A press release should link the company name to its homepage the first time it appears, and link once to the page that best supports the story, such as a report, product page or announcement on your own site. Use anchor text that says what is on the other side. Many newswires accept at most three links, and links in syndicated releases are usually nofollow, so treat links as evidence and navigation for readers, not as a way to move rankings.
Which links should a press release carry?
In order of importance:
- The company name, linked to the homepage, on first mention. It is the first thing a reader wants to check: who is this? One click answers it.
- The supporting page, linked once, where the release first mentions what it is about. This is the fullest version of the story: the research report with its methodology, the product page with specifications and price, the location page with the address and opening hours.
- Optionally, one more page that adds evidence. A methodology page, a certification, a partner's announcement or a booking page, if it helps the reader do or verify something the first two links do not.
That is three. Most releases are better with two.
Why do newswires limit links to three?
Three links at most is a common newswire rule, and releases with more are often sent back or have the extra links removed. The reason is quality control: releases stuffed with links read as advertising, and link-heavy releases were once a standard way to try to manipulate search results.
The limit also helps the writer. If you can link only three pages, you have to decide which ones matter. That decision usually improves the release.
How should you write anchor text?
Anchor text is the words that carry the link. It should tell the reader what they will find, in plain words, as part of a normal sentence.
| Weak anchor | Why it fails | Strong anchor |
|---|---|---|
| click here | Says nothing about the destination | the full Dubai Residential Water Damage Report 2026 |
| our website | Vague, and usually redundant with the linked company name | same-day payouts for UK freelancers |
| best emergency plumber Dubai cheap | Keyword-stuffed; reads as manipulation | Acme's emergency plumbing service in Dubai |
| www.northwindclinics.example/manchester | A raw address is hard to read | the new Didsbury clinic |
| here, here and here | Three links a reader cannot tell apart | One link, on the most specific words |
In a sentence, with the linked words in bold:
Weak: To learn more about the study, click here.
Strong: The methodology and full results are published in Acme's Dubai Residential Water Damage Report 2026.
The companies and addresses here are fictional. The strong version tells a reader exactly what the link holds before they click, and so does anyone scanning the page for sources.
What does nofollow mean for press release links?
Links inside syndicated releases are nofollow by industry standard. Nofollow is a tag that tells search engines not to treat the link as an endorsement that passes ranking value. That applies across newswire distribution, not to any one service.
So links in a release are not a ranking shortcut, and anyone who tells you otherwise is overselling. The post on syndication versus earned coverage explains where the value of distribution does come from.
Links still do useful work:
- Referral traffic. Readers who want more detail click through to your site.
- Verification. A journalist can check the report, the product or the company in one click.
- Discovery. A published link to your source page is one more path by which people and crawlers can find it.
- Earned links. Journalists who write their own story from your release often link to the source page they used, and those editorial links are the ones our press release guide calls most valuable.
What makes a good page to link to?
The page you link as your supporting source should be the fullest, most accurate version of the story, on your own domain. Our guide calls this the first-party source page. It should:
- contain everything in the release and more: data, methodology, images, quotes, specifications;
- load over HTTPS and return a normal page, not an error or a login screen;
- have a clean, permanent address you will not change next month;
- stay up and be updated if the facts change.
The first-party source page post covers how to build one. If no such page exists yet, create it before the release goes out, because the release will point to it for as long as the syndicated copies stay live.
What should you not link to?
- the homepage a second or third time;
- pages that have nothing to do with the story, added for the sake of a link;
- addresses with long tracking parameters, which look untidy on news sites;
- temporary campaign pages that will be taken down;
- anything that does not work on the day you submit.
Where should the links go in the release?
The company-name link goes in the first paragraph, on the first mention, as covered in the first 100 words post. The supporting link goes where the release first mentions the thing it points to, usually in the first or second paragraph. A third link, if you use one, goes where it is most relevant. The boilerplate can carry a link on the company name, but it counts towards the same limit, as the boilerplate post notes.
A link check before you submit
- Is the company name linked to the homepage on first mention?
- Is there one link to the page that best supports the story?
- Are there three links or fewer in the whole release, boilerplate included?
- Does every anchor say what is on the other side?
- Does every link open the intended page, over HTTPS, today?
Frequently asked questions
Should I link to a partner's website in a partnership release?
It can be a good use of the third link, particularly if the partner has published its own announcement. It gives readers the other party's account of what each side contributes.
Can I include links to social media profiles?
They count towards the limit like any other link, and they rarely help a reader understand the news. Your homepage and supporting page are almost always better uses of the space.
If you would rather not decide all this yourself, our editors can write the release for you, links included.
media:on Editorial. Written and reviewed by the media:on editorial team, who edit every release before it files.