The concept of online distribution is a broad categorization that encompasses a variety of different models for getting information from one place to another.  Deconstructing the concept of online distribution is vital to picking an online distribution service that makes sense so here is a general overview of the different models of online distribution:

Direct Distribution

Direct distribution means that a news release is pushed directly to an individual or group of individuals with little or no intermediary.  E-mail is the most common form of direct distribution because the content is moving directly from sender to recipient.  Fax, postal mail delivery and RSS delivery to a recipient’s RSS reader would also qualify as forms of of direct distribution.

Direct Distribution

When it comes to news releases, direct distribution facilitated by a wire system was the original method for distribution and still profoundly impacts the way that traditional wire services (PRNewswire, Business Wire) think about distribution.  It is also a component of the PRWeb approach to distribution, evidenced by our 30K media subscribers who receive e-mails and 250K subscribers who receive our content via RSS.

Indexing

Indexing refers to the practice of making news content available to searchers through various indexes and databases.  Unlike direct distribution, which can be classified as a push method, indexing is classified as a pull method because it involves getting the content placed so it can be found and retrieved by the end user. distribution/consumption process.

Indexing

It is funny to think about indexing as distribution but it is a primary driver of the recalibration of the overall news cycle because of the rapid adoption of search engines.  Today, over 150 million Americans use search engines every day and a significant percentage of this population are looking for news.  Getting news releases placed into this flow of online eyeballs is what differentiated PRWeb from other news distribution services and although most have begun looking at search as a key component, traditional wire services are still figuring out how to integrate search into their distribution strategies.

Syndication

Traditionally, syndication refers to the process in which an article (or sometimes a cartoon) is published in a number of magazines or newspapers at the same time.  When it comes to news releases, syndication means that your news release will be published on additional Web sites when it goes live, in addition to the news release site itself.

Syndication

Syndication is one of the ways that PRWeb is differentiated from free online distribution services because free services rarely any syndication of note (while PRWeb releases are syndicated on leading News sites).  By leveraging RSS and providing tools that make it easy for publishers to syndicate our content we have managed to build the industry’s leading syndication network with over 30K Web sites in total.

Hopefully, this has provided a general framework for how online news distribution works and when you are selecting a news distribution provider you should consider these various methods.