What is Digital PR and How Does it Help Link Building?

September 8, 2022

What is digital PR? Essentially, it involves using a range of PR strategies to secure backlinks and achieve your SEO goals. To get started, you’ll need to focus on creating content and online assets that can be linked. Once you’ve created this content, it’s time to reach out to external publications and journalists.

However, there’s more to digital PR than securing a quick link-building opportunity. You’ll need to engage journalists with rich content ideas. Doing so will give your content added value.

Digital PR should focus on creating high-value content that tells a story. This content should be so engaging that journalists want to actively report on it, leading to organic traffic that drives your SEO strategy in the right direction.

Contents

Is Digital PR the Same as Guest Posting

Some SEO experts will argue that digital PR and guest posting are the same thing. While there is some crossover, they’re two entirely different approaches.

With digital PR, you should be thinking editorially when creating content and identifying link-building opportunities. Third-party sites will link to your content as a cited source or add value to their content. What’s more, links secured via digital PR will almost always come from high-value domains. Although your domain score will not affect your SEO ranking, securing backlinks from high domain authority websites will.

Are you worried about competitors doing the same? Unlike with other link-building strategies, it’s doubtful that a competitor will be able to replicate the links you gain from digital PR. Some competitors may still be asking “what is digital PR?” if their SEO strategies are lagging.

Guest posting is more transactional. Although sponsored links aren’t necessarily penalized by Google, they tend to hold little value. Furthermore, there’s often very little synergy between linking sites and the online platforms destinations they’re linking to. Additionally, guest posting tactics are easy to duplicate. By using link analysis tools, competitors can quickly decipher your strategy and replicate it.

Digital PR is an Emerging SEO Strategy

For a long time, SEO agency experts have stressed the importance of high-quality content. Relevant long-form content is an easy way to give your organic search efforts an instant boost. However, digital PR tactics have only recently come into focus.

Nowadays, backlinks are more important than others. Some marketers make the mistake of focusing on quantity over quality. Amongst other things, digital PR prioritizes high-value backlinking over other strategies.

Furthermore, for natural, in-content links, you can use Outreach Monks’ on-demand link building services.

Key Benefits of Digital PR

If digital PR isn’t at the heart of your link-building strategy, now’s the time to refocus your efforts. Looking for premium links from high authority domains? Digital PR is one of the easiest ways to secure them.

It’s possible to pick up occasional mentions organically, but digital PR is a fantastic way to lock them down consistently. Another major benefit is that once you’ve amassed enough high authority links, you increase your chances of ranking for more competitive keywords.

An Easy Way to Outperform Competitions

There are many link-building strategies out there. However, approaches like guest posting are easy to replicate. Even if you’re the first past the post, a competitor can quickly unpick what you’ve done and replicate your approach.

Using a competitor’s backlink profile as a guideline is still an effective tool. However, only digital PR will provide you with unique links that are rich in value and almost impossible to replicate.

Digital PR Links Can Boost Referral Traffic

There’s no point in investing time and money in building exercises if they’re not going to lead to clicks. High-value links almost always lead to increased referral traffic. Why is this important? Simply put, it means you’re connecting with people who are more likely to convert into customers.

Links amassed from digital PR are more likely to connect you with the right people, helping you realize your marketing efforts more quickly.

Boost Your Brand and Establish Trust

If you’re leveraging digital PR effectively, you’re making sure your content is reaching the right audience. This naturally puts your brand in an ideal position. Once you’ve captured the attention of your target audience, you can look forward to increased engagement comes your next campaign.

However, digital PR isn’t all about spotlighting your brand. It’s also effective at demonstrating your brand that can be trusted. By earning links from authoritative voices in your chosen sector, you’re letting your target audience know you’re a brand worth investing in. Furthermore, once you’ve earned honorable mentions from top-tier publications, don’t be afraid to shout about your success.

How to Connect with the Right Publications

Link building with digital PR is certainly effective. However, this strategy depends on being able to connect with the right publications and journalists. If you’re not getting mentions from the right people, your links aren’t going to be valuable in the long run.

Usually the likes of HARO, Muck Rack, Business Wire, and BuzzStream work well. That being said, there are loads of different tools that are easily accessible.

When singling out journalists to contact, there’s no such thing as being too specific. The narrower your search criteria, the more likely it is that you’ll find someone who’ll take the bait.

How to Determine if a Digital PR Campaign Has Been Successful

What is digital PR success? Even if you’re actively using it as a link-building tactic, this is a question you’re going to have to answer to demonstrate its effectiveness to colleagues. The easiest way to showcase its strengths is to turn to cold hard facts and core metrics.

Use backlinks analytics tools to identify how many links you’ve earned since using digital PR. The best tools out there will provide you with an authority score.

Another simple way of measuring digital PR success is to look at referral traffic metrics and sales performance. The key thing here is to draw a correlation between upward trends and linked coverage.

Can Every Brand Benefit from Digital PR?

Although the digital PR benefits are obvious for larger businesses, even smaller brands can use it to bolster link-building campaigns. For B2B outfits, digital PR can prove an invaluable tool. By bringing insights from industry experts and detailed studies, you’ll quickly establish yourself as a frontrunner in your sector.

Don’t expect overnight success, especially if you’re spreading your SEO efforts thinly. However, patience will pay off. For modest-sized brands, digital PR is one of the easiest ways to earn high-value links from authoritative sources.

That being said, success hinges on how well you understand your target audience. Once you’ve determined the kind of content they’re looking for, the next steps are easy.