Digital PR is the most scalable link building strategy for earning links from high-authority publications — news sites, industry publications, and major blogs. It combines content marketing with traditional PR tactics.
What Makes Content Newsworthy?
Journalists and publishers link to content that provides their readers with something new or interesting:
- Original data: Surveys, studies, analyses of public data
- Trends: "We analyzed 10,000 X and here's what we found"
- Rankings & comparisons: "Best cities for X" or industry rankings
- Seasonal hooks: Tied to events, holidays, or cultural moments
- Expert commentary: Unique perspectives on breaking news
Campaign Development Process
1. Data Collection
Identify a question your audience cares about and collect data to answer it. Sources: public APIs, government databases, surveys (SurveyMonkey, Typeform), or analysis of your own platform data.
2. Analysis & Storytelling
Raw data isn't newsworthy — the story in the data is. Find the surprising angle, the counterintuitive insight, or the trend that challenges assumptions.
3. Content Creation
Create a comprehensive page with: key findings (above the fold), methodology, detailed data tables/charts, embeddable graphics, and expert commentary.
4. Media Outreach
Pitch the story to relevant journalists. Use SEB Outreach to find journalists who cover your topic area. Lead with the headline-worthy finding, not the methodology.
Example Campaign Structure
"We analyzed 50,000 Google Business Profiles to find which industries get the most reviews — and the results surprised us." This works because it's: original data, a large sample (authority), a clear hook (surprise), and relevant to a broad audience of business owners and marketers.
ROI of Digital PR
A single successful digital PR campaign can earn 20-50+ links from high-DA publications in a matter of weeks. The best campaigns continue earning links for months as other writers discover and cite the data. Compare this to manual outreach where each link requires individual effort.
Key takeaway: The best digital PR campaigns start with a great data set, find the surprising story, and make it easy for journalists to cover. Invest more in the research — the links follow the story.