A press release sent through the right channels can absolutely help search performance, but not in the way many businesses were promised years ago. If you’re asking, can press releases improve SEO, the honest answer is yes – when they create real signals of authority, visibility, and brand relevance. No – if the plan is to blast thin announcements across low-quality syndication networks and expect rankings to jump.
That distinction matters more now because search is no longer limited to ten blue links. Google still evaluates authority, relevance, and trust, but AI-driven search experiences also look for credible brand mentions, corroborating sources, and clear evidence that a business is worth citing. A well-executed press release can support that. A lazy one just adds noise.
Can press releases improve SEO in 2025?
Yes, but the value is indirect and strategic, not mechanical.
Press releases are no longer a reliable shortcut for link manipulation. Search engines got wise to that years ago. If your only goal is to publish a release so it appears on dozens of low-quality sites with the same anchor text, you’re not building authority. You’re creating duplicate clutter.
Where press releases still work is in three areas that actually matter. First, they can generate branded search demand by putting your business in front of journalists, industry sites, local media, and potential customers. Second, they can lead to earned coverage on legitimate websites, which can produce real links, mentions, and referral traffic. Third, they can strengthen the digital footprint that search engines and AI answer platforms use to assess who your business is and why it deserves visibility.
That means the release itself is rarely the win. The outcomes it creates are the win.
What press releases actually do for search visibility
A good press release gives search engines and answer engines more context about your business. It can reinforce your brand name, service area, leadership, milestones, partnerships, awards, product launches, and market relevance. Those details matter because modern search systems do not just rank pages. They evaluate entities.
If your company is consistently mentioned across credible sources with aligned messaging, that helps build a stronger authority profile. For local businesses and professional service firms, that can support trust signals that influence both traditional rankings and AI-generated citations.
This is especially useful when the release covers something genuinely newsworthy. Opening a new location, launching a service, publishing original data, winning a recognized award, announcing a major hire, or entering a partnership can all create content that others may reference. When publishers pick up the story on their own terms, your visibility expands beyond your website.
That is very different from paying for mass syndication and calling it a day.
The link question
Most business owners asking about press releases and SEO are really asking about backlinks.
Here is the practical answer. Links from syndicated press release copies usually carry little to no SEO value. Many are nofollowed, ignored, or placed on low-quality domains. You should not build a strategy around them.
But if a journalist, trade publication, local news site, or niche blog sees your release and writes its own story, that earned link can matter. More importantly, the mention itself can matter. Search visibility today is shaped by more than link count. Brand mentions, source consistency, topical association, and overall authority all play a role.
So yes, press releases can contribute to SEO, but mostly by earning attention from real publishers rather than by gaming link equity.
When press releases are worth the investment
A press release makes sense when there is a credible story behind it and a clear distribution plan.
If you run a law firm, a local service company, a healthcare practice, or a growth-stage business, the best releases usually connect to business events that customers and media outlets actually care about. Think expansion into a new market, a measurable company milestone, original research, a community initiative, or a high-impact service launch.
The strongest releases also match search intent. If you announce a new service in Miami, for example, that release can reinforce local relevance, branded visibility, and topical association around that service category. If the announcement gets picked up by local or industry publications, it creates a second layer of trust.
This is where many campaigns fail. The content is written like an advertisement, not a news item. Editors ignore it. The only placements come from the distribution network itself. Nothing meaningful happens after publication.
A release should be built to earn secondary visibility, not just to exist.
When press releases do not improve SEO
Press releases are weak when they are used as filler content or cheap link bait.
If the release has no real news angle, no audience relevance, and no targeted outreach, it will rarely produce measurable SEO gains. The same goes for over-optimized copy stuffed with keywords, exaggerated claims, or obvious promotional language. That style does not perform well with editors, readers, or search systems.
There is also a timing problem. Some businesses publish one release and expect immediate ranking growth. That is not how this works. Press releases support authority and discoverability over time, usually as part of a wider strategy that includes technical SEO, strong service pages, topical content, local optimization, internal linking, and credible mentions across the web.
Without that foundation, even a strong release has limited impact.
Press releases and AI search visibility
This is where the topic gets more interesting.
AI search platforms pull from multiple sources to generate answers. They look for corroboration, authority, and entity clarity. A business that appears only on its own website has a weaker trust profile than one that is consistently referenced by reputable third-party sources.
Press releases can help expand that third-party footprint, especially when they lead to coverage, citations, or mentions on trustworthy domains. They can also reinforce factual business information across the web, which supports answer engines trying to identify who you are, what you do, where you operate, and why you are notable.
For businesses trying to appear in AI-generated answers, that matters. If your release announces a meaningful development and that story is echoed by industry sites, local news outlets, or niche publications, you are building a stronger evidence trail. That is useful not just for Google rankings, but for visibility in emerging answer-based discovery.
This is one reason specialized agencies like Mustache AEO treat press releases as a support channel, not a standalone tactic. They work best when they reinforce a broader authority strategy built for both search engines and AI interfaces.
How to use press releases the right way
Start with the story, not the distribution tool. Ask a simple question: would someone outside your company care about this announcement? If the answer is no, fix the angle before you write a word.
Then write for credibility. Keep the headline clear. Lead with the real news. Include useful facts, quotes, and context. Avoid bloated language and sales copy. Editors and AI systems both respond better to clarity than hype.
Next, align the release with your wider SEO goals. Make sure the company details are consistent with your site and business profiles. Reference the right services, locations, or expertise areas naturally. If the release points readers back to your site, send them to a page that supports the topic and can convert that attention into leads.
Finally, treat distribution as a two-part process. Syndication can help with initial visibility, but targeted outreach is what creates stronger outcomes. Industry publications, local reporters, trade media, podcasts, and niche editors are often more valuable than a wide spray of low-quality pickups.
The real answer to can press releases improve SEO
They can, but only when they contribute to authority you do not control.
That means earned mentions, trusted citations, stronger brand signals, broader entity recognition, and occasionally high-value links. It also means press releases should support your search strategy, not substitute for it. If your website is thin, your local SEO is weak, or your content does not show expertise, a press release will not fix the bigger problem.
But if your business already has something legitimate to say and a plan to turn that announcement into visibility, press releases are still useful. They help search engines and AI platforms see your brand in more places, with more proof, and with more reasons to trust it.
The smart move is not asking whether press releases are dead. It is asking whether your next announcement is strong enough to earn attention that keeps working after the release goes live.