Digital PR (Organic Link Building)

Sherlock Communications > Digital PR (Organic Link Building)

What is Digital PR?

Digital PR (Public Relations) is the practice of using online channels and platforms to build relationships with journalists, bloggers and other online influencers in order to gain media coverage and improve a brand’s online reputation.

Digital PR involves various techniques, such as content marketing, influencer outreach, social media marketing and search engine optimization (SEO), to promote a brand or product through online channels. The goal is to build a positive online reputation for the brand, create buzz around new products or services, and increase visibility and credibility through online media coverage.

Here are some key elements of digital PR:

  • Content creation and promotion: Digital PR often involves creating high-quality, informative and engaging content that can be shared through social media, email outreach or other digital channels. This can include blog posts, videos, infographics and other types of content that showcase the brand’s expertise and values.
  • Influencer outreach: Digital PR often involves building relationships with influencers and other online personalities who can help promote the brand’s products or services. This can include social media influencers, bloggers, podcasters and other online personalities who have a large following among the brand’s target audience.
  • Media relations: Digital PR involves building relationships with journalists, editors and other media professionals who can provide media coverage and exposure for the brand. This can include pitching story ideas, press releases and other content that showcases the brand’s news or expertise.
  • Social media marketing: Digital PR involves using social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn to promote the brand, engage with followers, and build relationships with influencers and other online personalities.
  • SEO: Digital PR involves using search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to improve the brand’s visibility and search engine rankings. This can include optimising website content, building high-quality backlinks and using keywords and other SEO tactics to improve search engine rankings.

How can Digital PR help with Link Building?

Digital PR firms can help with link building by building relationships with journalists, bloggers, and other online influencers, who may be able to provide high-quality backlinks to your website. By promoting your brand or products through online channels, you can increase visibility and credibility, which can lead to more natural links and mentions from other websites.

Digital PR services can be effective for link building by:

  • creating shareable content that attracts natural backlinks: By creating high-quality, informative and engaging content, you can increase the chances of other websites linking back to your content or citing your brand as a source of information.
  • increasing brand awareness and credibility: By promoting your brand or products through online channels, you can increase visibility and credibility, which can lead to more natural links and mentions from other websites.

 

  • creating shareable content that attracts natural backlinks: By creating high-quality, informative and engaging content, you can increase the chances of other websites linking back to your content or citing your brand as a source of information.
  • increasing brand awareness and credibility: By promoting your brand or products through online channels, you can increase visibility and credibility, which can lead to more natural links and mentions from other websites.
  • improving your website’s search engine rankings: By generating high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites, you can improve your website’s domain authority and search engine rankings, which can lead to more organic traffic and business leads.

Link building is the process of acquiring hyperlinks from other websites to your own website. Hyperlinks (or simply “links”) are clickable elements on a web page that take the user to another page on the same website, or to another website altogether. In the context of link building, the goal is to get other websites to link to your website in order to drive traffic and improve your website’s search engine rankings.

Link building can be achieved through various methods, such as creating high-quality content that other websites may want to link to, reaching out to other website owners to request a link, or creating guest posts or sponsored content that includes links back to your website. 

However, it’s important to note that not all links are created equal, and search engines like Google use complex algorithms to determine the quality and relevance of links pointing to a website. Therefore, it’s important to focus on building high-quality links from reputable websites in order to improve your website’s online presence and search engine rankings.

Paid and organic link building: what’s the difference?

The main difference between paid and organic link building is the method used to acquire these links.

1- Organic link building involves creating high-quality content that naturally attracts links from other websites. The links are earned rather than bought, and the focus is on providing valuable content that people want to link to. Organic link building strategies may include content marketing, guest posting, and outreach to build relationships with influencers and other website owners. 

2- Paid link building, on the other hand, involves paying for links to be placed on other websites. This can include paying to place an article of yours or even just adding backlinks to your website on pre-existing articles (which is a less recommended practice). The main advantage of this strategy is that it allows faster content placement and quicker backlink earning. However, if done without care, it could lead to penalties from Google, so counting on an agency’s expertise of quality metrics is key.

Here are some of the other main differences between paid and organic link building:

  • Cost: Paid link building requires a budget to pay for the links, whereas organic link building may be more time-consuming, but does not require a monetary investment.
  • Sustainability: Organic link building is generally considered more sustainable because the links are earned naturally. Paid links may be viewed as less trustworthy if not chosen with care. 
  • Risk: Paid link building carries a higher risk of penalties from search engines, which can harm a website’s search engine rankings and online reputation. Organic link building is less risky, as long as it is done ethically and follows best practices.

Which KPIs to pursue?

KPIs, or Key Performance Indicators, are measurable goals that help to track the success of a digital PR campaign. By defining clear KPIs, brands and businesses can evaluate the effectiveness of their digital PR efforts and make data-driven decisions to optimise their strategies. Here are some common KPIs for digital PR:

  • Website traffic: By tracking website traffic, brands can assess the impact of their digital PR efforts on their online presence. This KPI can help to identify which channels and tactics are driving the most traffic to the website, and can be measured using tools such as Google Analytics.
  • Backlinks: Backlinks are a valuable indicator of a website’s authority and relevance. By tracking the number and quality of backlinks, brands can assess the impact of their digital PR efforts on building high-quality links to the website.
  • Social media engagement: Social media engagement measures the level of interaction that users have with a brand’s social media content. This can include likes, shares, comments, and followers. By tracking social media engagement, brands can assess the effectiveness of their social media strategy and identify opportunities for improvement.
  • Media coverage: Media coverage measures the number and quality of media outlets that have covered a brand or product. This can include print, online, or broadcast media. By tracking media coverage, brands can assess the impact of their PR efforts on building brand awareness and credibility.
  • Brand sentiment: Brand sentiment measures the overall perception of a brand or product among its target audience. This can be measured using social media listening tools or sentiment analysis software. By tracking brand sentiment, brands can assess the effectiveness of their digital PR efforts on building a positive reputation and customer loyalty.

What is the difference between Digital PR and traditional PR?

The main difference between digital and traditional PR is the channels and tactics used to reach and engage with audiences. While traditional PR relies primarily on offline channels such as print media, radio and television, digital PR focuses on online channels such as social media, email and websites.

Here are some other key differences between digital PR and traditional PR:

  • Target audience: Traditional PR is often aimed at reaching a broad audience through mass media outlets, while digital PR can be more targeted, reaching specific audiences through online channels such as social media, email marketing and search engine optimization (SEO).
  • Measurability: Digital PR offers greater opportunities for measurement and analysis than traditional PR. For example, digital PR campaigns can track website traffic, social media engagement, email opens and clicks, and other relevant metrics to assess a campaign’s effectiveness.
  • Speed: Digital PR offers a faster turnaround time than traditional PR. News can be distributed instantly through social media or email, whereas traditional PR often requires more lead time to secure media coverage.
  • Content format: Digital PR often relies on visual content such as videos, images, and infographics, while traditional PR often relies on written content such as press releases and articles.

Digital PR Services in Latin America: talk to us!

Digital PR services in Latin America is a growing field that offers many opportunities for brands and businesses to build their online presence and reputation. As internet penetration rates continue to rise across the region, more and more people are using online channels to access information, communicate and make purchasing decisions.

Our communications agency and our Digital PR team can help your website with specific strategies to increase your site’s reputation in the search engines. Get in touch with us!

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