin. Ultimately, this can lead to increased user engagement and positive signals to search engines.

Incorporating co-citation, co-occurrence, and nofollow links in your press releases allows you to create content that anticipates and addresses the diverse aspects of user search intent. By aligning with search engine priorities, you unlock the potential for higher rankings and organic visibility in search results.

Ready to build effective press release links with us? Contact us at: https://marketersmedia.com/sales-enquiry-form