PR backlinks are one of the best ways to optimize your SEO strategy and achieve top SERP rankings. These are the most powerful backlinks for domain authority and driving traffic to your site. Imagine getting a mention from news outlets like BBC, The Economist, and Forbes. This is the highest grade signal for Google crawlers and your best bet at achieving your website goals.
Come along as we unpack PR backlinks, their meaning, importance and how you can take advantage of them.
What are PR Backlinks? – A Simple Introduction
PR (Public Relations) backlinks are outbound links published by a media outlet. Search engines such as Google use backlinks to determine how relevant a web page is, and since PR backlinks are the most powerful kind, they indicate that your brand is a reliable source of information.
Here’s an important note:
If you’re thinking of simply publishing a press release and adding loads of backlinks to your website, that’s not the results-driven PR backlinking approach you need. In an effort to prevent PR exploitation, Google has established that all links in press releases must be tagged ‘nofollow.’ So while press releases are great for brand awareness, they don’t necessarily have a direct effort on your page rank.
Which PR Backlinks Does Your Website Need?
What you want from your press release is to have it picked up by a newspaper publication, magazine or journalist who creates a piece on it and gives your website a mention. Such PR backlinks with an editorial oversight are the most valuable for your website.
PR backlinks can be from any media outlet, but you’ll want those from reputable brands, as those are the hard hitters that can really give your SEO effectiveness a 180 spin. Some of the top journalism brands for quality backlinks are:
- The New York Times
- The Wall Street Journal
- The Washington Post
- BBC
- The Economist
- The Atlantic
- Politico
How PR Backlinks Affect Your Page Rank
Imagine having a Forbes journalist write a piece about your story. Forbes is a renowned website with more than 150 million monthly digital visits and a domain authority score of 100%, according to SemRush.
As Forbes is highly trusted, lots of other websites use information from this media outlet. When they see that Forbes has made a mention of your website, they automatically associate a similar level of expertise and trustworthiness and will confidently use your content as a reference. A viral piece can be turned into a number of blog posts, explainer videos, etc., all linking back to your website.
Google’s algorithm will see that you’ve not only been recognised by a top press outlet but have received several mentions from other quality sites as well. The algorithm will automatically determine that you are also an authority source that should rank higher for relevant keywords. And there you have it!
Do I Need PR Backlinks for a Successful SEO Strategy?
Absolutely! Regular backlinks boost your website visibility a small step higher with each quality link, but high PR backlinks can shoot your visibility through the roof. Reputable media outlets like BBC, The Economist and Forbes have high domain authority because of their expertise and trustworthiness. It’s for this reason that they usually appear on the first page for any relevant search keyword on Google.
Here’s what you gain from backlinks from these sources:
- Their domain authority will rub off on your website
- Their massive readership will increase traffic to your site
- Your website gets a boost in online reputation and brand image
How to Get High-Quality PR Backlinks?
Nothing good comes easy, and getting high-quality PR backlinks can be extremely difficult. For starters, there’s a lot of competition for these authority links, so it’s unlikely that you’re the only one vying for a shout out from top publications. In addition, there’s no guarantee that your story will make buzz-worthy news and get audiences to interact.
When you consider these points, it’s clear that launching your PR digital marketing campaign requires strategic planning and execution. There’s no specific recipe for success but these are some of the most effective ingredients:
Create Relevant and High-Quality SEO Content
Quality content is an indispensable part of any SEO strategy. Before you can expect reputable news publications to show any interest in your story, you need to demonstrate that you’re a valuable resource.
You can do this by ensuring you create well-written, relevant content for the target audience. Look for topics that can attract the reader’s interest and serve as a good cover story. These include insightful industry reports, expert guides, informative infographics, or data-driven studies.
Dos and Don’ts for PR Backlinking-Worthy Content
Do:
- Write a compelling piece that creates brand awareness
- Focus on something meaningful or exciting that your brand is involved with
- Create high-quality assets like a research piece, free tools or software
- Write in a professional and authoritative manner
- Write for a target audience
Don’t:
- Focus too much on SEO
- Stuff target keywords when writing PR content
- Write generic low-grade content
Reach Out to Journalists and News Publications
You need to get the attention of journalists and media outlets in your industry who may be interested in covering your story. You can send email pitches or forward your PR piece to relevant PR distribution channels. Also, be willing to offer your expertise for unique insights or interviews. Even if they don’t link to you, you may get a brand name mention which is still great for brand awareness. Keep in mind that this can be cost-intensive as most PR news sites require a fee for links and other media used in their publications.
Important note:
Make sure you go for quality over quantity regarding PR distributional channels. You can gain more value from a single high-PR backlink than from multiple low-quality sites.
Build a Valuable Website or Blog
Big-name companies like Nike, Adidas, and Microsoft don’t need to lobby for backlinks because journalists and popular media outlets are constantly knocking at their doors for a story anyway. The same applies to any quality website or blog. Once you become the go-to source for reliable information on a subject, your website will naturally draw in high PR backlinks.
Getting Help from a Quality PR Link Building Agency
It’s a lot of work getting those high PR backlinks that matter, whether it’s getting a popular media outlet to give your press release the time of day or building your brand to the point where journalists come knocking at your door.
Hiring the services of an expert digital PR agency like Title will ease up the process for you. With every campaign we run for our clients, we aim for long-term organic growth for your brand. That’s usually the end result of PR backlinking when done properly.
Our winning strategies help you create content tailored to your branding that’ll get people interested. What you need is the right PR piece that’ll get you noticed by the right people, and that’s what we do.
