Short Term Strategy
Press releases are one of the few things for SEO that you can do quickly to get links. For example, press releases can be implemented in a crisis or for a news announcement or product release. You can optimize a press release and get it out in literally hours! Some of the links generated will last for 30 days only, but some will last forever in archives, even high quality links.
Long-Term Strategy
A long-term strategy for links from press releases is to build a series of press releases -- every month or quarterly. These new releases replace links that have fallen off and build an enduring body of links to your site.
Free press release services don't help much at all, since spammers began to use them and they were devalued by Google and other news services. Press release services Jarboe uses -- depending on the client -- include Business Wire, PRWeb, and Globe News Wire (owned by NASDAQ).
By Greg Jarboe