Digital PR: How to Get Press Mentions for Your Business

What digital PR is

Digital PR means earning coverage in online publications by offering journalists something their readers care about. This guide covers how to find a story, pitch it and judge the result.

Digital PR is earning coverage in online publications, blogs and podcasts by giving journalists something their readers want, such as expert comment, information from your own work or a local story. Nobody can promise coverage. Google does not say that press coverage itself raises rankings, so judge digital PR by reach, credibility and the enquiries that follow.

Digital PR is the practice of earning mentions in online news sites, trade publications, blogs, newsletters and podcasts. You earn them by giving journalists and editors something useful to their audience, and the publication decides what to run. If you pay for the space, it is advertising or sponsored content, and it should be labelled that way.

Digital PR sits beside other activities. Traditional PR aims at print, radio and television, and digital PR applies the same craft to online outlets, where coverage can include a link to your site. Link building starts from the link and works back to a reason, while digital PR starts from a story and accepts links as a possible result. Content marketing publishes on your own site and channels, whereas PR depends on someone else's editorial decision.

Coverage works at the top of the buying path. It makes people aware of you, and it rarely closes a sale on its own. The guide to the marketing funnel shows how awareness connects to the later stages that turn a reader into an enquiry.

Does digital PR help SEO?

It can contribute, but the effect is indirect and not promised. Google's documentation says it uses links as a signal when working out what pages are about and when finding new pages, and that there is much more to Google Search than links. It does not say how much any one link counts, and it does not say that press coverage as such improves rankings. Many mentions carry no link at all, and publications often mark their links with attributes such as nofollow or sponsored, which Google treats as hints.

Treat any ranking benefit as a possible by-product. The dependable returns are that real readers see your name, that a journalist's choice to quote you adds credibility, and that some readers visit your site, search for you by name or get in touch.

Avoid the tactics that Google calls link spam. Its spam policies list buying or selling links to affect rankings, and links with keyword-rich anchor text in articles, guest posts or press releases distributed on other sites, among other examples. Paid placements are acceptable when the links carry the sponsored or nofollow attribute. Nobody can honestly promise you a number of links or a position in search results from PR.

Check that your business is ready for coverage

Coverage sends strangers to your website for a short time, so prepare what they will see before you pitch.

• A clear page that says what you do, who it is for and how to get in touch. Decide whether readers from an article should land on the home page or on a page built for them. The guide to landing page vs website explains the difference.
• A named spokesperson who can speak plainly about your field and who can answer within the day when a journalist writes.
• Facts you can support. If you quote a figure from your own work, keep the source, the method and the date.
• A next step on the page that suits a first visit, such as a guide to read or a simple enquiry. The guides to conversion rate optimisation and to writing a call to action cover how to make that step clear.
• A short description of the business, photographs and logo files ready to send.

What counts as a story

A story is something new, timely, local or useful to a publication's readers. A new website, a new customer or a new branch is rarely news to anyone outside the business. Look for angles that serve the reader.

Do not pitch a plain product announcement, a sales message or a claim you cannot support. An editor will read it as an advert, and a weak pitch makes the next one harder to get read.

Find the right outlets and journalists

Pitch fewer people with better reasons. Read what each outlet publishes, including the last few weeks of articles, and note who writes about your field. Make a short list of trade publications, local news sites, specialist blogs, newsletters and podcasts whose readers are your customers or influence them. For each person, record the name, the topics, the kind of piece they write and how they prefer to be contacted, which many state on their contact or about page.

Check what a writer has already said on your topic. If they ran the story recently, find a new angle or choose someone else. Some services and social media posts collect requests from journalists who are looking for sources. Check the terms and the cost of any such service yourself, and respond only where you really are the expert.

How to pitch a journalist

1. Write to one named person about something they cover.
2. Put the story in the subject line, in plain words.
3. In the first two sentences, say what the story is, why it matters now and why their readers care.
4. Offer something they can use: a quote, a person to interview, facts with sources, photographs they may use. Call it exclusive only if it is.
5. Keep it short, usually two or three short paragraphs. Do not attach large files. Link to a page or folder instead.
6. Say when you are available.
7. Follow up once, a few days later, with something new or a shorter version. Then stop.

A made-up pitch could read: "Subject: Local bakery sees demand shift as winter starts. Hello Sam, you wrote last week about rising ingredient costs for small food businesses. I run a bakery and can explain how we have changed our range this season, with photographs. I am free for a call tomorrow morning." Keep your own version specific to the writer and the story.

A press release is one format and not a requirement. A short personal email usually does more than a formal release sent to a list. If you do write one, put the news in the first paragraph and the contact details at the end. Google's spam policies list press releases distributed on other sites with keyword-rich anchor text as link spam, so do not use releases as a way to plant links.

A journalist who declines owes you no explanation. Thank them, do not argue, and keep the relationship, since they may need an expert on another day.

Prepare a press page and a few assets

Put what journalists need in one place on your website so that they do not have to ask. A simple media page can hold a short description of the business that can be pasted as written, the names, roles and photographs of spokespeople, logo files and product photographs with a line on how they may be used, a contact route that a person checks, and a few facts, each with its date.

Publish only what you are happy to see quoted. Make sure you hold the rights to every photograph and have written consent from the people shown. Rules on image rights differ by country, so ask a lawyer if you are unsure.

What to do when you are covered

• Thank the writer and share the article.
• Link to it from your own site, and check that the link in the article points to the page you intended.
• If there is a factual error, ask politely for a correction and give the right fact with a source. The editor decides.
• If the article names you but does not link to you, one polite request is fine. Do not press it.
• Before you use a publication's name or logo in an "as seen in" line, check its terms and permission, and ask a lawyer if unsure.
• Make sure readers who arrive have a sensible next step, as described above.
• Log the date, the outlet, the link and what the coverage brought in.

How to measure digital PR

Record the pitches you sent, the replies you received and the pieces that ran. Then look at what the coverage did for the business. In Google Analytics, the referral report shows visits from the article. Count enquiries that mention it, and ask new customers where they heard of you. In Search Console, searches for your business name may rise after coverage, although they can also change for other reasons.

Do not judge PR by the number of links alone. A short mention in a publication your customers read is worth more than a link on a site nobody visits. Results take months to build, and nobody can promise a date or an outcome.

Promises to refuse and mistakes to avoid

• A promise of a set number of mentions or links within a set time.
• Paid editorial presented as unpaid, or sponsored content without a label.
• Mass emails to hundreds of journalists who cover other subjects.
• Invented or unsupported figures in a pitch.
• Pitching a story you cannot back up, or a spokesperson who is never available.
• Chasing links instead of relevance.

The Liftup digital marketing page describes the team's marketing services.

Questions and answers

What is digital PR?

Digital PR is earning coverage in online news sites, trade publications, blogs, newsletters and podcasts by giving journalists something their readers want. The publication decides what to run, so coverage can never be promised. Space you pay for is advertising or sponsored content and should be labelled as such.

How do I get a journalist to cover my business?

Find a story that serves the journalist's readers, such as expert comment, information from your own work or a local angle. Write a short personal email to one named person who covers your subject, put the story in the first two sentences and offer a quote, facts and photographs. Follow up once and accept a no politely.

Does PR help SEO?

It can contribute indirectly, but nobody can promise it. Google says it uses links as one signal among many, and it does not say that press coverage itself raises rankings. Judge PR by reach, credibility and the enquiries that follow, and treat any ranking effect as a possible bonus.

How long does digital PR take?

There is no reliable timetable. A reply to a current news story can run within hours, while building relationships and a record of coverage usually takes months. Be cautious of anyone who promises coverage or a date.

Do I need a press release?

Usually not. A short personal email to a relevant journalist often does more than a formal release sent to a list. If you write a release, put the news first and the contact details last, and do not use it to spread keyword-rich links, which Google lists as link spam.

Should I pay for press coverage?

Paying for space is advertising or sponsored content, and it should be labelled. Under Google's guidance, paid links should carry the sponsored or nofollow attribute. Do not pay anyone who offers editorial coverage as a fixed deliverable, and check the advertising rules in the country where it will run.

What if a journalist gets a fact wrong?

Write to the journalist or the editor promptly and politely, give the correct fact and add a source. The publication decides whether and how to correct it. Keep your tone factual, and keep the relationship intact.