What is Digital PR (Public Relations) and How to Do It for SEO?

Digital PR (Public Relations) is the strategy of increasing a brand’s visibility and authority through digital channels. Digital PR is the online evolution of traditional PR, focused on building a brand’s presence on the web. Digital PR directly impacts SEO (Search Engine Optimization) by generating authoritative backlinks, increasing brand signals, and improving overall domain authority, which leads to better search engine rankings.

The importance of digital PR lies in its ability to create valuable signals that search engines use to determine website credibility and authority. Effective digital PR strategies include conducting data-driven research studies, distributing newsworthy press releases, engaging in newsjacking, networking with journalists, securing interview opportunities, sharing thought leadership content, leveraging influencer partnerships, and promoting content across multiple platforms.

Online PR strategies through well-planned campaigns with clear goals, defined target audiences, and compelling content significantly improve businesses’ SEO performance and build valuable brand reputation.

What Is Digital PR?

Digital PR, or online PR, is the practice of strategically building and managing a brand’s online presence and reputation through securing coverage on digital publications, websites, and social media platforms. Digital public relations combines traditional PR tactics with content marketing, social media, SEO, and influencer outreach to secure online coverage, build high-quality backlinks, and increase brand mentions across digital platforms.  

Digital public relations focuses on creating newsworthy, shareable content that appeals to online publications, influencers, and target audiences. Newsworthy, shareable content often includes original research, expert interviews, infographics, or interactive tools that provide genuine value and insight. Delivering relevant and timely content to digital publishers allows brands to earn media placements that drive referral traffic, enhance SEO performance, and build credibility.

Digital PR targets online channels and measures impact through metrics such as backlink quality, social engagement, organic traffic growth, and conversion rates, unlike traditional PR which focuses on print media, television, and radio, and measures success through advertising value equivalency (AVE) or column inches

The integration of digital PR with link building creates a powerful SEO strategy that combines relationship-building, content creation, and strategic outreach. Digital PR link building is more sustainable and effective than traditional link acquisition methods because it focuses on earning links through genuine media interest rather than artificial placement. Digital PR link building naturally aligns with Google’s quality guidelines, which prioritize links that are editorially given based on content merit.

What is the Importance of Digital PR in SEO?

The importance of digital PR in SEO stems from its ability to generate high-quality backlinks, increase brand visibility, and strengthen domain authority through third-party validation. Search engines like Google consider external links from reputable sources as votes of confidence, making them one of the most influential ranking factors in their algorithms.

Digital PR for SEO helps websites rank higher by improving key ranking signals that search engines use to evaluate website quality and relevance. When authoritative publications link to your website, search engines interpret these editorial links as endorsements, which can dramatically increase your site’s perceived authority. For example, a single backlink from a high-authority news site like the BBC or CNN can have more ranking impact than dozens of links from lower-quality sources. Quality editorial backlinks help establish topical relevance when they come from industry-specific publications, further enhancing your site’s ranking potential for related search queries.

The benefits of digital PR for SEO exceed backlinks. Digital PR generates valuable brand mentions (even without links) that search engines recognize as implied endorsements. Websites with strong brand signals rank better than those without, even with similar backlink profiles. 

Digital PR campaigns often result in increased social shares and engagement, which creates secondary SEO benefits by expanding content reach and driving direct traffic.

As search engines continue to refine their algorithms to prioritize quality over quantity, digital PR’s focus on earning prestigious placements aligns perfectly with sustainable, white-hat SEO practices.

What are the Most Common Digital PR Strategies?

The most common digital PR strategies help brands secure online coverage, build relationships with digital publishers, and increase online visibility. These digital PR tactics create multiple touchpoints for engaging with audiences and journalists, maximizing opportunities for media coverage and link acquisition. 

The most common digital PR strategies are listed below.

1. Conducting Data-Driven Research Studies

Data-driven research studies include collecting, analyzing, and presenting original data that provides new insights into industry trends, consumer behavior, or market developments. Data-driven research studies create newsworthy content that journalists are eager to cover, as they offer exclusive information not available elsewhere.

The benefit of data-driven research is its ability to position brands as thought leaders while generating substantial media coverage and high-quality backlinks. Original research is highly linkable because it becomes a primary source that other content creators must cite when referencing the findings.

To conduct data-driven research, follow the steps listed below.

1. Identify knowledge gaps or unanswered questions in your industry.
2. Use reliable methodologies for data collection, including surveys, data analysis, or partnerships with research institutions.
3. Present findings visually through infographics, interactive tools, or downloadable reports.
4. Include surprising statistics or counterintuitive findings to increase newsworthiness.
5. Segment data to provide insights relevant to different publications and audience segments.

A marketing software company might survey 1,000 marketers about their content strategies, analyze the results by industry and company size, and create a report highlighting trends and unexpected findings. This type of research often secures dozens of backlinks from industry publications looking for authoritative data to cite.

For example, HubSpot’s annual State of Marketing report attracts widespread coverage due to its extensive data on marketing trends.

2. Sharing Newsworthy Press Releases

Newsworthy press releases announce company developments, product launches, or industry contributions that deserve media attention. In digital PR, modern press releases go above traditional formats to include multimedia elements, data points, and expert quotes that make them more valuable to online publishers.

Press releases help brands control their narrative while providing journalists with the information they need to cover a story accurately. When distributed through trusted press release services, they reach thousands of journalists and news outlets simultaneously. Press releases generate media attention by providing journalists with complete, ready-to-publish information.

The tips on how to create effective press releases are below.

• Focus on genuinely newsworthy announcements that affect your industry or target audience.
• Include compelling data points, visuals, and expert quotes to add credibility.
• Structure content in a journalist-friendly format with the most important information first.
• Add a unique angle or human interest element to stand out from routine announcements.
• Optimize with relevant keywords while maintaining natural language for readers.

Search Atlas successfully used this strategy when launching the OTTO SEO autonomous AI agent. The press releases highlighted how Search Atlas OTTO SEO solved critical industry challenges as a revolutionary tool, included specific feature details that differentiated it from competitors, and provided quotes from the development team.

The newsworthy announcement earned coverage across major digital marketing publications, generating valuable backlinks and industry buzz while positioning Search Atlas as an innovation leader in the SEO space.

3. Engaging in Newsjacking

Newsjacking involves strategically inserting your brand into trending news stories or conversations by offering relevant expertise, unique perspectives, or valuable additions to the narrative. The newsjacking tactic takes advantage of the existing media interest in a topic to gain visibility for your brand.

Newsjacking secures immediate media coverage by associating your brand with topics already garnering attention. When done respectfully and authentically, newsjacking positions your company as current and relevant in fast-moving news cycles.

Monitor trending topics and breaking news in your industry using tools like Google Alerts, Talkwalker, or media monitoring services. Respond quickly with genuinely valuable insights or perspectives and confirm your contribution is relevant to the news story and your brand expertise.

Avoid controversies or tragedies unless your brand can provide meaningful assistance and prepare templates and approval processes in advance to enable rapid responses.

4. Networking with Journalists and Bloggers

Networking with journalists and bloggers refers to creating genuine connections with media professionals who cover topics relevant to your industry. The networking strategy focuses on understanding what specific journalists need and providing value before requesting coverage.

Strong media relationships lead to more consistent coverage over time, as journalists are more likely to consider pitches from sources they know and trust. These relationships provide insights into what types of stories resonate with specific publications.

The tips for media networking are listed below.

• Research journalists thoroughly, understanding their beat, recent articles, and preferred communication styles.
• Engage with their work by sharing thoughtful comments or insights on social media.
• Provide value first through expert quotes, data, or sources without expecting immediate coverage.
• Personalize all outreach with specific references to their work.
• Respect their time and deadlines by sending concise, relevant pitches.

The Search Atlas Digital PR Tool (DRP) facilitates media networking by streamlining your outreach to publishers. The Search Atlas Digital PR Tool has an Inbox feature that helps you maintain organized communication threads with publishers, enabling you to build stronger relationships over time by tracking conversation status and milestones.

5. Obtaining Interview Opportunities to offer Expert Insights

Obtaining interview opportunities to offer expert insights positions brand representatives as authoritative voices in their field who provide valuable commentary on industry trends, challenges, or developments. Obtaining interview opportunities to offer expert insights showcases a brand’s expertise through the credibility of established media outlets.

Expert interviews increase brand authority while creating opportunities for brand mentions and backlinks. Expert interviews help humanize companies by giving them a recognizable voice and personality through their spokespersons.

The best practices to secure more interview opportunities are below.

1. Identify key spokespeople within your organization with deep expertise and strong communication skills.
2. Create detailed expert profiles highlighting credentials, areas of expertise, and previous media appearances.
3. Monitor relevant journalist queries through platforms like Qwoted or ResponseSource.
4. Develop thought-provoking perspectives on industry issues that offer fresh insights.
5. Practice concise, jargon-free responses to common questions in your field.

The Search Atlas Digital PR Tool helps you manage outreach campaigns for expert interview opportunities. Using Campaign and Template features, you can efficiently reach out to publishers who might be interested in your expert insights, and track the progress of these conversations through the milestone-tracking functionality.

6. Sharing Compelling Thought Leadership Content

Sharing compelling thought leadership content demonstrates a brand’s forward-thinking expertise and unique perspective on industry challenges, opportunities, or trends. Thought leadership content exceeds promotional messaging to offer genuine insights that advance industry conversations.

Identify specific areas where your brand has unique knowledge or perspective and focus on solving real problems faced by your industry or audience. For example, McKinsey & Company’s research reports on business transformation regularly earn coverage and backlinks from business publications due to their depth and authority.

Take a clear stance on industry issues instead of offering generic observations. These bring no value to the user. The support for your claims should come directly from your real-world experiences. Your audience wants an authentic inside look at the actual strategies that drove your success. Distribute content across owned media, executive LinkedIn profiles, and industry publications

Sharing thought leadership helps brands establish authority in their niche, which attracts media attention and link opportunities. Thought leadership content differentiates companies from competitors by showcasing their unique vision and expertise.

7. Using Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing in digital PR involves collaborating with relevant online personalities who have established credibility and audience trust in specific niches. Unlike purely promotional influencer partnerships, digital PR influencer collaborations focus on creating authentic content that serves both the influencer’s audience and the brand’s PR objectives.

Collaborating with influencers delivers distinct benefits for digital PR campaigns. Influencers’ targeted audiences often match precisely with your ideal customer profile, giving you a more focused reach than traditional media placements. Targeted audiences typically demonstrate higher engagement rates with trusted influencer content, resulting in more meaningful brand interactions.

From a cost perspective, influencer partnerships offer flexible investment options based on your campaign goals and budget constraints. While pricing varies based on audience size, industry, and content format (from $100 to $10,000+ per post), most businesses find mid-tier influencers deliver the best value for digital PR purposes. When paired with the right content and offer, the investment in influencer marketing generates considerable returns.

8. Promoting Product- or Service-Focused PR

Product- or service-focused PR highlights innovations, improvements, or unique features that differentiate offerings in the marketplace. Product-/service-focused PR surpasses basic product announcements to tell compelling stories about how products solve real problems or create new possibilities.

Effective product PR generates media coverage that reaches potential customers at the consideration stage of their journey and creates opportunities for product reviews, comparisons, and recommendations from trusted third parties.

To create effective product-focused PR campaigns, implement the best practices listed below.

1. Focus on the problem your product solves rather than its features alone.
2. Quantify the impact with data showing performance improvements, efficiency gains, or cost savings. 
3. Position launches within broader industry trends or societal challenges.
4. Secure third-party validation through testimonials, case studies, or independent testing.
5. Create compelling visual assets, including high-quality product photography and demonstration videos.
6. Develop product-specific landing pages optimized for both users and journalists.

A smart home device company launching a new energy-saving system might focus digital PR on quantifiable environmental impact, unusual use cases from beta testers, and integration capabilities with existing systems, making the story more compelling than a simple feature announcement.

9. Repurposing Content Across Multiple Platforms

Repurposing content across multiple platforms involves adapting successful content into various formats to maximize its reach and value across different platforms and audiences. Content repurposing strategy extends the lifespan of PR assets by presenting the same core information in ways that suit different consumption preferences.

Repurposing content, sometimes called recycling content, increases the return on investment for original research or resource-intensive content creation. Repurposing content across multiple platforms helps reach audience segments that prefer different content formats, from visual learners to podcast listeners.

To repurpose content successfully, identify your most successful content based on engagement, backlinks, or media mentions. Break down content into smaller, platform-specific pieces and adapt content formats based on platform requirements (e.g., vertical video for Instagram, short-form for X, etc.). Add new insights or updates when repurposing older content to maintain relevance.

Examples of repurposing content across multiple platforms include extracting audio from video content to create podcast episodes, using blog post transcripts as scripts for YouTube videos, or pulling statistics from research reports to create X-thread insights.

10. Promoting Content on Social Media Channels

Promoting content on social media channels strategically distributes PR content across relevant platforms to increase visibility, engagement, and sharing. Promoting content on social media channels uses platform-specific tactics to maximize the impact of PR assets and extend their reach past initial media coverage.

Social media promotion or amplification helps PR content reach wider audiences while generating additional engagement signals that influence search rankings. Social media amplification creates opportunities for content to be discovered by journalists and influencers looking for trending topics.

To maximize social media promotion for digital PR, implement the procedures below.

1. Optimize content for each platform’s unique format, audience, and algorithm preferences.
2. Develop platform-specific hashtag strategies to increase discoverability.
3. Create engaging micro-content that entices users to share with their networks.
4. Tag relevant journalists and publications when sharing newsworthy content.
5. Actively participate in industry conversations and trending topics.
6. Monitor engagement metrics to identify which content resonates most with each platform’s audience.

A travel company releasing a study on emerging destination trends could create short video highlights for Instagram, discussion threads on Twitter focusing on specific destinations, detailed analysis articles for LinkedIn, and visual destination guides for Pinterest, each designed to perform well on its respective platforms.

How to Create a Digital PR Campaign?

Creating a digital PR campaign requires careful planning, strategic execution, and consistent measurement. A well-structured digital PR campaign helps businesses achieve meaningful media coverage, generate quality backlinks, and increase online visibility. 

The steps to create a digital PR campaign are outlined below.

1. Set Clear Goals

Setting clear goals for digital PR campaigns involves establishing specific, measurable objectives that align with broader marketing and business outcomes. Clear, well-defined goals focus campaign efforts and provide clear criteria for evaluating success.

Clear goal setting guarantees that all campaign elements work toward meaningful outcomes rather than vanity metrics. Clear goals help teams prioritize tactics and allocate resources effectively based on expected impact.

Tips for setting digital PR goals are below.

• Define output goals (e.g., number of placements) and outcome goals (e.g., referral traffic, domain authority increase).
• Ensure goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound).
• Align digital PR objectives with broader SEO, marketing, and business goals.
• Create short-term campaign objectives that support long-term brand-building strategy.
• Establish clear KPIs for each goal to track progress consistently.

When setting goals for your digital PR campaigns, consider the capabilities of the Search Atlas Digital PR Tool. The Search Atlas Digital PR Tool’s campaign management features help you organize outreach based on specific objectives, and its milestone tracking allows you to monitor progress toward your goals through stages like Idle, Negotiation, Won, and Lost.

2. Organize Your Resources

Organizing your resources concerns assessing and allocating the budget, personnel, tools, and assets needed to execute a digital PR campaign. Organizing PR resources is a preparatory step that assures all required elements are in place before the campaign launch, preventing delays and resource shortfalls during implementation. Proper resource organization creates operational efficiency throughout the campaign lifecycle.

To organize your resources for digital PR campaigns, implement the strategies below.

1. Assemble a cross-functional team including PR specialists, content creators, designers, and SEO experts.
2. Develop a detailed campaign budget covering content creation, tool subscriptions, and potential paid distribution.
3. Create an asset inventory listing existing content that can be repurposed or expanded.
4. Establish a production timeline with clear milestones and responsibilities.
5. Set up project management systems to track tasks, deadlines, and resource utilization.
6. Identify potential bottlenecks and develop contingency plans for critical campaign elements.

Resource allocation directly impacts campaign scope and potential outcomes. For example, a campaign with dedicated design resources can create high-quality visual assets that attract more media attention than text-only campaigns. Similarly, allocating a budget for professional video production might enable coverage in visual media outlets that otherwise wouldn’t be accessible, expanding the campaign’s reach and link-building potential.

3. Define Your Target Audience

Defining your target audience refers to identifying and understanding the specific groups of people your digital PR campaign aims to reach and influence. Defining your target audience includes both the end consumers you want to engage and the media professionals who will help amplify your message.

A clear audience definition makes sure that campaign content resonates with the right people and appears in publications they trust. Defining an audience helps tailor pitches to the specific interests and needs of different media outlets and journalists.

Identify audience pain points, interests, and questions your campaign can address and segment your audience based on demographics, behaviors, or interests if relevant. With a clear understanding of your target audience, you can use the Search Atlas Digital PR Tool to create campaigns that focus on publishers who reach your defined audience.

4. Research Your Press Idea

Researching your press idea involves validating and refining your campaign concept through data analysis, competitive review, and media landscape assessment. Researching your press confirms your story angle is both newsworthy and differentiated from existing coverage.

Thorough idea research prevents developing campaigns that fail to gain traction due to topic saturation or lack of media interest. Researching press ideas helps identify unique angles that make familiar topics fresh and appealing to journalists.

Analyze recent media coverage in your target area to identify trends and gaps, and conduct keyword research through a tool like the Search Atlas Keyword Research Tool. The Search Atlas Keyword Research Tool helps you understand related search interests and competition. 

Use social listening tools to gauge audience interest in potential topics and review successful competitor campaigns for insights and differentiation opportunities. You can test your angle with friendly media contacts.

5. Create Unique Content

Creating unique content is about developing original, valuable assets that offer genuine insights, data, or utility to both media outlets and their audiences. Creating unique content forms the foundation of digital PR campaigns, providing a compelling reason for coverage and link inclusion.

Unique content differentiates your brand from competitors while giving journalists reasons to feature your campaign. High-quality, original content is more likely to earn prominent placement and natural backlinks.

The Search Atlas Content Genius Tool streamlines the process of creating unique, linkable content for digital PR campaigns. The Search Atlas Content Genius Tool analyzes top-performing content across your industry to identify gaps and opportunities for original content development. Search Atlas Content Genius Tool uses AI to generate creative content concepts that align with current media interests while maintaining your brand’s unique perspective.

The Search Atlas Content Genius Tool integrates seamlessly with digital PR workflows, allowing teams to quickly develop media-worthy content assets without extensive manual research. The platform’s content enhancement features confirm that every piece meets journalistic standards for accuracy, relevance, and newsworthiness.

6. Research and Build Your List of Journalists

Researching and building your list of journalists involves identifying and qualifying media professionals who are most likely to be interested in your specific campaign based on their beat, recent articles, and audience. Researching and building your list of journalists replaces generic mass outreach with personalized, relevant pitching.

A well-researched media list seriously increases response rates and coverage success by ensuring pitches reach journalists who cover relevant topics. A journalist list helps build valuable long-term media relationships rather than creating journalist frustration through irrelevant pitches.

Use media database tools like Muck Rack, Roxhill, or Cision to identify journalists by beat and outlet, and analyze recent articles to confirm current interests and coverage patterns.

7. Craft a Distribution Strategy

Crafting a distribution strategy entails planning how, when, and where to share your digital PR content for maximum impact. A well-designed distribution strategy regards media preferences, timing factors, and follow-up protocols to ensure campaign assets reach their intended audience.

A distribution strategy increases coverage probability by respecting journalist workflows and preferences and creates multiple opportunities for pickup rather than relying on a single outreach effort.

To develop distribution strategies for digital PR campaigns, follow the guidelines below.

1. Segment your media list based on publication authority, audience reach, and relevance.
2. Consider tiered outreach with exclusivity offers for top-tier publications.
3. Develop customized pitch angles for different publication types and journalist beats.
4. Create a distribution timeline that accounts for news cycles and editorial calendars.
5. Plan for follow-up communications without becoming intrusive.
6. Prepare supplementary materials to support different types of coverage.

To streamline outreach efforts, the Search Atlas Digital PR Tool offers a powerful Outreach Campaign feature designed to simplify and optimize media engagement. Users can create targeted campaigns based on specific keywords or domains, apply advanced filters such as domain rating, traffic, and keyword count, and blacklist irrelevant sources to maintain high-quality outreach lists.

The Search Atlas OTTO SEO Tool supplements this functionality through AI-backed campaign execution tools that take distribution further.

1. Cloud Stacks. OTTO’s Cloud Stacks feature allows you to generate high-quality content using AI, publish it across 13 proprietary websites, and secure indexing, all in one workflow. The Cloud Stacks feature automates the link acquisition process by embedding editorial backlinks into indexed content.
   
2. Press Release Distribution. OTTO’s Press Release Distribution feature facilitates large-scale press distribution for brand announcements, ensuring keyword-rich press releases are published across reputable media networks. These placements generate backlinks, referral traffic, and social signals that support SEO growth. 
3. WILDFIRE Link Exchange System. OTTO’s WILDFIRE (Websites Inter-Linking Directly Fostering Influence, Reputation, and Engagement) enables you to earn high-authority backlinks through a 2:1 smart linking network. Add two relevant outbound links and receive one quality inbound backlink in return. All suggestions are vetted by OTTO’s automated matching engine, which evaluates domain power, topical relevance, and spam signals. You maintain full control over which links are accepted or declined.

These capabilities turn the Search Atlas OTTO SEO Tool into a self-scaling engine for digital PR, allowing SEO teams to build authority, visibility, and relevance across the web with fewer manual inputs and faster execution.

8. Write a Compelling Pitch

Writing a compelling pitch requires crafting personalized, concise outreach that communicates why your story matters to a specific journalist and their audience. An effective pitch quickly captures attention and makes it easy for journalists to evaluate your story’s potential.

The tips for writing compelling pitches are below.

• Create attention-grabbing subject lines that highlight the story’s news value.
• Personalize each pitch with specific references to the journalist’s recent work,
• Lead with the most compelling aspect of your story, whether that’s surprising data, a unique angle, or timely relevance.
• Keep initial pitches concise (typically 150-200 words) with options for additional information.
• Include all essential details (what, why, who, visual assets, interview availability) without unnecessary background.

The Search Atlas Digital PR Tool streamlines the process of crafting compelling pitches for publishers through its Email Template feature. The Email Template feature has prewritten templates and allows you to save and reuse effective pitch templates.

How to Measure the Digital PR Campaign?

Measuring a digital PR campaign involves tracking, analyzing, and evaluating performance metrics to assess effectiveness, demonstrate ROI, and optimize future strategies. 

The 5 essential steps to measure digital PR campaigns effectively are listed below.

1. Track Backlink Acquisition and Quality. Count the total number of backlinks generated from your campaign activities and analyze the domain authority scores of linking websites. Evaluate how contextually relevant your backlinks are within the content they appear in and assess the variety of referring domains to provide healthy link diversity. Monitor link retention rates over time to ensure sustainable growth in your backlink profile.
2. Monitor Brand Mentions and Sentiment. Use Google Alerts and other monitoring tools to track the volume of online brand mentions resulting from your campaign. Analyze sentiment patterns to determine if mentions are positive, neutral, or negative. Evaluate the mention quality based on publication authority and audience reach, then compare your mention frequency to pre-campaign baselines to quantify improvement.
3. Evaluate SEO Impact and Ranking Improvements. Use tools like Google Search Console to measure ranking changes for your target keywords. Track domain authority improvements over time and monitor organic traffic increases to campaign landing pages. Analyze click-through rates from search results and assess your campaign’s contribution to overall organic visibility for relevant search queries.
4. Analyze Referral Traffic and Engagement. Measure direct traffic from media placements using analytics platforms with proper UTM parameters. Track engagement metrics including time on site, pages per session, and bounce rates. Monitor conversion rates from referral sources and analyze user journey paths to identify content engagement patterns. Compare engagement quality across different publication sources.
5. Calculate ROI and Business Impact. Determine your cost per acquired link or mention to establish efficiency benchmarks. Compare campaign costs against traffic and conversion value to demonstrate return on investment. Analyze your digital PR ROI compared to other marketing channels and measure the contribution to your sales pipeline through proper attribution models. Establish a clear correlation between PR activities and business objectives.

What are the Best Digital PR Tools?

The best digital PR tools provide specialized features for campaign planning, media relationship management, content distribution, and performance measurement. The best digital PR tools streamline workflows, improve targeting accuracy, and boost reporting capabilities across the digital PR process. 

The best digital PR tools include free options like Google Alerts and Google Search Console, alongside specialized platforms like the Search Atlas SEO Platform. These tools cover different aspects of the digital PR workflow, from content distribution to relationship management and performance measurement. 

Google Alerts is a free monitoring tool that tracks brand mentions and industry news by sending email notifications when your specified keywords appear online. Google Alerts service helps you identify unlinked brand mentions for outreach opportunities and monitor competitor activities in real-time. The automated alerts allow you to quickly respond to media coverage and engage with relevant conversations about your brand or industry.

Google Search Console (GSC) monitors the SEO impact of digital PR efforts by tracking backlinks, referring domains, and organic search performance resulting from media coverage. The GSC shows how acquired backlinks influence keyword rankings and visibility, helping quantify PR campaign success. The detailed performance data helps connect PR activities to tangible search performance improvements.

Coverage monitoring services (like Meltwater, Mention, Brandwatch) track online mentions, sentiment, and reach.

Search Atlas SEO Platform is an all-in-one AI-powered SEO platform that offers Search Atlas Digital PR Tool and Search Atlas OTTO SEO. Search Atlas Digital PR Tool is a specialized outreach tool that streamlines the process of connecting with publishers for link-building purposes. Search Atlas Digital PR Tool helps manage the entire outreach workflow, from campaign creation to prospect discovery and relationship management. 

By organizing campaigns based on keywords or uploaded CSV files, tracking publisher communications through a centralized inbox, and managing outreach templates, the Search Atlas DRP tool improves efficiency in digital PR campaigns focused on link acquisition.

Search Atlas OTTO SEO, the autonomous AI agent within the Search Atlas SEO platform, brings a new level of efficiency to digital PR by automating content deployment, backlink acquisition, and outreach sequencing.

Combining free tools with comprehensive Search Atlas Digital PR Outreach Tools creates a seamless workflow from campaign planning to performance measurement, directly connecting PR activities to search ranking improvements.

How to Start a Digital PR Agency?

There are 10 essential steps to start a digital PR agency. These steps will help you become a digital PR specialist, attract clients, and build a sustainable operation with long-term growth potential.

 The ten steps to starting a digital PR agency are listed below.

1. Develop digital PR expertise. Master media relations, content creation, and link-building strategies by understanding how digital PR impacts SEO through backlink acquisition and brand signals. Stay current with trends and search algorithms through industry publications while building practical experience with personal or pro bono projects to establish credibility.
2. Define your agency’s niche and positioning. Identify industries where you have existing knowledge, contacts, or interest to differentiate your services from competitors. Research competition in potential niches to find underserved market segments while developing a unique selling proposition that explains why clients should choose your agency.
3. Establish your business structure and brand. Choose an appropriate business structure (sole proprietorship, LLC, corporation), register your business, and create a compelling brand identity that reflects your positioning. Build a professional website showcasing your expertise, services, and results while setting up proper financial systems to manage growth.
4. Define your digital PR services. Create clearly defined offerings including media relations, link building campaigns, content creation, strategy development, crisis management, and performance reporting. Establish clear deliverables, processes, and pricing structures for each service to help clients understand what they’re buying.
5. Create digital PR packages. Build tiered offerings (starter, professional, enterprise) and digital PR packages that align deliverables with client goals, e.g., 5 placements/month, high-authority domains only, or campaign-by-campaign pricing. Use white label SEO services like Search Atlas White-Label SEO to deliver fulfillment under your brand, including customizable reports, pitch tracking, and publisher communication.
6. Build essential systems and tools. Implement CRM systems, project management software, media databases, SEO and digital PR tools like Search Atlas, reporting dashboards, accounting software, and communication tools to run your agency efficiently and deliver consistent results for clients.
7. Develop a client acquisition strategy. Create thought leadership content, develop case studies highlighting successful campaigns, implement your own digital PR strategy, network with complementary service providers, utilize LinkedIn for targeted outreach, offer educational workshops, and consider strategic cold outreach to companies that would benefit from your services.
8. Implement digital PR management systems. Develop standardized processes for client onboarding, campaign planning, quality control, reporting, communication, issue escalation, and performance review to ensure consistent results and maximize operational efficiency as your agency grows.
9. Become a recognizable digital PR specialist. Establish yourself as a recognized digital PR expert by sharing original insights through content, speaking at industry events, contributing to publications, participating in online communities, creating proprietary methodologies, pursuing advanced certifications, and showcasing exceptional campaign results to command premium rates.
10. Develop enterprise-level solutions. Create specialized offerings for larger organizations with multiple divisions or locations by using Search Atlas Enterprise SEO capabilities to manage complex digital PR campaigns. Develop scalable systems to handle the unique requirements of enterprise clients who typically have larger budgets and longer contract terms, accelerating your agency’s growth and stability.

Digital PR agency owners and independent consultants with established client bases can earn considerable amounts, with successful digital PR agency founders potentially earning $150,000 to $300,000+ annually once their business reaches stability. The flexibility of agency ownership allows for uncapped earning potential as the business grows and develops multiple revenue streams.

Is Digital PR Still Good for SEO?

Yes, digital PR remains extremely valuable for SEO in 2025, and its importance continues to grow as search algorithms evolve to prioritize quality signals. As Google’s systems become more sophisticated at identifying natural, editorially given links and genuine brand authority, digital PR has become even more central to successful SEO strategies.

What is the Difference Between Digital PR and Traditional PR?

Digital PR and traditional PR share core relationship-building principles but differ in their channels, measurement approaches, and integration with other marketing disciplines. Understanding the difference between digital PR and traditional PR helps agency founders develop appropriate service offerings and operational procedures.

The main differences between digital PR and traditional PR are listed below.

1. Focus and Channels. Digital PR or electronic PR primarily targets online publications, blogs, social media platforms, and digital influencers to build visibility across digital channels that support SEO objectives and drive website traffic. Traditional PR typically focuses on print publications, television, radio, and in-person events with broader brand awareness goals but fewer direct digital benefits.
2. Measurement and Analytics. Digital PR employs precise measurement tools tracking backlinks, domain authority, keyword rankings, and referral traffic, allowing for detailed ROI calculations and performance optimization. Traditional PR often relies on metrics like advertising value equivalency (AVE), potential reach, and qualitative brand perception measures with less direct connection to business outcomes.
3. Content Approach. Digital PR creates content specifically designed for online consumption and sharing, including interactive elements, data visualizations, and strategic keyword optimization that increase search visibility. Traditional PR content follows conventional formats like press releases and print-friendly materials.
4. Specialization Requirements. Digital PR requires specialized knowledge of SEO principles, search algorithms, online user behavior, and technical aspects like link attributes and domain authority metrics essential for campaign effectiveness. Traditional PR emphasizes media relationship management, event coordination, crisis communication, and conventional storytelling without the technical requirements.
5. Integration with Marketing. Digital PR integrates closely with SEO, content marketing, and social media strategies to create cohesive digital visibility campaigns across owned, earned, and paid channels. Traditional PR typically operates more independently from other marketing functions, with less direct connection to digital strategies and channels.

What to Know about Digital PR Besides Link Building?

Digital PR encompasses a broad scope of activities including reputation management, brand awareness campaigns, thought leadership positioning, and crisis mitigation, while link building focuses specifically on acquiring hyperlinks from external websites to improve domain authority and search rankings.

The relationship between digital PR and link building is complementary. Effective digital PR naturally generates high-quality backlinks as a byproduct of compelling story placement, while dedicated link building tactics can supplement these efforts by targeting specific authority gaps in a website’s backlink profile.

What to Know about Digital PR Besides Digital Marketing?

Digital PR is the practice of securing earned media coverage and third-party endorsements across online publications to amplify brand credibility, authority, and visibility. While digital marketing encompasses all online promotion activities, including paid advertising, social media management, content marketing, and email campaigns that a brand controls directly, digital PR specifically targets earned media that carries the implicit endorsement of trusted independent sources. 

The relationship between digital PR and digital marketing is synergistic. Digital PR builds the authoritative foundation and credibility signals that upgrade the performance of all digital marketing channels. Comprehensive digital marketing strategies amplify and extend the reach of successful digital PR placements through owned and paid media distribution.  

Understanding online PR in digital marketing as distinct and interconnected disciplines allows organizations to use each approach’s unique strengths while creating strategies that maximize overall digital performance.