Is Press Advantage Still Worth It in 2026 and Do Press Releases Still Impact Rankings?

What press releases should be used for instead

We should think of press releases as a citation builder and an association builder.

That means we use them to connect:

• The brand name
• The services offered
• The locations served
• Other related terms and concepts

When a business is mentioned on trusted media-style sites alongside the right topics and locations, search engines start to build clearer relationships around that brand.

That is the real goal.

We are teaching search engines and language models to recognize the business the way we want them to recognize it.

How press release stacks work

One of the best ways to do this is with a press release stack.

Here is the basic idea:

1. Create one main press release around a broad service topic, often tied to a location.
2. Let that top release contain the one link to the money site.
3. Publish supporting press releases around related subtopics.
4. Have those supporting releases link back to the top release.

This gives us a parent-and-children setup, much like a silo on a website.

For example, if the main topic is tree removal in a city, the supporting releases might cover storm damage cleanup, hazardous tree inspection, stump grinding, emergency response, and permit concerns in that same area.

Each support piece strengthens the main topic. That pushes more relevance into the top release. Then the top release passes that stronger relevance through one branded link to the target page.

That is a much cleaner setup than sending direct links from every release to the site.

Stacks vs silos

A stack usually means the support releases point back to the top release.

A silo can also be built in a chain, where one release points to the next in sequence.

Both can work. The key idea is structure.

Random one-off releases are usually weaker than a planned group of releases built around one service category.

Use branded anchors to the website

When linking to the money site, branded anchors are usually the safest and smartest choice.

Why?

Because the link sits inside content that already talks about the service, the area, and other related terms. That means the brand link is surrounded by context. The association is made naturally without forcing exact-match anchor text.

That helps connect the business to the right products, services, and locations without leaving a messy footprint.

In many cases, we also do not want every release linking to the main website at all. We can spread relevance across the brand’s wider digital footprint, including other branded assets.

Press releases and local SEO in 2026

Local SEO has changed.

If a business has a Google Business Profile, then pure organic rankings are not the main prize anymore. For most local service businesses, the two places that matter most now are:

• Google Maps visibility
• AI search visibility

Organic search still matters some, especially because site quality can help broader search understanding. But for actual lead flow, maps and AI results are taking over the top spots.

That is why citations matter so much right now.

And that is exactly why press releases still deserve a place in a local SEO campaign.

How citations help Maps and AI search

Citations come in two basic types:

• Structured citations
• Unstructured citations

Structured citations

These are listings with clear business data, such as:

• Business name
• Address
• Phone number
• Website

Think of business directories and local listings.

Unstructured citations

These are brand mentions inside articles, blog posts, media pages, social posts, and other content across the web.

Even a simple brand mention can help. But in many cases, it is stronger if at least two business data points are included, such as the name plus phone number, or name plus website.

Press releases can create both kinds.

That gives them a strong role in local SEO because they place business references on high-authority media sites. Those references can support both Maps and AI search systems when they decide which businesses match a search.

The three best citation sources

Whether we are building structured or unstructured citations, we should think in three buckets:

1. High authority
2. Hyper relevant
3. Hyper local

Press releases fit the high-authority bucket very well.

But a strong local SEO campaign should also look for:

• Industry directories and trade sites for hyper relevant mentions
• Chamber of Commerce sites and local government directories for hyper local listings
• Local blogs, local business sites, and social profiles for extra local signals

When we combine all three, we help search engines see not just that a business exists, but that it belongs in a specific market and service area.

How to write better press releases for SEO today

If we want stronger results, the release itself needs structure.

A few good habits make a big difference:

• Target one broad service theme in the main release
• Build supporting releases around subtopics
• Use clear location signals where they make sense
• Include brand references naturally throughout the content
• Answer common questions inside the release body
• Write simple statements that connect brand, service, and place

That last point is big. We want clear topic relationships. If the content plainly connects the company to the service and area, it gives search engines better material to work with.

The best publishing cadence for local businesses

For local SEO campaigns, two press releases per month is a strong baseline.

That appears to be the sweet spot for cost and performance.

Can publishing more often help? Sometimes, yes.

But once we go beyond that pace, the gains often get smaller compared to the added cost. So for most local businesses, two a month is a smart and practical schedule.

That said, frequency alone does not fix bad strategy.

Two weak releases a month will still be weak. Two well-planned releases a month, built for citations and associations, can work very well.

Should we keep a legacy Press Advantage account?

If the account is rare and still active, we would not rush to cancel it unless it is just sitting there as an unused expense.

The bigger question is whether we are going to use it the right way.

If we are only expecting direct ranking boosts from repeated links to our money pages, then we are likely to be unhappy.

If we use it to build citation strength, brand mentions, and service-location associations across trusted media properties, then it can still be a strong asset in 2026.

If we want deeper local SEO help, tools like the Local SEO Toolkit or the GMB Process Checklist can help shape a better campaign around those releases.

Final take

Press releases still matter.

They are just not magic links.

The real win comes when we stop using them as blunt backlink tools and start using them as part of a clear entity and citation strategy. That means building structured and unstructured brand references, using stacks to support top-level service themes, and aiming those signals toward Maps and AI search visibility.

Used that way, press releases are not outdated at all. They are still a staple for local SEO.

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