📰The Press Release Guide for 2024 | James Dooley & Karl Hudson Discuss Ranking Factors for 2024📰
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What Does “📰The Press Release Guide for 2024 | James Dooley & Karl Hudson Discuss Ranking Factors for 2024📰” Talk About?
In this episode of the James Dooley Podcast, James Dooley sits down with Karl Hudson, founder of Searcharoo, to break down the real role of press releases in a modern SEO and link-building strategy. The conversation begins by addressing a common misconception: press releases only work when the content is genuinely newsworthy. Karl explains that many people fail because they treat press releases like guest posts, publishing content that fails to meet editorial standards and therefore does not get picked up and syndicated across news networks effectively.
The episode dives deep into the technical mechanics of press release syndication, including how quality vendors can deliver over 350 backlinks, the natural no-follow and do-follow blend that comes from syndication, and why that blend is actually a feature rather than a limitation. James and Karl discuss the strategic importance of powering do-follow links with tier-two backlinks, using services like Signal Boy to boost social signals and crawlability, and how embedding maps, NAP details, YouTube videos, and images can reinforce entity associations across Google's ecosystem.
The pair also tackle the critical topic of anchor text, with Karl recommending branded and naked URL anchors as the safest approach to avoid over-optimisation penalties. The episode concludes with a clear recommendation on timing: use press releases at the start of a campaign and then every three to six months, treating them as foundational assets that build trust, diversify the backlink profile, and create the right conditions for guest posts and niche edits to deliver stronger results later.
“It's about removing footprints. If all your rich anchor text is do follow, it's a glaring footprint that the links are unnatural.”
— Karl Hudson
Who Are the Guests on “📰The Press Release Guide for 2024 | James Dooley & Karl Hudson Discuss Ranking Factors for 2024📰”?
James Dooley is a seasoned SEO expert and entrepreneur known for his practical, no-nonsense approach to digital marketing and link building. As a podcast host, James is renowned for asking the direct, technical questions that practitioners actually need answers to, drawing on his own extensive experience running SEO campaigns across multiple industries.
Karl Hudson is the founder of Searcharoo, a link-building and SEO agency. Karl brings deep operational expertise in press release syndication, backlink strategy, and entity optimisation. His hands-on knowledge of editorial standards, anchor text strategy, and tier-two amplification makes him a credible and practical voice on how to use press releases effectively as part of a broader SEO campaign.
What Are the Key Takeaways From “📰The Press Release Guide for 2024 | James Dooley & Karl Hudson Discuss Ranking Factors for 2024📰”?
Here are the key points discussed in this episode:
- Press releases must be genuinely newsworthy to be picked up and syndicated effectively across news networks, as content that resembles a guest post will not meet editorial standards.
- Quality press release vendors can deliver over 350 backlinks, most of which are no-follow, but the natural blend of do-follow links within that profile adds valuable diversity to a site's backlink footprint.
- Powering the do-follow links from a press release with tier-two backlinks and social signal services like Signal Boy improves PageRank flow, crawl frequency, and how quickly ranking signals are processed by Google.
- Using branded anchors and naked URLs in press releases is the safest strategy, as exact-match anchor text at scale creates an unnatural footprint that can trigger over-optimisation penalties.
- Press releases work best as a foundational early-stage asset, deployed at the start of a campaign and refreshed every three to six months to maintain freshness and build the trust signals that allow guest posts and niche edits to perform more effectively.
“Some expect a press release to rank them instantly because they've paid for it. They don't realise it's long-term foundational work that builds a penalty-resistant profile with no follow diversity.”
— Karl Hudson
Is “📰The Press Release Guide for 2024 | James Dooley & Karl Hudson Discuss Ranking Factors for 2024📰” Worth Listening To?
This episode is worth listening to because it cuts through the noise and confusion that surrounds press releases as an SEO tactic. Rather than debating whether they work in theory, James and Karl get straight into the operational details: how many links to expect, what the anchor text breakdown should look like, how to amplify results with tier-two links and social signals, and exactly what embeds can be included in a syndicated press release. The conversation is grounded in real practice, not speculation, and provides a clear framework for understanding where press releases sit in a broader link-building strategy.
What makes this episode particularly valuable is that it reframes press releases not as a shortcut to rankings but as a foundational investment. Karl's explanation of how a penalty-resistant, diverse backlink profile creates the conditions for other tactics like guest posts and niche edits to work more effectively is genuinely insightful. Whether you are new to SEO or a seasoned practitioner, the episode delivers actionable guidance on timing, anchor text, content standards, and amplification that can be applied immediately to live campaigns.
Who Should Listen to “📰The Press Release Guide for 2024 | James Dooley & Karl Hudson Discuss Ranking Factors for 2024📰”?
This episode is ideal for:
- SEO professionals and link-building specialists looking to understand where press releases fit into a modern backlink strategy
- Digital marketing agency owners and consultants who advise clients on content and link-building campaigns
- Business owners managing their own SEO who want to understand how to build a trustworthy and diverse backlink profile
- Advanced SEOs interested in tier-two amplification, entity optimisation, and social signal manipulation as part of a technical ranking strategy
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What Are Listeners Saying About This Episode?
“This episode finally gave me a clear framework for using press releases properly. Karl's explanation of why branded anchors are safer and how to power up do-follow links with tier two was exactly what I needed to hear. I've been doing it wrong for years.”
“Really appreciated the honest take on why so many people think press releases don't work. The point about newsworthy content being a hard requirement, not just a recommendation, was a lightbulb moment for me. Great practical episode.”
“The breakdown of no-follow versus do-follow ratios and how that natural blend actually helps remove footprints was worth the entire listen. I also had no idea you could embed Google Business and YouTube content into a syndicated press release. Genuinely useful stuff.”
James Dooley: So I've got Karl Hudson here, the founder at Searcharoo, and today we're going to be talking about press releases. There's actually a bit of stigma about press releases because some people swear by them as part of an SEO strategy and some people think they’re pointless. So let's start off. What is a press release? Karl Hudson: A press release is usually a syndication, nine times out of ten with an NIO, of something that's newsworthy. This is where a lot of people go wrong. They’re not publishing newsworthy stuff. They’re taking a guest post and trying to use it as a press release. It has to be something newsworthy and about the brand. Then it’s syndicated across news networks. James Dooley: So when you're syndicating a press release, how many links are you looking to get? Is it fifty, a hundred, three hundred? Karl Hudson: Some of the better vendors do around three hundred and fifty plus. Some can be more if it gets picked up by mainstream media. James Dooley: Out of those three hundred and fifty backlinks, are they all no follow? All do follow? A mix? Karl Hudson: Most are no follow. There's still a blend of some do follows, but the majority are no follow. James Dooley: With the do follow links that are in there, would you recommend powering them up with tier two backlinks? Karl Hudson: Definitely. James Dooley: Anything else? Social signals, trying to push behavioural signals? Karl Hudson: Yeah. We often use a service called Signal Boy. It manipulates social signals, shares across platforms, boosts crawlability and helps the posts get picked up faster. James Dooley: A lot of advanced SEOs I know use press releases not just for the links but for the no follow and do follow blend in the backlink profile. Do you think that mixed profile is important? Karl Hudson: Very important. It’s about removing footprints. If all your rich anchor text is do follow, it's a glaring footprint that the links are unnatural. James Dooley: Anchor text is where a lot of people get hit. What anchor text would you use in a press release? Karl Hudson: Branded is the best approach. Branded or website URL. Sometimes partial or topical match anchors, but mostly branded. You can use exact match to social profiles, but not usually to the money site. James Dooley: With press releases, can I embed a video, an image, a map, a NAP listing? Karl Hudson: Yes. We can include all of that, as long as it doesn’t look spammy. The intake form asks for social links, NAP details, Google Business embeds, YouTube embeds, social embeds, images. As long as it's reasonable, we can include it. James Dooley: Can I write the content myself, or do you prefer writing it? Karl Hudson: We prefer to write it because we follow editorial guidelines. But we can take feedback and add entities. You get pre-approval, but the editorial team has final say. James Dooley: Why do you think some people don’t believe press releases are important? Karl Hudson: Naivety. Some expect a press release to rank them instantly because they’ve paid for it. They don’t realise it's long-term foundational work that builds a penalty-resistant profile with no follow diversity. James Dooley: Where would you place press releases in your link-building timeline? Karl Hudson: At the start, then every three to six months. News gets archived, so you want freshness early on. James Dooley: So press releases help with images, videos, Google Business, trust signals, social profiles, no follow diversity, anchor text diversity. It might not give much power at the start, but it forms part of the foundation that allows guest posts and niche edits to work better later on. Karl, thanks for running through why press releases matter. Let us know if you use press releases as part of your strategy.
Creators & Guests
Host
James Dooley is a UK entrepreneur.