02
June
2010
|
01:56 AM
America/Los_Angeles

BusinessWire Study: Only 13.5% Put Links In Press Releases

A couple of months ago I published a rant: 4 Years Since 'Die! Press Release Die!...' And STILL No Hyperlinks.

...I get emails with pitches from PR people that don't even have any links! I have to search for the company web sites they are pitching, and for any other references they put into the pitch.
Same with press releases, there are very few links in press releases.
Also, PR people will ask if their clients can contribute a guest post. I love to get good guest posts. Yet often there are no links in the copy! Am I supposed to do the work and put the links in myself?

BusinessWired, the blog of Businesswire, recently conducted a "PR Peeps Poll" and found that 85% of 268 people use hyperlinks. However, that's a self-selected group. The actual number is far less.

...internal research of the Business Wire file of approximately 1,000 press releases each work day, suggests otherwise. By our reckoning, only 13.5% of press release issuers use hyperlinks to drive traffic or amplify their messages in the context of their press releases.

Of the people that were polled that don't hyperlink, 13% ticked the box: "Just didn't think about it;" 12% "I don't know how;" and 12% "Didn't see the point." 2% had no idea what a hyperlink is.

Several people told me that a lot of people don't know how to embed a link. Great, I'll charge $1200 a head for a workshop that will turn people into hyperlinking wizards. Email me, places are filling up fast.