Why Digital PR Is the SEO Strategy Most Marketers Are Sleeping On

I had a CMO tell me last week that their SEO strategy was "maxed out." They'd done the technical cleanup. Keywords were optimized. Content was publishing like clockwork. But their rankings? Stuck. Their organic traffic? Flat.

"What else can we even do?" she asked.

Digital PR. That's what.

Here's the thing most marketers don't get: SEO isn't just about what you do on your own site anymore. It's about what everyone else is saying about you online. And digital PR is how you control that narrative while building the kind of backlinks that actually move the needle.

The Problem with Playing Small Ball

Let me paint you a picture.

Most companies are still playing the same tired link-building game. Guest posts on mediocre blogs. Directory submissions. Maybe some "digital partnerships" that are really just link exchanges in disguise.

Google sees right through it. More importantly, these tactics don't build anything that lasts.

Meanwhile, a well-executed digital PR campaign? That gets you featured in Wired, Forbes, or your industry's top trade publications. Real editorial coverage. The kind of backlinks that carry actual authority.

The data backs this up. Research shows 96.3% of websites ranking in the top ten positions have more than 1,000 linking domains. You're not getting there with guest posts and directory links.

What Digital PR Actually Is (And Isn't)

Digital PR isn't just "PR that happens online." It's a strategic SEO play disguised as media relations.

Here's how it works:

You create something genuinely interesting—original research, compelling data analysis, a unique perspective on industry trends. Then you pitch it to journalists and media outlets that your target audience actually reads.

When they cover your story, you get:

• Backlinks from high-authority sites (the SEO gold)

• Brand mentions that feed Google's Knowledge Graph

• Visibility in AI search (ChatGPT, Google's AI Overviews, etc.)

• Credibility that converts better than any sales pitch

It's not about sending press releases into the void. It's about creating content so valuable that journalists want to cover it.

Why It Matters More Than Ever

I've been watching the search landscape shift dramatically over the past year. AI is eating traditional search traffic alive.

But here's what I'm seeing: Brand mentions are becoming more valuable than backlinks for AI visibility.

When someone asks ChatGPT or Google's AI for recommendations, the systems cite sources. If your brand keeps showing up in quality publications talking about your expertise, you become the answer.

Traditional link building can't compete with that kind of semantic authority.

The Four Stages of a Digital PR Campaign

Every campaign I run follows the same framework:

1. Ideation – What story can you tell that journalists actually want to cover? Hint: "We launched a new feature" isn't it. Original research, trend analysis, or data that challenges conventional wisdom? Now we're talking.

2. Creation – Turn that idea into something tangible. Could be a dataset, an interactive tool, or a deeply researched piece that provides real value.

3. Outreach – This is where most people fail. You're not blasting press releases. You're building relationships with specific journalists who cover your space and pitching them stories they want to write.

4. Evaluation – Track what worked. Backlinks earned? Rankings improved? Brand searches increased? Then do it again, but better.

Real Examples: B2C and B2B

B2C Play: Let's say you're selling sustainable coffee machines. You could spend months churning out blog posts about "best eco-friendly coffee makers" and fight for scraps in the SERPs.

Or you could research the environmental impact of non-recyclable coffee pods, turn that into a compelling data story, and pitch it to environmental and lifestyle publications.

When Wired covers your research, you're suddenly in front of 30 million readers monthly. You get a backlink from a domain authority of 90+. Google starts associating your brand with sustainability and expertise.

B2B Play: Now let's say you're selling marketing automation software. Instead of another "5 Marketing Trends" blog post, you survey 500 marketing executives about their biggest attribution challenges.

You find that 73% can't connect their campaigns to revenue. That's newsworthy.

You pitch that story to MarketingProfs, AdAge, and CMO.com. They cover it because it's actual data their readers care about. You get backlinks from sites with domain authority in the 70s and 80s. More importantly, you're now cited as the expert on marketing attribution challenges.

When a VP of Marketing googles "marketing attribution solutions" and sees your brand mentioned in three authoritative publications? That's not just SEO—that's category ownership.

When AI summarizes the state of marketing attribution, your research is part of the source material. Your brand becomes synonymous with solving the problem.

That's not SEO—that's building a moat around your market position.

Why Most SEOs Avoid Digital PR

I get it. Digital PR feels intimidating.

You need to understand what makes a good story. How to build media lists. How to pitch without sounding desperate. How to measure ROI beyond just links.

But here's what I tell every marketing executive I work with: if you want to separate yourself from competitors who are all doing the same SEO checklist, this is how.

Everyone can optimize meta descriptions. Everyone can publish blog posts. Not everyone can get featured in major publications.

The barrier to entry is real. Which is exactly why it works.

The Bottom Line

Your competitors are stuck in a loop—optimizing the same pages for the same keywords, hoping for different results.

Digital PR breaks that loop.

It builds authority that compounds. It creates visibility across multiple platforms at once. It future-proofs your SEO strategy as AI continues reshaping search.

Is it more work than tweaking title tags? Absolutely. Is it worth it? Ask any brand that's dominated their space through strategic media coverage.

The question isn't whether digital PR matters for SEO. The question is: how long can you afford to ignore it while your competitors build relationships with the journalists covering your industry?

Time to stop playing small ball.