What is digital PR? How it earns links and coverage

What is digital PR?

Digital PR is earning coverage, mentions and backlinks from online publications by giving journalists and editors something worth writing about: original data, expert commentary, a useful tool or a timely story. It borrows from traditional PR, but success is measured in links and the visitors they send rather than printed coverage.

Common digital PR tactics

Data studies. A survey or analysis with a clear headline finding that reporters can cite.
Expert commentary. Answering journalist requests with a specific, quotable comment.
Reactive PR. Offering a fast, informed take when news breaks in your field.
Free tools and calculators. Something useful that writers link to when they cover the topic.
Launch and milestone stories. Real news about your product, pitched to the outlets that cover it.

Digital PR vs link outreach

Digital PR pitches a new story to journalists. When it works it can earn links from very large news sites in a short burst, but results are hard to predict. Product link outreach pitches editors of posts that already exist and already cover your category, such as best-of lists, comparisons, resource pages and how-to guides. It's slower per link but steadier, and the links sit on pages your buyers read.

Many teams do both: PR for reach and authority, outreach for a steady flow of relevant links. Digital PR for SaaS covers when PR is worth it for a software company.

Measuring digital PR

Count coverage, but look closer at what it did: how many pieces linked to you, whether the links are followed, how relevant the outlets are, and whether referral visits or branded searches rose. News sites often nofollow outbound links. Those links still send readers, and Google treats nofollow as a hint. Coverage that names you without a link is worth a polite follow-up; see unlinked mention.

Example

Margin publishing a survey of 2,000 students on how they lose track of sources, then pitching the findings to education journalists, is digital PR.

Putting it into practice

Where to use it: Expert quote email template. For the longer version, read when digital PR is worth it for a SaaS company.

Sources

Google Search Central Blog: Evolving "nofollow", new ways to identify the nature of links (September 2019)

Questions people ask

Is digital PR the same as link building?

It's one kind of link building. Digital PR earns links by pitching journalists a story, data or expert comment. Other link building methods, like outreach to existing posts or reclaiming lost links, pitch editors of pages that already exist. Many teams combine them.

Do nofollow links from news sites help?

They help in other ways. They send readers, build brand recognition and can lead to more coverage. Since 2019 Google treats nofollow as a hint it may use rather than a strict block. They pass less ranking credit than followed links, so don't measure PR on links alone.

Is digital PR worth it for a small SaaS?

Sometimes. If you have real data, a strong founder voice or genuine news, a small campaign can earn authority fast. If you mainly need links from pages buyers read when choosing a tool, outreach to existing lists, comparisons and guides is usually more direct.