# Press Release vs News Story vs Editorial Article: Which One Actually Gets a Startup a Link
> Press release vs news story vs editorial article: what each gives a startup for links, rel attributes and a lasting page. Checked Nov 11, 2026.

```yaml
url: "https://sidehunt.io/studio/press-release-vs-news-story-vs-editorial-article"
markdown: "https://sidehunt.io/studio/press-release-vs-news-story-vs-editorial-article.md"
title: "Press Release vs News Story vs Editorial Article: Which One Actually Gets a Startup a Link"
slug: press-release-vs-news-story-vs-editorial-article
category: Growth
tags:
  - press release
  - news story
  - editorial article
  - dofollow
  - nofollow
  - SEO
  - side projects
  - free press release sites
  - Google News
  - Growth
published_at: "2026-11-11T04:02:53.419Z"
updated_at: "2026-11-11T04:02:53.799Z"
featured_image: "https://txmhk1zrnc.ufs.sh/f/xSkWTCqmKWx9gF8NDwirjwnlD2SF3fcq5NJU6HXVBd19ehTR"
```

## Article

If you want a link that can count in search, a press release is usually the wrong thing to buy. On November 11, 2026, the wire services we checked said their release links are nofollow, charged extra for links, or said they do not sell backlinks. Google's own spam policies name links with optimized anchor text in press releases distributed on other sites. A news story or an editorial article can still include a regular link, because an editor chose to write about you. A release can still be worth it when you need an official announcement record and a page that stays up, not when you need a ranking link.

**Last checked: November 11, 2026**

Founders often treat a press release, a news story and an editorial article as the same product: "coverage with a link." They are not. Who writes the words, who decides the link, what attribute it carries, and whether the page is still there in a year all differ. This decision guide is for people building a side project or a small indie product. It is not a directory of wire services, and it is not a pitching how-to. For how to find reporters and write a pitch, see our sister site's guide to [getting press coverage without a PR agency](https://auraplusplus.com/studio/how-to-get-press-coverage-for-your-startup-without-a-pr-agency). Nothing here promises rankings, traffic or mentions in AI answers.

## What is a press release?

A press release is an announcement you write, or pay someone to write, and then send out through a distribution service. You control the headline, the quotes and the links. The service hosts a copy and may syndicate that same text to partner sites. Readers can usually tell it is an announcement: it is written in your voice, it often ends with a boilerplate about the company, and the same text may appear on many sites at once.

That format is useful as a record. It is a weak way to get a followed link. Several services say so on their own pages, and Google's search spam policies call out optimized anchors in press releases distributed on other sites.

## What is a news story?

A news story is a reported piece written by a journalist or editor. You can pitch the idea, share facts and make yourself available for questions. You do not write the article, and you do not decide whether it includes a link, what the anchor says, or how your product is framed. Some stories link to you. Some mention the name and stop there. Some never run at all.

The value, when it happens, is the reporting: an independent writer decided the news was worth a page, and a reader can open that page later. That is different from syndicating your own announcement.

## What is an editorial article?

An editorial article is a written piece on someone else's site in which an editor chose the words and the context. It might be a launch write-up, a comparison, or a longer explainer that names your product as one example. You can supply a brief, screenshots and corrections. The editor still decides what stays on the page.

Someone else writes it, as with a news story, but the page is often about the product or a buyer decision rather than a news event. If you are choosing among guest posts, editorial links and niche edits, that is a separate comparison; we already published [guest post vs editorial link vs niche edit](https://sidehunt.io/studio/guest-post-vs-editorial-link-vs-niche-edit) for that set of formats.

![A woman in a black jacket and white shirt holds a gold pen and reads a short printed page at a desk](https://txmhk1zrnc.ufs.sh/f/xSkWTCqmKWx9f0KJnhLAqI7vJSeYA10sNnxLmocdBUQXrWfb)

## Press release vs news story vs editorial article: side-by-side

Question

Press release

News story

Editorial article

Who writes it?

You, or a writer you hire

A reporter or editor

An editor, from your brief and facts

Who decides the link?

You insert it; the service often sets the rel attribute

The reporter or editor, who may include no link at all

The editor, usually one product link in the article

Typical rel, in practice

Nofollow on the services we checked, unless a page says otherwise

A regular link if they include one, or no link

Whatever the publisher's live page actually uses; ask, then check

Lasting value

An official announcement and, if the host keeps it, a permanent URL

An independent write-up a reader can return to

A lasting article that explains the product in context

Cost range (checked Nov 11, 2026)

Free on some wires, or a one-off fee from tens to several hundred dollars

Usually no fee if a reporter writes it

Earned coverage is free; a small press site may charge a set fee or ask for a link back

What a reader learns

Your announcement, in your words

What the reporter thought was news

What the product is, who it is for, in a written article

## What Google's own rules say about links in press releases

You do not have to take a vendor's word for this. Google Search Central's spam policies for web search, last updated August 28, 2026, define link spam as creating links to or from a site primarily to manipulate rankings. One listed example is: "Advertorials or native advertising where payment is received for articles that include links that pass ranking credit, or links with optimized anchor text in articles, guest posts, or press releases distributed on other sites."

Press releases are named in the second half of that sentence, next to guest posts. The policy does not say every press release is spam, and it does not ban links in announcements. It names a pattern: optimized anchors, pushed out across other sites, used as a link tactic.

The same page says buying and selling links for advertising or sponsorship is not a violation when those links are qualified with `rel="nofollow"` or `rel="sponsored"`. Google's page on qualifying outbound links prefers `rel="sponsored"` for paid placements and still accepts `rel="nofollow"`. Links marked with those attributes "will generally not be followed." A person can still click a nofollow release link. It is a weak thing to buy if your goal is ranking credit.

Source: [Google's spam policies on link spam](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies#link-spam) and [how Google says to qualify outbound links](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/qualify-outbound-links).

## Press release services: what they said about links (checked Nov 11, 2026)

The table below is limited to what each service's own pages said on November 11, 2026. We did not create accounts or audit every partner copy, so the rel column is the published policy, not a live HTML check of every syndication site. Prices and rules change; re-check the URL before you pay.

Service

Link policy (their words)

Free vs paid

Permanent URL?

24-7 Press Release

FAQ: "No, we do not offer Dofollow links"; they use nofollow. They recommend about one link per 100 words and do not permit excessive linking.

No free releases. Simple Post on their own site is $29. Distribution plans start at $49.

FAQ: it "will remain on 24-7 Press Release Newswire online until you decide to remove it." They may also remove it for business, legal or regulatory reasons.

IssueWire

Terms, "Link Type Policy": "All press releases issued via IssueWire contain nofollow links only, in accordance with search engine policies. There are no dofollow links offered." Editorial guidelines limit links to 1 per 100 words.

First PR is free, with "limited distribution up to 35+ sites." Paid singles start at $21.

Pricing page: "Host a copy of your content indefinitely." Terms: a release "will stay in Google News upto 6 months, depending on the website policies," and some Tier 2 partner copies are kept about 45 days. They do not guarantee rankings or how many articles Google indexes.

Send2Press

FAQ: no rel="dofollow" links; as of 2013 they use rel=nofollow. The 2026 price list says all links in a release will be rel="nofollow" per Google guidelines to prevent "news spam" abuse.

No free trial. Plans start at $99 (U.S. ONLINE BASIC) and go up to $699 (U.S. S2P+CISION PRO) per release.

Hosted on their platform. Their price list says most AP-syndicated copies "expire" in 30-60 days (except [APNews.com](http://APNews.com)), some other copies "will generally be permanent," and they cannot guarantee appearance on every mentioned site.

[PR.com](http://PR.com)

Pricing page shows "$29.95 per link." Profile pricing: text links in press releases are a one-time $29.95 fee after any included free links. No public nofollow or dofollow statement on the pages we checked.

Free package with "reduced distribution." Paid plans at $60, $100 and $300. Gold ($199/yr) includes 2 free text links in press releases; Platinum ($499/yr) includes 5. The free plan has no profile and does not list included text links.

Published on [pr.com](http://pr.com). No current official "permanent" or "forever" hosting promise on the pricing or terms pages checked today.

PRLog

Help article: press release links "are nofollow on all mainstream press release distribution services including ours." Visitors can still click through.

Free (ad supported): hosted on PRLog, 2 plain clickable links. Basic $29 (2 links), Premium $49 (5), Premium2 $99 (10).

"Hosted on PRLog" is Yes for every plan, including free. "Distribution to Google News" is listed only for Premium and Premium2.

EIN Presswire

FAQ: "EIN Presswire only allows for no-follow links in press releases." Editorial guidelines: 1 link per 100 words. FAQ recommends no more than 10 links total and provides three keyword-anchor fields.

Free account, paid distribution. Pricing page: Basic $149, Pro+ $499 for 5 releases (limited-time extra free release), Corporate $999 for 15, each usable 365 days. The FAQ still says "Pricing ranges from $50-$149 per release"; no $50 plan was on the pricing page today.

FAQ: you get a permalink, and "permanent placement on country, state, region, and industry-focused newswires." That is their wording, not a Google promise.

PRWeb

Editorial FAQ: "PRWeb automatically applies the 'no follow' tag to every web link included." Product FAQ: "PRWeb does not sell backlinks." They recommend 1-3 links per release.

Free account, then paid packages: Basic $120, Standard $245, Advanced $360, Premium $480 per news release.

In Q4 2023 they migrated releases dating back to July 2013. On-site search "will only populate with releases published in the last 6 months." Older releases may now 404.

PR Newswire

No public nofollow or dofollow policy found on the pages we opened today. Their article "Do Press Releases Help SEO?" discusses visibility and brand mentions, not the rel attribute on outbound links.

No public self-serve price list was used for this table.

Not verified from a public hosting-policy page today.

Official pages used for the table: [24-7 Press Release FAQ](https://www.24-7pressrelease.com/faq), [IssueWire terms](https://www.issuewire.com/terms-of-service) and [IssueWire pricing](https://www.issuewire.com/signup/pricing), [Send2Press FAQ](https://www.send2press.com/help/frequently-asked-questions.shtml) and [Send2Press price list](https://www.send2press.com/services/price-list.shtml), [PR.com](http://PR.com)[press release pricing](https://www.pr.com/press-release-pricing) and [PR.com](http://PR.com)[profile pricing](https://www.pr.com/profile-pricing), [PRLog's links help article](https://www.prlog.org/tips/1024-how-to-include-clickable-active-links-in-the-press-release.html) and [PRLog comparison](https://www.prlog.org/press-release-comparison.html), [EIN Presswire FAQ](https://www.einpresswire.com/faq) and [EIN Presswire pricing](https://www.einpresswire.com/pricing), [PRWeb editorial FAQ](https://www.prweb.com/editorial-guidelines/faq/), [PRWeb product FAQ](https://www.prweb.com/product/faq/) and [PRWeb pricing](https://www.prweb.com/pricing/), and [PR Newswire's SEO article](https://www.prnewswire.com/resources/articles/do-press-releases-help-seo/).

## When a press release is still worth it

A nofollow link is not the same thing as a useless page. There are honest reasons to issue a release even if you ignore the link for SEO.

- An official announcement record. Investors, partners or a journalist who comes back later may want a dated public statement of what you launched and who said what. A hosted release can be that record.
- A URL you can share. Several services above say they host a copy on their own site, sometimes until you take it down. That page can go on a press page or in an email. It is a real URL, not a followed backlink.
- A chance that a news desk sees it. Wires exist to put announcements in front of journalists and into newsroom systems. That is a distribution job, not a ranking job. If the news is thin, a wire will not invent interest. If it is real, a short release can sit next to a personal pitch, not replace it.
- Credibility with people, not crawlers. Some customers or partners still ask whether this is a real company. A dated announcement on a known wire can help that conversation. It will not fix a weak homepage.

What we will not claim is Google News inclusion. A July 16, 2021 Google Search Central blog post, which Google now flags as possibly outdated, says a site is automatically considered for Google News and news surfaces in Search, with no application required, if it produces original news-related content, shows expertise, authority and trustworthiness, and complies with Google's News policies. The same post says Publisher Center approval, or a News source page, does not mean the content will appear there. Wire services may mention Google News on their pricing pages. Google still decides. See [Google's Q&A on appearing in Google News](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2021/07/google-news-top-questions).

## When a news story or an editorial article fits better

Choose a written story when you need a page someone else wrote, with a link they chose, that a reader would actually finish.

- You have news a reporter can use. Data you own, a local opening, a change that affects customers, or a founder story with a clear hook. That is a pitch, not a wire blast. The Aura++ guide linked above covers how to do that.
- You need a page that explains the product. A news story is a poor place to walk through pricing and who the tool is not for. An editorial article can do that for a reader making a decision.
- You care about the rel attribute. A regular link in an article about your topic is a different outcome from a nofollow anchor in a syndicated release. Check the live HTML. Do not assume it.
- You want one URL that stays readable. One reported story or editorial article, kept up on the publisher's site, is easier to show people than fifty syndicated copies, some of which expire.

If you want a short, opener-first write-up of a launch, one option on our own network is [a news-style launch story on Hed Press](https://hedpress.com/get-editorial-backlinks). To be upfront, the team behind SideHunt also runs Hed Press, so weigh that accordingly. On November 11, 2026, its pricing page said community coverage is free if your site credits [hedpress.com](http://hedpress.com) (a text link is enough; the badge is optional), or free with no site credit if the product link uses `rel="nofollow"`, or $29 for the full editorial package. Every plan includes one product link in the article. On the reciprocal free and $29 plans that link is dofollow; the nofollow plan uses `rel="nofollow"`. The FAQ says you submit a title, summary and body (or an AI draft), and "You can still edit everything before scheduling." The same pages say a ranking and a citation are not guaranteed.

![A wooden pen case, a lined notepad, two closed notebooks and a folder arranged on a wooden desk](https://txmhk1zrnc.ufs.sh/f/xSkWTCqmKWx9Ihg6tyEi5Y6NHgPuCynK0AXcDefrF4UlamIO)

## How to check what you actually got

Do not trust a sales page, a PDF report or a spreadsheet cell. Open the live URL.

- Find the exact page that went live, including the copy on the vendor's own site, not only an order-confirmation screenshot.
- View source, or use the inspector, and find the a href that points at your site.
- Read the rel attribute. If you see nofollow , sponsored or ugc , that is not a regular followed link. If no rel value qualifies it, it is a regular link. There is no such attribute as "dofollow."
- Confirm the page loads without a login, is not marked noindex, and is not a JavaScript-only link that vanishes in view source.
- Note the date you checked. Markup changes. A followed link in March can be nofollow in November.

Our sister site has a full walkthrough of [how to check if a backlink is dofollow](https://auraplusplus.com/studio/how-to-check-if-a-backlink-is-dofollow), including the view-source steps and the usual ways a promised link is not what it seemed.

## A made-up example: how Bramhook chose

Picture "Bramhook," an imaginary side project that reminds small landlords when a lease, inspection or insurance policy is coming due. Mira Kelden built it at night while working a facilities job. It is not a real company. After six months she has 40 paying landlords and a date for a public waitlist.

- Press release: she drafts "Bramhook opens a public waitlist for landlord reminder tools" and uses a free PRLog listing as a hosted URL for her press page. She reads PRLog's help article, sees that the links are nofollow, and treats the page as a record, not a ranking link. She skips a larger wire just to get more copies of the same text.
- News story: she pitches two local housing reporters on what the first 40 landlords taught her about missed inspection dates, with anonymized examples and an offer to talk the same day. She does not ask for a keyword anchor. If a story links to her, she will check the live rel. If it runs without a link, she still has the coverage.
- Editorial article: she briefs "spreadsheet vs reminder tool for a landlord with under 20 units," with pricing, limits and who should stay on a spreadsheet. An editor writes the page. She reviews the draft before it is scheduled, then checks the live link after it publishes.

The point is not that every side project should do all three. Mira spent money where she needed a public record, and time where a written page would help a landlord decide. She did not buy a release because someone told her it came with dofollow links.

## Common mistakes

- Shopping for "free press release sites with dofollow links." On the day we checked, the free or low-cost services that stated a policy used nofollow, or charged extra for links. If a page promises followed links in a syndicated release, read that against Google's own wording before you pay.
- Counting syndication copies as separate links. Fifty copies of the same announcement are still one text. Some expire. Some never index. Count the page you can share, not the placement tally.
- Keyword anchors in the release. That is the pattern Google's policy names. If you include a link, use your brand name or a visible URL.
- Skipping the live check. A FAQ and a partner site's markup can disagree. The live HTML is the answer.
- Expecting a release to do a reporter's job. If you need a written story, pitch the story. A wire can sit beside that work. It cannot replace it.

## FAQ

### Do free press release sites give dofollow links?

Not on the official pages we checked on November 11, 2026. PRLog's free plan is hosted on PRLog and, per its help article, uses nofollow links. IssueWire's first release is free and, per its terms, contains nofollow links only. [PR.com](http://PR.com) offers a free package and charges $29.95 per text link; the free plan lists no included text links, and we found no public rel policy. 24-7 Press Release and Send2Press do not offer a free release and say their links are nofollow.

### Does a press release help SEO?

It can help in indirect ways: a public URL, a click-through, a record journalists or partners can find. It is a weak way to earn ranking credit when the service marks the links nofollow, or when the anchors are the optimized text Google's spam policies describe. Do not buy a release as a backlink package.

### If the link is nofollow, is the release wasted?

No. A nofollow link can still be clicked. The hosted page can still be a record. The release is wasted only if you paid for a followed link you did not get, or if you had nothing to announce.

### What is the difference between a news story and an editorial article?

A news story is reported as news: what happened, who said it, why it matters now. An editorial article is a written page that explains a product or a decision, with an editor in charge of the words. In both cases someone else writes, and that person decides the link. The press release is the one you write yourself and syndicate.

### Can I get into Google News by paying a wire?

We will not say yes. Google's own documentation, even in the 2021 Q&A it now flags as possibly outdated, says inclusion is decided by Google's systems, not by an application, and that Publisher Center approval does not mean a page will appear in Google News. Treat any vendor line about Google News as their claim, and look for the page yourself if it matters to you.

## Pick the format that matches the job

If you need a dated announcement and a URL you can share, a press release can still earn its keep. If you need a followed link and a page a stranger would read, look for a news story or an editorial article, then check the live rel. The format is the decision. The link is just one part of what you get.

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