Continuing my (somewhat) unintentional blog theme of helping Canada-based businesses gain some impetus in the North American online market, I now present to you a quick & dirty shortlist of

Press Release Outlets for Canadian Businesses

As any search marketer will attest, regularly releasing pertinent, interesting and relevant press releases is a core strategy in getting your site (and therefore your business) noticed and ranked. Heck, even if your releases don’t result in ranking, a pick-up by a local journalist or blogger will set fire to your stats.

Nevertheless, there are good expenditures of time, and bad. In this case, bad expenditure equals taking the time to find press release outlets, register an account, wait for a confirmation, log in and fill in your details, submit a press release, wait for press release approval – only to realize the release will never reach your target audience!

So, here’s my shortlist of press release outlets that are either Canada-centric, or permit Canadian content flagging.

1. http://www.wireservice.ca : Somewhat limited reach, but free release service targeting Canadian media which permits hyperlinks in the release body. Release reviewed same day.

2. https://access.newswire.ca/en/ : Rather costly ($130 per 100 words for nationwide distribution, PLUS annual fee), but great reach and respect. Canadian news editors read this feed.

3. http://www.pr.com/ : Free, with ability to flag content as Canadian. Decent listing and contact info for your company. Allow a couple of days for review & approval.

4. http://www.newswiretoday.com/ : Free, with ability to flag content as Canadian. Limited listing and contact info for your company. Allow a couple of days for review & approval.

5. http://www.prleap.com/ : Inexpensive ($49 U.S. per release) with respectable reach.

6. http://www.prlog.org/ : Free release, allow up to 3 days for review. Limited listing and contact info for your company. Ability to flag content as Canadian.

7. http://www.free-press-release.com/ : Free release, same day review. Very little listing & contact info for your company, plus they add in-context ad links to your release. Still, it’s exposure.

8. http://www.1888pressrelease.com : Free release, allow up to 3 days for review. Excellent listing and contact info for your company, and ability to incorporate video with release (for a price). Ability to flag content as Canadian.

9. http://www.topix.net/ : An odd inclusion… not really a release outlet per se, but a site with incredible reach and the ability to localize and discuss your news. Free….and…

10. Your local news editor! Don’t be shy to look up the editor of your local paper and pitch them directly with an interesting topic. They may want to take the story in a different direction than you initially desired, but you’ll still be the resource even if you’re not the subject.

As always, I welcome readers additions / modifications to this list.