Digital PR for brand publicity has been around for ages; however, leveraging digital PR for link building is a relatively new strategy. 

In this article, we share our insights and experiences based on numerous successful PR link building campaigns we’ve done. We'll guide you through every step of the process, providing you with clear and easy-to-follow steps showing you how to get backlinks from PR campaigns for your brand effectively.

What is Digital PR & Digital PR Link Building?

Digital PR is a strategy that uses compelling research and storytelling to attract journalists and secure coverage in reputable publications for a brand, thereby increasing visibility, authority, and brand awareness. 

Digital PR for link building uses the same strategies with the primary goal of getting high-quality backlinks from leading publications and authority sites. 

The process starts by identifying journalists who might be interested in your research. If they decide to write about it, they’ll include a mention of your website in their article. This mention acts as a backlink, which is valuable because it signals to search engines that your site is a credible source of information. As a result, your website's authority in search engine rankings increases, helping more people find and visit your site.

So, while both digital PR and digital PR for link building are aimed at increasing brand awareness and authority, the latter focuses more on strengthening the SEO aspect through valuable backlinks.

What Sets Digital PR Link Building Apart from Traditional Link Building?

Traditional link building often involves collaboration with websites relevant to your niche, using methods such as link insertion or guest posting to secure backlinks. Typically, these backlinks come from niche blogs that have relatively lower authority than large media outlets. There's generally no way to get guest posts from top media or publications through traditional methods. On the other hand, digital PR link-building focuses on collaboration with journalists and media outlets. This method requires preparing valuable research on topics that are currently trending. The aim is to interest journalists with your research, motivating them to publish it in well-known publications.

What are the Benefits of Digital PR backlinks?

Now that we've figured out the differences between digital PR and digital PR for link building, let's take a look at the benefits of PR link building.  

Backlinks from Top Publications

Why Does It Matter? 

Getting backlinks from top-tier publications like Forbes, Huffington Post, and Business Insider is challenging because these outlets prioritize unique and fresh information, and journalists writing for them are selective about the stories they feature. Although it’s harder to get backlinks from top-tier publications than from regular websites with traditional link building, it’s definitely worth it. 

According to Mike King, who has analyzed Google’s ranking factors, fresh pages are seen as high-quality by Google. When you get mentioned in top publications with fresh content, you gain significant link juice and increased trust from Google, which may help your website rank better.

How Does Digital PR Help? 

Digital PR for link building focuses on creating fresh content and getting featured in top publications. Although it’s hard, it’s worth it because traditional link building often doesn’t get you mentioned by these big websites. Fresh content and features in top publications give your website more authority and help it rank better.

Brand Awareness and Trust

Why Does It Matter?

We have noticed that brands with higher brand search and branded term search usually rank higher in search engines. This trend is clear among our 150 clients. According to Moz and SEO expert Neil Patel, brand mentions were part of Google’s Panda update, although it’s not clear exactly how they affect rankings. However, Google has said that “implied links”—mentions of a brand without a URL—are ranking factors and can improve SEO.

How Does Digital PR Help? 

Whether the mentions in high-DR publications are linked or not, they increase your brand’s awareness. Google recognizes these mentions and starts to understand your brand’s entity and presence across the web. This increased visibility builds trust and credibility in the eyes of  Google, helping your website improve its rankings.

Link Clicks and Referral Traffic From Backlinks

Why Does It Matter?

Google classifies its link indexes into three distinct tiers: low, medium, and high quality. This classification significantly impacts search rankings. When a link from a website doesn’t get clicks, it goes into the low-quality tier, and you don’t get link juice. If you are featured on a high-quality publication, that website gets a lot of clicks, so your link may get many clicks too. This puts your link in the high-quality tier, helping Google see your website as trustworthy and potentially improving your ranking. 

To make the most of this, use good anchor text and strong paragraphs to attract clicks, helping Google trust your brand more. High-quality links are trusted by Google and can improve your ranking, while low-quality links don’t affect your ranking.

How Does Digital PR Help?

 Digital PR ensures that your content reaches a wide audience, leading to more click-throughs and attracting interested visitors to your website. By having your brand featured in reputable publications, readers are more likely to click on links because they trust these sources. Apart from that, you are sharing interesting, newsworthy and engaging stories that pique people's interest and generate more clicks. 

Backlink Profile Diversity

Why Does It Matter?

A diverse backlink profile is crucial for strong SEO, and you need a mix of dofollow and nofollow links. Research by Adam White shows that top-ranking pages often have around 20% of their links as nofollow, which helps them rank high. Google checks a site’s trustworthiness by looking at different types of links, including nofollow, sponsored, or UGC links. To improve backlink diversity, get links from various sources like blogs, news sites, and top publications. It’s good to have links from different high-quality sources, ideally one link per domain, instead of many links from the same source. This strategy tells Google that your site is reputable across different contexts and industries.

How Does Digital PR Help With That

Digital PR helps build a diverse backlink profile by getting your content on different websites like news sites, blogs, and industry sites. These mentions and links, both dofollow and nofollow, create a natural backlink profile telling Google your site is trustworthy and authoritative in different areas.

What are Digital PR Strategies?

Here are some effective digital PR link building strategies that can help you improve your website's search engine rankings.

Reactive PR

Reactive PR involves responding to current events or trending topics in real time to gain media coverage. By quickly providing relevant commentary or resources when a news item breaks, brands can insert themselves into the conversation, gaining visibility and backlinks from news outlets and blogs that cover the story.

Reactive PR  Real-World Example

When Bard was newly launched, there was a recent sensation around Google being accused of training Bard on OpenAI data. We thought asking Bard about it ourselves would be intriguing, so we secured a spot on the waiting list for early access to Bard.

First, we asked Bard what language model it is based on. It returned "GPT-3 from OpenAI." We asked if it was developed by Google, and it answered, "OpenAI." We waited for a while and tried again. We didn't suspect Bard would correct itself within a few hours to respond "LaMDA from Google AI" this time. Success comes in threes, so we went for it a third time. On the final go, we asked Bard what GPT version it runs on. Bard returned "GPT-3.5", which was developed by OpenAI.

Then we decided to share the curious results of our little experience with journalists writing on artificial intelligence, technologies, chatbots, and language models. We reached out to more than 900 journalists with personalized emails with so many of them open and interested in covering the subject.

The PR campaign secured around 20 backlinks and lots of mentions from top-tier publications like Business Insider(DR: 92), MSN(DR:92), and Android Authority (DR: 85).

Our experiment shows that a successful PR campaign doesn't necessarily have to be lengthy research or a rigorous case study. A simple creative idea can work wonders too.

Expert Commentary

You have probably heard of HARO, an expert commentary platform where journalists, reporters, and bloggers connect with expert sources to get expert’s commentaries for their stories. HARO is a PR strategy type where you respond to journalist requests with your expert input. But there is another type of expert commentary strategy that we are going to present. Instead of answering journalist requests, you create your own expert commentary and reach out to relevant journalists with it. This strategy is effective because you can reach out to journalists in bulk, provide your expert commentary on a specific topic, and they may include your commentary in their articles.

Expert Commentary Real-World Example

We thought of a special PR campaign for a moving company centered around an article titled "Top House Moving Tips: Expert Review." In this article, the company's experts shared their top ten tips for a hassle-free move.

This approach was special for several reasons. Firstly, it leveraged the in-depth knowledge of actual moving professionals, which gave the content authenticity and practical value. Secondly, the choice of content was strategically aligned with the interests and needs of the target audience, likely to seek expert advice for such a stressful event as moving.

The article’s insightful and practical advice successfully captured the attention of a reputable websites, where it was subsequently published.

Data Campaigns

When it comes to data-driven campaigns, creating content based on unique data, surveys, or research that your brand has conducted is key. Journalists and content creators are always on the lookout for original, credible data to back their stories. By publishing insights that offer new information, you can attract significant coverage and backlinks as media outlets and other websites reference your data in their content.

Data Campaign Real-World Example

This campaign was timed with King Charles III’s coronation, which already drew a lot of public and media interest. It was a tension-filled period, with global crises like the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and local issues such as nurse strikes in the UK over salary disputes causing widespread concern and unrestIt built contradictory feelings among people, wondering why so much was spent on an event while it could be used for other things. This sentiment was widespread, and our campaign tapped into it, calculating what that money could be used for instead.

We prepared a detailed analysis to show how the coronation budget could be used differently.  Regarding Pay Raises for Nurses and Teachers, we assessed average salaries and calculated that a 10% increase would cost a certain amount per individual. With the £100 million budget, we estimated how many nurses and teachers could benefit from this raise. Turning to Affordable Housing Construction, we considered construction costs per home, ranging from £100,000 to £150,000, and calculated the number of homes that could be built with the £100 million budget. 

Each of these calculations involved current economic data and standard industry costs to ensure the scenarios we presented were not only engaging but also grounded in real-world economics. This methodological approach underpins the campaign’s credibility and ensures the audience understands the potential real-life impact of reallocating such significant funds.

This campaign, highlighted on anthonycarranzza.medium.com, a website with a high domain rating of 94 and monthly traffic of 24.2 million, sparked widespread interest and discussion. It was mentioned on more than 25 authoritative websites, emphasizing the relevance and potential impact of the proposed alternatives to traditional royal spending.

The Process of Digital PR for LinkBuilding: Step-by-Step

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how you can effectively reach out and secure valuable backlinks through personalized strategies:

Ideation

This brainstorming phase is your starting point for learning about your client's niche. During this initial stage, you'll research the topics that are currently trending and the types of stories that journalists in this niche are writing about and the topics that capture their interest. By gaining a thorough understanding of all these, you can better strategize and come up with the best content ideas.

During the initial ideation process, consider the following questions to shape your campaign:

1. Industry Trends: What is happening in your industry—past, present, and future? Understanding the trends and changes helps you stay relevant and timely.
2. Reader Interests: What does the reader want to know? Identify the key interests and pain points of your target audience to ensure your content resonates with them.
3. Journalist Preferences: What does the journalist want to write about? Does the journalist care about your topic? Research the interests and writing styles of the journalists you are targeting to make sure your idea aligns with what they find newsworthy.
4. Popular Content: What types of niche articles are shared the most? Look at the most shared and engaged-with content in your niche to understand what works well and why.
5. Campaign Type: Should you focus on data-rich campaigns relevant to your industry or you the newsjacking strategy more suitable for your brand?
6. Event Tie-ins: Is there a national or seasonal event that can support your idea? Timing your campaign around relevant events can increase its impact and relevance.
7. Variables for Analysis: What variables are included in the idea? Identify at least three data points that should be compared or analyzed to provide depth and credibility to your content.
8. Stand-Out Placements: Will it achieve stand-out placements? Ensure your idea is unique and compelling enough to secure coverage in top-tier publications.

Research

Once you've worked out the idea and defined the type of campaign, you'll need to get relevant data such as statistics, survey results, market trends, or case studies. 

Depending on the type of campaign you're running, your research will vary. For a data campaign, you’ll gather and analyze relevant data. For a reactive PR campaign, you’ll have to research the most trending topics and current events that people are interested in. This research phase is critical because it forms the foundation of your campaign.

Effective content ideation and research are crucial for a successful digital PR campaign. Start by utilizing Google Trends. Begin by searching for terms related to trending topics in your industry. Look for spikes in interest, as these indicate a growing trend. Once you identify a spike, curate content that aligns with these trends to ensure relevance and engagement.

Next, search Twitter using hashtags such as #journorequest. This hashtag helps you find journalists looking for specific stories or information, providing you with direct opportunities to pitch your content.

Setting alerts is another vital step. Platforms like Google Alerts and Buzzsumo can keep you updated on the latest news and trends in your industry. By setting up these alerts, you can quickly spot potential PR opportunities and stay informed about relevant topics.

Reddit is another valuable resource. Explore subreddits related to your industry to find discussions and questions that can inspire content ideas. Engaging with these communities can provide insights into what your audience cares about most.

Additionally, Statista offers a wealth of reliable data and statistics. Use this platform to find data that supports your content, adding credibility and depth to your PR efforts.

Data Sourcing

For data sourcing, start by finding data points using stats pages. The correct approach involves generating specific numbers, uncovering controversial or surprising facts, and having solid background reasons for researching them. Use search terms like:

• {your niche} statistics
• {your niche} stats
• {your niche} facts

Check data providers such as Statista or governmental organizations that offer statistical information. These sources can provide you with the detailed data needed to back up your content and make it more compelling.

Research Development

The next step is developing the press release. A standard press release is typically around 500 words, but there are variations, such as listicles (e.g., "Top 10 Countries for Immigrants"). When structuring your press release, make sure to have three main points that highlight the most important and interesting findings from your research. These points should be clear and catchy to effectively convey your core message. Additionally, include a detailed methodology section explaining how you conducted your research, covering the methods used, data sources, and any analysis performed. This thorough explanation adds credibility to your findings and helps journalists understand the validity of your information.

Here’s how to formulate your press release:

1. Headline: Create a strong, attention-grabbing headline that highlights the main point of your research.
2. Opening Paragraph: Start with three main, interesting, and diverse points from your research. This should look something like this:some text
   • Point 1: Present the most compelling and surprising finding.
   • Point 2: Share a relevant statistic or fact that supports your main point.
   • Point 3: Provide an insight that adds depth to the story and highlights its relevance.
3. Detailed Explanation: Follow up with a detailed explanation of each of these points. Include data, quotes from experts, and any other supporting information that adds credibility and interest to your story.
4. Methodology: Clearly explain the methodology used in your research. Detail how you collected and analyzed the data, the sources you used, and any other relevant information. This section should be comprehensive to ensure the validity of your findings.

Selecting Journalists

Choosing the right journalists is key. They should have a direct interest in your niche to increase the likelihood of your press release getting attention.  There are several tools available for selecting journalists for PR link building, including Anewstip and JustReachOut.io. However, we'll focus on using MuckRack, the most widely used and user-friendly tool, to showcase the steps involved in effective PR link building.

To ensure you reach journalists who are truly relevant to your niche, you should follow these steps:

• Keyword Entry: Start by entering the keyword related to your niche in the appropriate field. This action will generate a list of journalists.

• Filtering the List: On the left side of the screen, you'll find a filter bar. This allows you to refine your list based on various criteria. The tool typically provides up to 25 months of data, but focus on the most recent 12 months. Journalists who wrote about your niche two years ago might not be relevant now, as they may have switched their niche.

• Must Appear Filter: This section ensures that your keyword appears in specific areas like bios, titles, tweets, bylined articles, and shared articles. By doing this, you can confirm that the journalist is actively writing about your topic.
• Bios and Titles: You can further refine your search by adding terms like "editor" or "contributor" in the bios and titles section if needed. This helps identify journalists with specific roles.
• Beats Filter: This filter allows you to specify the journalist’s field or specialty. Make sure it aligns with your niche.
• Media Outlet Types: Exclude podcasts, radio, and television programs, as they are not typically active in PR link building. 
• Specific Media Outlets: If you're targeting journalists from particular publications, like the "New York Times," use the media outlet filter to narrow down your search.
• Scopes, Media Lists, Markets: These filters are optional. Use them sparingly, as they might overly restrict your list.
• Location Filter: This filter allows you to target journalists from specific countries or even states, which can be useful for region-specific campaigns.
• Language Filter: Choose the language in which you want the articles to be written, ensuring you reach the right audience.

Reviewing Journalists for Your PR Campaign

After finding journalists who seem relevant to your niche, it’s important to review their work thoroughly. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Review Their Articles: Read through the articles they have written to ensure the quality aligns with your expectations. Look for consistency in their writing style and check if their content is well-researched and engaging.
2. Check for Negative Coverage: Make sure the journalist hasn’t written negatively about your topic or industry. You want to collaborate with someone who will present your brand in a positive light.
3. Understand Their Preferences: Journalists often have specific preferences or guidelines for the content they publish. Look for any information on their pages that might indicate what they do or don’t cover. For example, some might prefer shorter articles, while others might have guidelines on the types of topics they cover.
4. Take Note of Specifics: Pay attention to any specific instructions or preferences mentioned on their profile or website. This might include preferred article lengths (e.g., four-paragraph articles), the types of sources they value, or any submission guidelines they have.

Crafting an Effective Outreach Pitch

When reaching out to journalists, your pitch needs to be clear, concise, and compelling. Here’s how to ensure your outreach stands out:

1. Clarity and Understandability: Your pitch should be easy to understand. Clearly state the purpose and main points of your research or article right from the beginning.
2. Three Main Points: Include the three most important findings or aspects of your research in the pitch. These points should capture the essence of your work and grab the journalist's attention immediately.
3. Subject Lines: The subject line is crucial. Make sure it mentions the date or indicates that the research is recent, as journalists prefer up-to-date information. Each subject line should be tailored to the specific journalist and should ideally include numbers to highlight key data points. Avoid misleading subject lines, as this can lead to your email being ignored or marked as spam. Your subject line should accurately convey what the press release is about.

Here are some great examples of subject lines:

Subject Line 1: Reimagining King Charles' £100M Coronation: What pressing challenges could be solved?

Subject Line 2: Google’s New AI Chatbot Bard: Mysterious Origins Revealed

Subject Line 3: Top house-moving tips: Experts Reveal

Guide to Effective Subject Lines for Outreach Pitches

Subject lines must also follow a specific guideline. Generally, here’s what makes a good email subject line:

1. Emotive Words: Include words that communicate urgency, recency, and timeliness to grab the reader's attention immediately. For example, "Urgent: Latest Study Reveals Declining Homeownership Rates".
2. Reference Research: Use words like Report, Study, Survey, Map, or Data to give your email more credibility and better performance. For example, "New Report: 2023 Trends in Renewable Energy Adoption".
3. Factual Statements: Subject lines with factual statements perform consistently well across all sectors. For example, “[X]% of Americans do [Y] in 2024” or “25% of Served Don’t…”
4. Compelling Statements: Use statements that draw the recipient in and make them want to read more. For example, “More Americans Are Living off of Their Parents' Money, Study Finds.”
5. Combined Format: Combine facts, statements, and indicators of recency or timeliness in a single subject line to create a powerful impact. For example, “Urgent Study, 2020: 45% of Teens Face Online Bullying".
6. Curiosity and Interest: Include numbers or words that pique the recipient’s natural curiosity and interest. For example, "10 Surprising Facts About Teen Nutrition in 2023".
7. Match Tone and Trends: Align your subject line with the tone and trends of the journalists you are pitching to ensure relevance and engagement.
8. Personalization: Personalize the subject line by including the journalist’s name, publication they work for, location, or any other relevant detail. For example, “John, Exclusive Insights for The Tech Journal on AI Innovations".
9. Main Point Focus: Make sure the subject line reflects the main point of the entire press release. Avoid writing something that is not presented in the content.
10. Concise Length: Aim for a subject line length of around 60 characters or 4 to 7 words. Being concise is generally better than using complex and flowery language.

Here are 10 subject line examples. Our digital PR expert explains why the good ones work and what the bad ones lack.

Good Examples of Subject Lines

1. Miami Has One of the Most Popular Interiors According to Pinterest: Open rate (76%) strong emotive, credible source, and timely.
2. Utrecht Among Top Sustainable Destinations: 2024 Study: Open rate (60%), timely, trendy, credible source, reference to 2024.
3. 8 Biggest Celebrity Sneakerheads: Study Reveals: Open rate (66%) engaging topic, use of numbers, popular culture.
4. RANKED | Countries With The Most Beautiful Women: Open rate (60%) strong emotive, ranking format, curiosity.
5. Canada is Among the Top Three Destinations for International Students: Open rate (60%) top-ranking, relevant, and timely.

Bad Examples Of Subject Lines

1. Cheaper Alternatives to Popular Luxury Destinations | 2024 Study: Open rate (47%) lacks strong emotive words, less engaging topic.
2. Top U.S. States for Seniors Ranked in 2024 Study: Open rate (30%) lacks compelling, curiosity-piquing element.
3. Safest States for America’s Truckers in 2024: Open rate (26%) lacks emotive language, insufficient broad audience engagement.
4. Careers That Can Easily Pay Back Student Loans | 2024 Report: Open rate (30%) weak emotive appeal, less engaging topic presentation.
5. Switzerland Among Top Three for Unemployment Support: Study Reveals: Open rate (15%) lacks engaging emotive words, doesn’t pique curiosity.

Outreach

The outreach stage involves contacting the selected journalists. Typically, you might reach out to between 1,500 and 2,000 journalists using bulk outreach methods. It’s important to note that journalists often do not respond directly, so you may need to check if your press release has been published by using tools like Ahrefs’ backlink checker or setting up alerts to track new publications.

Pro Tip: Journalists check their messages even on Sundays, and research indicates that they are most likely to publish press releases on this day. Therefore, timing your outreach to include Sundays can be beneficial in getting your content published.

After handpicking the journalists, the next step is to launch your outreach campaign. There are various tools like Outreach.io and ClickUp for managing outreach, but Instantly.ai is particularly effective for easily managing your campaigns. It also allows you to track the open rates of your communications, helping you monitor and refine your outreach strategies efficiently.

Here’s how to do it using Instantly.ai:

1. Prepare Your Email List: Compile the list of journalists you have selected, ensuring that their contact information is accurate and up to date.

2. Set Up Your Campaign on Instantly.ai:

• Log In: Access your Instantly.ai account.
• Create a New Campaign: Click on the option to create a new campaign.

• Import Contacts: Upload your list of journalists to the platform.

• Send the Pitch: In the next step you only need to add the pitch along with the follow ups. Then go to Options and choose the account from which the outreach should be done.

3. Monitor Campaign Performance: Use Instantly.ai’s analytics tools to track the performance of your campaign. Pay attention to open rates, click-through rates, and responses to measure the effectiveness of your outreach.

How to Measure PR Link Building Success?

Measuring the success of your Digital PR efforts is crucial for understanding its impact on your SEO and overall digital marketing strategy. Here are key metrics to track and suggestions on tools and techniques to monitor these effectively:

Number of Placements and Mentions 

The number of times your content or brand is mentioned or placed in various media outlets is a direct measure of the reach and impact of your PR efforts. More placements generally mean a wider dissemination of your message and greater potential for backlink generation.

Tools and Techniques:

• Media Monitoring Tools: Use tools like Meltwater, Cision, or Mention to track media mentions and placements across various platforms. These tools can provide comprehensive insights into where and how often your brand is mentioned in the media.
• Google Alerts: Set up Google Alerts for your brand name or specific campaign keywords to receive notifications of mentions across web pages, newspapers, and blogs.

Traffic

The amount of traffic referred to your website from external links is a practical measure of the effectiveness of your Digital PR campaigns. Increases in referral traffic from high-quality sites indicate successful link building.

Tools and Techniques:

• Google Analytics: Utilize Google Analytics to track referral traffic sources. This tool can help you identify which backlinks bring the most visitors, allowing you to measure the impact of specific PR placements.
• UTM Parameters: Use UTM parameters when linking back to your site from press releases or articles to track the performance of these links directly.

Domain Rating

Domain Rating (DR) is a metric that predicts how well a website might rank on search engine results pages (SERPs). A higher DR suggests a website is more authoritative and trustworthy, a direct benefit of successful PR link building.

Tools and Techniques:

• Ahrefs: Ahrefs is another powerful tool for checking DR, with a strong focus on backlink profiles. It helps you see how your and your competitors' domain ratings are evolving, which can inform your link-building tactics.‍
• Mangools: Mangools offers tools like KWFinder and SERPChecker that can help assess DR and the effectiveness of your backlinks, providing insights into how well your site is positioned in terms of online authority.

Conclusion

If you're looking for a creative, data-driven PR campaign that runs smoothly from start to finish, Loopex Digital is here to help. We specialize in crafting impactful PR link-building campaigns that deliver meaningful results. With our expert team, you can start building a successful PR strategy today. Let us help you make a real difference with your next campaign. Get started with Loopex Digital now and see the positive changes we can bring to your outreach efforts.

Visit our Digital PR Link Building Service page to learn more and get started today!