What Is Digital PR? (And why it matters)

Digital PR targets online publications, websites, podcasts, and social media. It combines PR, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), and content marketing to help brands reach global audiences, earn brand mentions, and acquire backlinks. All while the campaign performance is tracked in real time.

Public Relations has existed for centuries and typically focused on print media, TV and radio coverage. While it has evolved with the digital age, successful PR campaigns blend creativity with data to increase brand visibility and reputation. But how does traditional PR differ from digital PR? What are the benefits of going digital?

If you’re wondering how to do digital PR or how to approach pitching, this article is here to help.

In this article we will cover:

• The Evolution: Digital PR vs. Traditional PR
• Why Digital PR is an SEO Superpower
• Components of a Successful Digital PR Campaign
• Digital PR Strategy & Actionable Tactics
• Measuring Digital PR Success (KPIs)
• FAQs

Digital PR vs. Traditional PR

Digital PR is about online visibility. Where traditional focuses on placement slots and a more one-sided message, digital PR focuses on tangible, tailored results that can be instantly measured, and audiences can engage with the content (likes, shares, comments). Digital PR is more about generating relevant traffic, building credibility and trust for both humans and search engines. There are a few metrics involved in measuring Digital PR campaigns but the primary currencies are the backlink and brand mentions which we’ll explore later.

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Why Digital PR is an SEO Superpower

Digital PR is a superpower strategy because it amplifies your brand’s voice globally across the internet, building authority, trust, and visibility faster than traditional methods. By leveraging online media, influencers, and SEO, it turns stories into strategic assets that drive real-world results.

It can be done through guest posting, collaborating with influencers, generating links through PR stories and securing coverage by creating hook-worthy stories and assets. Earned coverage provides a signal to search engines that your website is valued and relevant, passing link equity from theirs to yours. 

Pass me the juice

Link equity (also known as “link juice”) is the SEO value or authority that one webpage passes to another through a hyperlink. When a trusted, high-authority site – The ABC News – links to your website, part of its credibility is transferred (given it’s a do-follow…more on that later). This strategy helps search engines see your site as more authoritative and relevant, improving its ability to rank higher organically.

Pro Tip: While some marketing tactics focus on buying links to speed up the process and avoid doing Digital PR, this is a different strategy. Digital PR is about “link-earning”: a natural way to secure brand mentions and links from high-authority websites, and adheres to Google’s Spam Updates.

Google maintains its reputation of showing high-quality, relevant and useful content, by releasing E-E-A-T (formerly known as E-A-T). E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. With a rise of consumer concern around fake news and the accuracy of the content they’re consuming, being mentioned on trustworthy websites is even more crucial for building trust. 

How A High-Authority Media Links Pass Equity Helps You 

Digital PR campaigns focus on link-earning. By coming up with creative and insightful content ideas, backed by data, you are creating valuable content that journalists and editors want. When a search engine sees a brand mention or backlink from an authoritative website, it sees your website as trustworthy, as a result. Think of it like a “digital nod” from one website to another. Quality wins over quantity…a link from a high DA website (DA or DR is scored out of 100) passes link equity to your website, which in turn helps boost your own organic performance.  

For example, ABC.net.au has a domain rating (DR) of 91 and 19m backlinks. In Google’s eyes, this is a high-authority and trusted website with a strong link equity and established presence. A media outlet like this will likely be in the top tier of your target list as one backlink from their website could help boost traffic to yours significantly. 

Converting a brand mention to a link

There are times when a brand, product or website is mentioned online without a backlink. As there is no direct SEO authority passed on without a backlink, it’s worth reaching out to sites that mention you without linking and politely asking them to add one…this is known as link reclamation.

Start by identifying the “low-hanging fruit”. If a website or online publication has mentioned you or your brand, they’re interested already. Create a list of targets you want to reach out to, to ask for a link. It can be a time-consuming process so using your preferred tool, identify the domain authority and relevance of the website you’re mentioned in. You can use Moz’s domain authority checker, the website authority checker by Ahrefs, or a similar one by backlinko. 

Once you’ve got the data, it’s time to prioritise, e.g. a relevant website with a domain authority (DA) of 75 would be a higher priority than one of 28. 

Components of a Successful Digital PR Campaign

Journalists and editors receive hundreds of emails a day, so having a solid asset-to-pitch process helps boost your chances of being covered. 

The Campaign Asset 

Journalists and writers are pressed for time and often look to their PR contacts for the latest stories to cover. In fact, 55% of journalists get at least a quarter of the stories they publish from pitches. Strong pitches start with strong stories and strong stories start with strong assets. 

Content that gets earned coverage includes:

• Unique data, surveys, reports or distinctive research
• Visual content, data charts, infographics 
• Customer success stories
• Expert tips, interviews, industry-leading thought leadership 
• Topical moments with a different spin 

Repurposing content is a quick way of getting more money for old rope. If you’ve got an infographic that was a social media hit, package it up for a writer to cover and share on their platform or publication. The key is making your content newsworthy and valuable to your audience. 

The Outreach List 

A tailored media outreach plan starts with a list of websites, podcasts, blogs and social channels you’d like to be featured on and the contacts you want to reach out to. 

The outreach list typically falls into three tiers. Top-tier, mid-tier, and lower-tier coverage. Depending on your niche, your top tier might include ABC News, SmartCompany, or The Guardian Australia, where their web credibility is strong and their link equity is high. Your mid-tier may be popular Australian blogs and podcasts relevant to your campaign, and lower-tier could be industry-relevant blogs that have a lower DA but higher chance of being interested in your content.

Source: 2xeCommerce

The Pitch 

You’ve got the asset, the contact list and now it’s time to pitch. The first step is to craft a compelling, data-driven story to get the attention of your recipient. Whether it’s a blogger, editor, content creator, or journalist, a personalised, value-driven pitch increases your chances of being opened and read. 

If your story gets picked up, it could lead to:

1. A mention on a podcast or radio show
2. An editorial feature on a high-authority website
3.A backlink to your website from a credible website – boosting your SEO
4. More traffic, trust, and brand awareness

It’s important to be clear on what you’re pitching, why it’s relevant to their audience and why it matters. For example, pitching a local motoring infographic won’t be of interest to a food and drink editor. 67% of journalists prefer pitches to be less than 200 words, so it’s best to be concise. This is where your research comes in…mention what you’ve read of theirs lately, why your data and asset are relevant to their platform, and why it’s new and interesting. It’s unlikely a journalist will place you in a new editorial feature on a topic they covered the week before or if an influencer has recently worked with a competitor of yours.

Digital PR Strategy & Actionable Tactics

An effective Digital PR strategy combines data and creativity, using assets and stories to reach platforms that align with business goals and reach the right audiences. 

Data-driven storytelling

This combines compelling narratives with concrete data to create impactful, credible campaigns people want to see. By leveraging statistics, trends, and insights, brands can craft stories that not only engage audiences but also resonate with journalists and influencers. This approach enhances trust and also increases share-ability and media pick-up, especially when visualised through infographics or interactive content.

In a crowded digital landscape, data-driven storytelling helps PR professionals stand out by offering valuable, newsworthy angles grounded in evidence. It transforms raw numbers into meaningful messages that drive visibility, engagement, and action.

Reactive PR/Newsjacking 

A solid Digital PR strategy has room for reactive PR as well as planned campaigns. Newsjacking quickly leverages trending news stories or events to bring your brand’s perspective or expertise to the conversation. By responding promptly to relevant headlines, you can gain media attention, increase brand visibility, and earn valuable backlinks at the same time.

Effective newsjacking requires monitoring current events closely and crafting insightful, relevant commentary that resonates with journalists and audiences alike.

Oreo did this perfectly when the 2013 Super Bowl had a blackout, referencing the blackout and inserting their brand in the the moment.

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Expert Commentary 

HARO (Help a Reporter Out) and Qwoted are platforms that connect journalists with expert sources. If they’re looking for a healthcare expert to comment on burnout in 2025 and your brand has an expert on the topic, responding can build coverage, show authority, and earn high-quality backlinks at the same time. 

Fixing Broken Links

Fixing broken links is essential for maintaining a brand’s online credibility and improving SEO performance. When journalists or bloggers link to outdated or missing pages, it can harm user experience and reduce referral traffic. Regularly auditing and repairing broken links ensures your digital PR efforts continue to deliver maximum impact time and time again.

Take time to proactively identify broken links and reach out to webmasters with updated, relevant content. It will help restore valuable backlinks and strengthen your relationships with important media contacts. 

Measuring Digital PR Success (KPIs)

One of the key advantages of Digital PR is the ability to track performance quickly and accurately. Unlike traditional PR, digital efforts offer measurable results across a range of metrics. Start by looking at both the quantity and quality of coverage…this includes the number of media mentions and the strength of backlinks gained. Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to assess the Domain Rating (DR) or Domain Authority (DA) of the sites linking back to you.

Beyond backlinks

Beyond backlinks, it’s important to monitor referral traffic from PR coverage. Google Analytics can show whether traffic spikes align with campaign launches. Consider adding notes or annotations in your dashboard to track this over time. Look for increases in branded search queries, which often indicate growing awareness, and check if your keyword rankings improve as a result of the campaign.

Social Media

Engagement on social media is another useful indicator of how well your content is resonating with your audience. Track shares, comments, and likes across relevant platforms to see how your content is landing. Consider using sentiment analysis to understand the tone of coverage and how your brand is being perceived.

Taken together, these insights will give you a well-rounded view of campaign performance and areas for improvement in future campaigns. 

Why is Digital PR important for your business? 

Digital PR is the leading communication channel for businesses looking to build reputation, increase organic visibility, and generate buzz about the brand. 

It helps build brand credibility and visibility across online platforms, reaching wider audiences through trusted media sources. It also boosts SEO by generating high-quality backlinks, driving more organic traffic and improving search engine rankings.

Conclusion 

Digital PR is a strong, long-term strategy for brand building and SEO growth. It builds authority, earns high-quality backlinks, and increases visibility over time. Unlike quick wins, its impact compounds and coverage can be found over time. Investing in Digital PR means you can reach new audiences, improve brand perception and boost search rankings, trust, and awareness. When done consistently, it helps brands stay relevant and competitive in a cluttered digital space.

Keen to get started with Digital PR? Pixelstorm is here to help provide assistance with Digital PR or SEO campaigns. Get in touch or give us a call to discuss how we can help your campaigns make an impact. 

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FAQs

Can I do digital PR myself, or do I need to hire someone?
Yes, you can do digital PR yourself, especially with tools like HARO (Help a Reporter Out) or by pitching stories to journalists, writers, and bloggers. If you’re short on time or resource, hiring a digital PR expert or agency can improve results, especially if you don’t have media experience.

What tools do I need to do Digital PR well?
You’ll need a combination of tools for research, outreach, brand monitoring, and reporting in your Digital PR kit.

1. Media & Influencer Research – BuzzSumo – Discover trending content and key journalists/influencers.
2. Content Creation – AnswerThePublic – Discover popular questions people are asking
3. SEO & Backlink Tracking – SEMRush/Ahrefs/Moz
4. Outreach Monitoring – Pitchbox – Keep track of your correspondence with contacts
5. Reporting – CoverageBook/Google Alerts/Google Analytics – Track your coverage, brand mentions, and traffic.

What are the benefits of Digital PR?
Digital PR helps increase brand visibility online by earning high-quality backlinks, boosting SEO, and improving search engine rankings. It can build credibility through placements in trusted online platforms and encourages engagement by reaching target audiences where they spend time.

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How long does it take to see results from digital PR?
It depends but many businesses start seeing increased traffic or backlinks within a few weeks of landing online coverage and slightly longer to see SEO ranking improvement. Digital PR provides real-time tracking but is a long-term investment that builds brand reputation and momentum over time.

How does digital PR help with SEO?
Digital PR for SEO earns high-quality backlinks from authoritative, relevant websites and online outlets which boosts a site’s domain authority and search engine rankings. It helps drive referral traffic, increases brand mentions, and enhances online visibility by creating newsworthy, shareable content.