PR Link Building: How to Get Started

PR Link Building: How to Get Started

Payman Taei

Payman Taei

Co-founder at Respona

PR Link Building: How to Get Started

Digital PR and link building are a match made in heaven. 

You get the best of both worlds: publicity, and high quality backlinks at the same time. 

In this article, we’ll be talking about:

  • What is PR link building and its benefits
  • How to start building PR links
  • Top 4 PR link building strategies

Let’s get started.

Link building cheat sheet

Link building cheat sheet

Gain access to the 3-step strategy we use to earn over 86 high-quality backlinks each month.

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PR Link Building is the strategic practice of combining public relations efforts with link building to secure high quality backlinks from reputable sources. 

Essentially, it’s about leveraging your brand’s story and public relations activities to gain valuable links that enhance your website’s authority and search engine rankings.

Unlike traditional link building, which often involves outreach to websites for links, PR Link Building focuses on creating buzz around your brand through journalist outreach, media coverage, press releases, guest posts, and more.

Implementing a PR Link Building strategy can yield numerous advantages for your brand, from boosting your search engine rankings to enhancing your brand’s credibility. 

One of the primary benefits of digital PR link building is acquiring high quality backlinks

PR backlinks serve as endorsements from other reputable websites, signaling to search engines like Google that your content is valuable and authoritative. 

This concept is often referred to as “link juice“. 

The more link juice your website accumulates from credible sources, the higher it will rank in search engine results pages (SERPs).

A high quality backlink profile not only improves your search engine visibility but also drives organic traffic to your site – as well as improves metrics like your Domain Rating. 

Improved Perception of Your Brand

The “PR” in the name isn’t there just for show. 

PR link building relies on a lot of traditional PR tactics like press releases and other stunts, which are ultimately aimed at improving, well… Public relations!

This positive perception isn’t just about search engines; it’s about your audience as well. 

Being featured in well-respected publications or on influential blogs can position your brand as a thought leader in your industry. This elevated status can attract more customers, partners, and opportunities, ultimately driving overall business growth.

In-House

Managing PR link building in-house involves dedicating team members specifically to this task. 

This means producing high quality content, conducting cold email outreach, and securing backlinks over months or years.

Pros:

  • Control
  • Cost efficiency
  • Direct communication
  • In-house teams allow for more frequent and detailed updates on progress compared to outsourced agencies.
  • n-house employees inherently understand your business better, enabling them to create industry-specific and targeted strategies.

Cons:

  • Requires a significant initial investment in hiring and training team members, along with the purchase of necessary tools.
  • An in-house team may be resource-constrained, leading to slower campaign progress without the efficiency of specialized agencies.
  • Without experienced in-house professionals, you may not achieve optimal results and risk implementing ineffective strategies. 

Team & Tools Needed

  • Roles: Content Manager, Outreach Specialist, and possibly additional writers.
  • Tools: Platforms like Respona for outreach automation, Semrush for tracking and content marketing research, MarketMuse for content optimization, and Wordable for content management. 

Estimated Cost: Around $112,000 per year or $9,333 per month for an American-based company with a minimal team.

Outsourcing to a specialized PR agency involves hiring external experts to handle your link-building efforts. 

A managed link building service offers comprehensive packages, including content creation, outreach, and performance tracking.

Pros:

  • Expertise
  • Time-Saving
  • Efficiency
  • Better Results
  • Cost-Effective in the Long Run

Cons:

  • Agencies can be expensive, especially top-tier ones, with prices ranging from $100 to $1,500 per link.
  • You have less control over the process and may face communication challenges.
  • Risk of lower-quality work or reliance on black-hat tactics if the agency is not thoroughly vetted.
  • Creating dependency on a third-party provider can be risky if they fail to meet your needs or go out of business.

Estimated Cost: Around $18,000 per month for an average of 15 high quality backlinks per week.

Choosing between in-house and outsourcing depends on your budget, expertise, and specific needs. 

While in-house link-building offers control and cost-efficiency, outsourcing to agencies can be a viable option if you have the budget and prefer a hands-off approach.

Journalist Outreach

Journalist outreach is a critical component of PR link building, enabling you to gain high quality backlinks while amplifying your brand’s message through reputable media channels. 

This process involves identifying the right journalists, crafting compelling pitches, and securing coverage that includes backlinks to your site.

For journalist outreach, use Respona’s built-in search engine to find journalists covering topics pertinent to your business. 

respona news outreach campaign template
  1. Choose the “News Outreach” template.
  2. Input relevant keywords to find related news articles – or use Respona’s AI keyword suggestions to generate ideas and greatly expand the search
  3. Provide a brief description of your outreach reason, such as summarizing your study’s results.
  4. Optionally, filter results by location, language, or specific news websites like Forbes or TechCrunch.

After filling out the fields, click “Use this template” to get into the campaign editor. 

The first step of any Respona campaign is to prepare your outreach sequence. 

Because we used a campaign template, it’s already set up for us. 

But let’s not stop there – and add an AI Icebreaker variable.

It will create unique personalizations for every single opportunity in your digital PR campaigns on auto-pilot. 

Respona rates your pitch based on factors like subject length, word count, and the presence of spam words, allowing for further refinement.

respona email reply chance estimator

When ready, move on to the next step – find opportunities.  

Respona auto-applies advanced search operators to your target keywords to find relevant journalists to find. 

No need to do much here besides click “continue” and add some additional SEO filters. 

In the next menu, you can also change the email finder settings, provide additional instructions to your AI personalizations, and make the search recurring.

email finder, ai personalization and recurring search settings

Once you start the automation, results will start popping up on your screen as soon as they’re found. 

Once all results are found and personalized, time to move on to the last step – Review & Launch. 

Respona’s AI-generated variables will pre-fill sections like the journalist’s name, publication, and relevant article excerpts. 

Additionally, providing a personal touch by referencing specific points from the journalist’s previous work can significantly boost your chances of success.

Respona also finds your target journalists’ LinkedIn profiles – so we highly recommend sending a connection request there as well to increase your chances of success.

linkedin address found with respona

Once everything is ready and the campaign is launched, all you have to do is to look out for responses.

Press Releases

A press release is a written document prepared for and delivered to members of the press. It aims to make a newsworthy announcement or provide information about a particular event. 

press release example

Acting as a bridge between your company and the media, press releases help get your story out to the public, thereby amplifying your reach and impact.

Press releases serve various purposes, including:

  • Announcing new products or services
  • Company events
  • Corporate announcements
  • Crisis management
  • Awards and achievements

A well-crafted press release typically includes the following elements:

  • A compelling headline that grabs attention and summarizes the main point of the release.
  • The release date and originating city of the press release.
  • A brief introduction that concisely presents the core message.
  • Detailed information expanding on the announcement with supporting facts and figures.
  • Statements from key company figures or relevant stakeholders to add authenticity.
  • A standard paragraph about the company, providing background information.
  • Details of the person or department to contact for more information.

Reactive PR

reactive pr example

This is a digital PR strategy where brands respond to timely events, news stories, or public conversations with relevant content or commentary.

It can involve a whole digital PR campaign, or a simple tweet by the CEO.  

Unlike proactive PR, which involves planned media activity, reactive PR seizes opportunities as they arise. 

This approach can position your brand as a thought leader, increase media exposure, and generate valuable backlinks.

Connectively (Formerly HARO)

connectively homepage

Connectively, formerly known as HARO (Help a Reporter Out), is a platform that connects journalists with expert sources for their stories. 

This service provides a unique opportunity for brands to gain media coverage and high quality  backlinks by offering expert insights to journalists.

It works like this: journalists post requests for insights, and for a small commission, you can reply to them to get featured in their next article – along with a nice, juice backlink to go. 

Link building cheat sheet

Link building cheat sheet

Gain access to the 3-step strategy we use to earn over 86 high-quality backlinks each month.

Download for free

Now Over to You

In conclusion, PR link building involves getting a hold of relevant journalists and getting them to cover your story. 

Need help? 

Don’t hesitate to start your 14-day free trial with Respona to see how we can help. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Traditional link building focuses solely on acquiring backlinks through methods like guest blogging and broken link building, while PR link building integrates public relations efforts, such as press releases and media outreach, to naturally generate high quality backlinks.

PR link building secures backlinks from authoritative and reputable sources, which search engines consider as endorsements. 

These high quality backlinks enhance your website’s authority and credibility, leading to improved search engine rankings.

Links from press releases are valuable because they often come from reputable news sites and publications. 

These high-authority links signal search engines that your content is trustworthy, boosting your site’s SEO.

You can measure the success of your PR link building by tracking metrics such as an increase in backlinks, higher search engine rankings, referral traffic, and media mentions. 

Tools like Google Analytics and various SEO software can help you monitor these metrics.

Yes, PR link building aids online reputation management by securing positive media coverage and authoritative backlinks. This enhances your brand’s credibility and visibility, helping to shape a positive public perception and manage any negative information.

Payman Taei

Article by

Payman Taei

Payman Taei is the co-founder of Respona, the all-in-one PR and link building tool that combines personalization with productivity. He’s also the founder of Visme, a DIY platform that allows everyone to create and manage presentations, infographics, reports, and other visual content.

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