Mass press-release syndication producing duplicate copies and repeated anchor-text links was claimed to create an unnatural-looking backlink profile.

Cited by documentation

Sources

• Unnatural Links: How to Avoid SEO Flagging

  Editorial.link · retrieved 2026-08-21

  “If a press release or syndicated content causes a sudden and unnatural surge in links to a website” — Press releases / syndicated content section

• Google's New Rules (for press releases) — quoting Google Webmaster Guidelines

  SlideShare (PR industry deck quoting Google) · retrieved 2026-08-21

  “Links with optimized anchor text in articles or press releases distributed on other sites” — Slide quoting Google Webmaster Guidelines

• What Are Unnatural Backlinks and How Can You Avoid Them?

  Outreach Labs · retrieved 2026-08-21

  “Press release links: Overused links in press releases with keyword-rich anchor text” — Unnatural backlink types list

• SEO: Google Devalues another Link-building Tactic

  Practical Ecommerce · retrieved 2026-08-21

  “overabundant linking within the press release coupled with over-optimized anchor text” — Press Releases and Link Building section

• Anchor Text Patterns That Read as Natural to Google

  Search Agency · retrieved 2026-08-21

  “A single announcement syndicated to a hundred low-quality outlets, each carrying the same anchor text in roughly the same context.” — Press-release echo, line 92

• Press Releases and Backlinks: What Counts (and What Doesn’t)

  eReleases · retrieved 2026-08-21

  “If the same release with the same anchor text and the same link appears everywhere, its value is limited.” — Duplicated release links, line 150

• Anchor text variations: Your key to link profile diversity

  Search Engine Watch · retrieved 2026-08-21

  “when you start to use the same anchor text, Google will get suspicious. It will make your backlink profile look unnatural” — Anchor-text variation, line 117

• The Art of Link Building: A Hands-On Guide

  Beasley Direct and Online Marketing · retrieved 2026-08-21

  “Press releases are the exception to this rule.” — PDF p.7 printed / p.6 zero-indexed, line 139

  “Google does not discount these links if they derive from a press release.” — PDF p.7 printed / p.6 zero-indexed, lines 142-143