23 January, 2013 update: before going any further, you may want to review our 2013 version of this press release site test!
Ever wondered about free press release services? Is it worth posting your news to a free press release site to get your message out to influencers, or perhaps you're hoping to use the service to build links as part of your SEO efforts? In this, the first of our regular reviews of free press release services, we looked at 60 different sites to find out which are the best and worst. We issued a series of press releases using the sites and evaluated the results in terms of both PR and SEO benefit. Read on to find out which sites deserve your attention.
Update: if you're interested in our thoughts on paid-for news wire sites, check out our mini-review of paid-for press release distribution services, alternatively read our survey about how and why journalists use press release distribution services.