Press release distribution in India is sold in two very different ways, and the difference is rarely made obvious before you pay. Understanding it is most of the decision.
The two models
Guaranteed placement
You choose a specific publication, you pay a price attached to that publication, and the release is published there. You know the outcome before you spend.
Distribution or pitching
Your release is sent to a list of journalists or pushed through a wire. Coverage is possible but not promised. You are buying effort, not an outcome.
Neither is wrong, but they should never be compared on price alone. A ₹5,000 "distribution" package and a ₹5,000 guaranteed placement are not the same purchase.
Six questions worth asking
- Which exact publication will this appear on? If the answer is a category rather than a name, you are buying pitching.
- Do I get the live article URL? The link is the deliverable. Without it you cannot verify or report on anything.
- Is the link dofollow or nofollow? This should be stated before purchase, not discovered afterwards.
- How long does the article stay live? Some placements are time-limited. Ask.
- Is writing included? If not, budget separately for it.
- Is the price inclusive of tax? On 01Wire, listed prices are exclusive of GST.
The metric most buyers over-trust
Domain Authority gets quoted constantly, and it is a weaker buying signal than its prominence suggests. Looking at the 650 outlets in our catalogue where a DA figure is published, price and DA track each other only loosely:
| Domain Authority | Outlets | Median price |
|---|---|---|
| DA 0-29 | 48 | ₹16,378 |
| DA 30-49 | 237 | ₹14,524 |
| DA 50-69 | 289 | ₹21,343 |
| DA 70-89 | 62 | ₹27,954 |
| DA 90+ | 14 | ₹28,600 |
Outlets in the DA 0-29 band carry a higher median price than those in DA 30-49, and the jump from DA 70-89 to DA 90+ is marginal. Authority is one input among several, not a price ladder. Audience relevance, link type and editorial quality move the number more.
What a fair price looks like
Across 1,268 outlets the median placement is ₹16,250, with a quarter available under ₹6,500 and the top ten percent starting at ₹64,028. If you are quoted well above that range, the question to ask is what specifically justifies it: the publication's readership, its editorial standards, or simply its name.
Warning signs
- Guaranteed rankings. Nobody can promise a search position, and an agency that does is telling you something about itself.
- Outlet names withheld until after payment.
- "Hundreds of placements" for a very low flat fee. Volume at that price means sites nobody reads.
- No sample of previous work on the outlet in question.
How to build a shortlist
Start from your reader, not from the price list. Decide which two or three publications your actual buyers would recognise, check the link type and price for those, and then fill in around them with relevant niche or regional outlets. A focused set of four relevant placements outperforms twenty scattered ones almost every time.
The models compared
| Model | You pay for | Certainty | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guaranteed placement | A named publication | High | Launches, funding, credibility building |
| Wire distribution | Syndication to a network | Medium | Broad, low-cost visibility |
| Agency retainer | Ongoing media relations | Low per item | Continuous communications programmes |
| Freelance PR | Hours of outreach | Low | Niche sectors with specific contacts |
| DIY outreach | Your own time | Lowest | Genuinely newsworthy announcements |
Questions worth asking on the call
- Can you show me a previous article you placed on this exact outlet?
- What happens if the outlet declines the release?
- Is the article marked as sponsored or partner content?
- Who writes the release, and how many revisions are included?
- How long does the article stay live, and what if it is removed?
- Is the price per outlet or per release?
The sponsored-labelling question matters more than most buyers realise. A placement marked as sponsored content is still valuable for credibility, but it behaves differently in search and should be priced accordingly.
How to evaluate a sample placement
Ask for a live URL on the outlet you are considering, then check four things: whether the article reads like the publication's own copy or like an advert, whether it is labelled sponsored, whether the link to the client is dofollow or nofollow, and whether it is still indexed in search. That last check takes ten seconds and catches placements that quietly disappear.
Contract points to read carefully
- Removal. What happens if the publisher takes the article down after a month?
- Refunds. Is there one if placement fails, and is it cash or credit?
- Turnaround. Is the stated timeline from purchase or from your approval of the draft?
- Exclusivity. Can a competitor run a near-identical release on the same outlet the same week?
A shortlist that works
Pick one outlet your buyers would recognise, two that cover your exact sector, and one regional outlet where you actually operate. Check link type and price on each, confirm all four are within the ₹6,500 to ₹64,028 range that covers most of the market, and buy them as a set rather than one at a time. Four relevant placements published together read as momentum. The same four spread across a year read as nothing.
Frequently asked questions
Is more expensive always better?
No. Relevance beats reach and price both. A well-matched niche publication will usually do more for a specialist business than a general national title.
How quickly should publication happen?
Three to five working days from approval of the draft is a reasonable expectation for guaranteed placements.
Do I need a PR agency as well?
For a single announcement, usually not. For an ongoing communications programme with journalist relationships, an agency does something a placement service does not.