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Achieving strong topical authority in your niche is a powerful SEO position to hold, but it takes a lot of work to get there.
Topical authority refers to the amount of expertise and credibility your website has on a particular subject, at least according to Google’s algorithm. Earning it requires that you publish consistent, high-quality content that embodies the E-E-A-T quality rater system.
Besides that, you also need to boost your website’s overall credibility through high-quality backlinks.
This is where digital PR enters the picture.
Why?
It’s because the backlinks earned through digital PR tactics are super premium and authoritative.
Digital public relations (PR) is where you promote your brand through press releases and online media coverage. This typically takes the form of:
- Networking with bloggers and online journalists for brand mentions and backlinks through platforms like Source of Sources (SOS).
- Creating engaging, high-quality content that attracts traffic, social shares, and backlinks.
- Developing original research like surveys and studies to attract lots of links (and brand attention).
- Pitching stories to media outlets to ensure brand coverage.
These are all extremely effective ways to generate backlinks from reputable media outlets with high domain authority (DA) scores (we’re talking 70s, 80s, and 90s).
Since they’re such trusted sources, their backlinks will:
- Improve your topical authority
- Have the most impact on your search rankings
In this guide, we’ll show you how you can build digital PR backlinks to enhance your topical authority (and SEO in general), so stay tuned!
| Pro tip: While generating high-quality backlinks is a major part of building topical authority, you’ll also need to master content clusters and create consistent E-E-A-T content. |
Understanding the Basics of Digital PR and Link-Building
Before we dive into some digital PR link-building strategies, it’s important to understand the basics.
In particular, it’s beneficial to know a bit more about digital PR as a practice, and how backlinks impact your search rankings.
Let’s start with digital PR.
What is digital PR, and why is it valuable for building topical authority?
As a marketing and reputation management concept, public relations has been around for a very long time.
It involves reaching out to the media on the behalf of a company to:
- Raise awareness
- Improve its reputation
- Expand its customer base (or reach)
Once the internet became mainstream, digital PR began to take shape, which is where you transfer traditional PR tactics into digital realms.
Most commonly, this involves using online channels like media outlets, news websites, and social media to build backlinks, generate traffic, and reach new audiences.
Backlinks quickly became an incredibly valuable resource in the digital PR space since they have the potential to significantly boost search rankings and generate referral traffic.
Both of these benefits just so happen to perfectly align with two of the major goals of digital PR: raising a brand’s awareness and extending its online reach.
As far as backlinks go, digital PR backlinks are among the most powerful.
This is because they come from trusted news sources and media websites, both of which are notorious for carrying lots of clout on Google (due to their high domain authority scores).
So, a backlink coming from a relevant news site will impact your search rankings far more than, say, a backlink from a business directory (or forum comment).
While those lower quality backlinks are still necessary to achieve a natural-looking backlink profile, we’re more concerned with improving your topical authority right now – and digital PR links are exceptional at that.
For example, if you’re able to build digital PR backlinks that point at your pillar pages (for your content clusters), you’ll spread valuable link equity (i.e., trust signals) to all your cluster pages, heightening the topical authority for the entire cluster.
What are backlinks, and how do they impact SEO?
Before we venture any further, we need to make sure you can pass backlinks 101.
If you’re already familiar with how backlinks work, you can skip this section.
A backlink is a hyperlink on another website that ‘links back’ to one of your web pages. Google and other search engines use backlinks as a way to determine search rankings for particular queries (keywords).
In fact, backlinks are one of the most important ranking factors on Google, meaning you need an immaculate backlink profile to achieve the highest rankings.
Domain Authority (and Domain Rating by Ahrefs) is the metric digital marketers use to determine the ranking power of a particular website. So, if you find a website related to yours (relevance is key, too) that has a high DA score, it’s a viable target for a backlink.
This is because Google views the website as an authoritative source, meaning earning a backlink from it will positively impact your search rankings.
The more authoritative backlinks you have, the more Google will trust your site.
How do digital PR and backlinks work together?
Digital PR and backlinks have a symbiotic relationship because you use digital PR to attract backlinks naturally.
What does this mean?
We use the word naturally because you aren’t paying anyone for these backlinks. Instead, they’re earned through targeted media outreach, distributing press releases, conducting original research, and creating top-tier content.
To show you what we mean, let’s consider a real-world example.
One of the best ways to attract tons of backlinks is to publish original research, which is something that McKinsey & Company specializes in.
Their research on skills gaps back in 2021 proved to be especially impactful, as they discovered that a whopping 87% of organizations either have a skills gap or will face on in the future:
It was landmark research that the rest of the business world couldn’t wait to share.
The results?
Loads of authoritative backlinks for McKinsey’s website!
Here’s a look at the backlink profile of this single page alone:
That’s over 1,000 backlinks from 500+ unique domains, and there are some very impressive names on that list:
As you can see, Harvard Business Review and Atlassian linked to the piece (two highly respected names in the management and HR world), and they each have ridiculously high Domain Rating scores of 92.
The good news?
You can replicate McKinsey’s success by publishing original research in your field.
What are the SEO Benefits of Digital PR and Backlinks?
While digital PR techniques are extremely effective, they also require lots of time, money, and effort.
After all, original research and top-tier content don’t just create themselves.
So, if you’re going to take the time to invest in digital PR, the ROI better be worth it.
The good news is that digital PR (and the backlinks generated from it) yield serious SEO benefits, like:
- Improved search engine rankings. As stated before, backlinks are one of the top ranking factors on Google and other search engines. This means generating authoritative backlinks through digital PR will improve your search engine rankings, helping you reach the top of the search results for crucial keywords.
There’s plenty of evidence to back this up, too. Most notably, research by Backlinko found that position #1 on Google has an average of 3.8x more backlinks than positions #2 – #10, reinforcing how important they are for SEO.
In our experience, nothing moves the SEO needle quite like backlinks, which is why so many of our winning strategies include them as a major focal point.
- Building brand trust and credibility. Digital PR tactics do more than just generate backlinks, they also build trust and credibility for your brand. For example, getting your brand mentioned and recommended by a trusted media outlet signals to your target audience (and Google) that you’re a legit business that provides value.
That’s especially true if you’re able to get featured in top publications like Forbes, Business Insider, and TechCrunch, just to name a few.
However, you can also build serious credibility by focusing on more niche publications that still have high Domain Authority scores (and that your target audience trusts).
- Strengthening topical authority. Your topical authority will intensify every time you pick up a top-tier backlink from a trusted media source.
Building backlinks for your thought leader content will make it more likely to rank higher, especially pillar pages. Google views backlinks as ‘credibility votes,’ so it only makes sense that strong backlinks boost topical authority.
| Pro tip: You can spread the authority that a backlink provides to other pages by adding internal links to them from the page containing the backlink. As stated before, it’s crucial to include internal links to your cluster pages from your pillar page. That way, if you build the majority of your backlinks to the pillar page, the equity will spread to all the cluster pages. You can use the same philosophy to strengthen the ranking power of your entire website. |
- Generating referral traffic, sales, and leads. Lastly, digital PR and backlinks will drive more traffic to your website through higher rankings and referral traffic. Every backlink you generate will not only improve your SEO, but also give new audiences the chance to visit your website, experience your content, and convert into a lead or paying customer.
If you want to enjoy these benefits without having to do any of the heavy lifting yourself, check out HOTH X, our fully managed SEO service.
How to Earn High-Quality Backlinks with Digital PR
Next, let’s learn some effective digital PR link-building strategies so that you can enjoy the benefits mentioned above.
We’ll discuss:
- High-level media outreach
- Creating link-worthy content
- Getting featured in top-tier publications for your industry
- Partnering with influencers and thought leaders
- Optimizing for local and niche PR opportunities
These are the tactics that we’ve found are the most effective from our direct experience working with thousands of clients, so let’s jump in.
Tactic #1: High-level media outreach
Networking with journalists is a staple of PR, digital or otherwise, which is why media outreach tops our list.
However, instead of connecting with TV and print journalists, you’ll want to target online journalists, media writers, bloggers, and social media influencers.
How do you do that?
There are a variety of ways, but let’s start with using platforms designed to connect journalists with expert sources.
The most popular of these is Source of Sources (SOS), which was formerly HARO (Help-A-Reporter-Out) and then HERO (Help-Every-Reporter-Out).
Despite the various changes in name and ownership, the principle remains the same: signing up grants you access to daily media queries (via email) where journalists are looking to connect with experts for their stories.
All you need to sign up is an email address, as the service is entirely free.
Queries are sorted by industry, so be sure to navigate to the industry or niche that applies to your business.
This platform (and others) are highly competitive, so you need to find and respond to relevant queries as soon as possible. We recommend designating someone on your team (or using a freelancer) as your official SOS query checker and responder.
Have them monitor SOS’s daily media queries in search of valuable backlink opportunities.
Keep your responses short and sweet, and make sure to fully answer the journalist’s question. You should provide things like expert quotes, original data, and unique insights, as these are what journalists are looking for the most.
That combined with speed will help ensure your success with media outreach.
Besides SOS, there’s also:
These platforms are all viable ways to earn real media mentions, so they’re worth adding to your repertoire.
Tactic #2: Creating link-worthy content
You can also attract backlinks from high-quality websites instead of acquiring them through outreach.
How is that?
By creating outstanding content that your audience can’t wait to link back to, of course!
There are certain types of content that attract lots of links by nature, such as highly visual content. In fact, research shows that using visual content boosts your sharing potential by 40%.
It makes sense if you think about it because visual content is much easier to digest than big blocks of text.
People love to share engaging videos and infographics on their websites, blogs, and social media profiles – so you should definitely focus on producing visual content.
The good news is you don’t have to blow your marketing budget on elaborate Michael Bay-style video production (although including a few explosions would be cool).
Instead, you can shoot simple how-to videos on an iPhone in your office, and that will more than suffice in most situations. Also, tools like Canva and AI generators like DALL-E make designing images and infographics easier (and more affordable) than ever before.
However, there’s one type of content that attracts even more backlinks than visuals, and that’s original research.
As demonstrated by the McKinsey example, publishing original research in your field is like creating a giant backlink magnet. As long as the research you conduct is relevant and yields interesting results, big names in your industry will trip over each other trying to link to it first.
Tactic #3: Partnering with influencers and thought leaders
Regardless of your industry, there are bound to be countless influencers and thought leaders within it on social media (and other platforms).
When most people hear the word ‘influencer,’ they think of megastars like the Paul brothers or Khaby Lame.
However, these are the top 1%’ers that were able to gain massive fame, and they are by no means the only types of influencers out there.
There are also:
- Nano influencers (1k – 10k followers). These influencers are more like everyday users who have built an audience due to their authenticity and helpful content. While they don’t have the largest following, they are highly engaged.
- Micro influencers (10k – 100k followers). These are more niche-focused creators that tend to be SMEs (subject matter experts). They make great partners due to their loyal following and high level of trust.
- Macro influencers (100k – 1M followers). Macro influencers are more well-known than micro-influencers, but they don’t have as much engagement (due to the sheer size of their follower counts). Still, they make great partners if you’re able to get on their radar.
- Mega influencers (1M+ followers). Now we’re starting to get into ‘super famous’ territory, as these are basically full-blown internet celebrities. They can make suitable partners, but they tend to have much lower engagement than other types of influencers.
To us, the sweet spot lies with nano and micro influencers, as they will be able to connect you with their targeted, highly engaged audiences.
Platforms like Upfluence and Social Cat will help you find relevant influencers in your field, but you can also find them through other methods (like using Google or browsing social media).
Tactic #4: Optimize for local and niche PR opportunities
Lastly, you shouldn’t ignore local digital PR if your business has a brick-and-mortar location (or if you only serve one geographic area online).
Besides targeting major publications, you should also try to get featured in the local news to generate buzz for your brand in your service areas.
Ways to do this include:
- Distributing press releases that focus on local areas (such as adding a new building to a facility).
- Pitching story ideas to local news websites (like a feature that deals with your industry or business).
- Becoming an expert source for local journalist queries.
Industry trade publications and business directories also pose niche opportunities for PR exposure. Citations on relevant local business directories will help build trust with Google (since they signal that you’re a legit business), so it’s worth uploading your NAP (name, address, and phone number) to them.
Digital PR and Backlinks: Best Practices and Mistakes to Avoid
When launching a new digital PR campaign, here are some important best practices to follow:
- Focus on quality over quantity. A mistake a lot of link-builders make is to focus on building lots of links instead of high-quality links. Take it from us; one authoritative link is worth dozens of low-quality links. Even if it takes a few weeks to generate just one high-DA backlink, it’s worth more to your rankings than 20 garbage links (since they have little to no impact on rankings).
- Diversify anchor text for natural-looking link profiles. Your backlink profile has to appear natural to Google in order to avoid raising suspicion. Google doesn’t like it when brands game the system through spammy methods like buying lots of links. If Google notices a ton of links that have identical anchor text (like your brand name), it can raise suspicion. For this reason, you should diversify your anchors.
- Maintain consistency with your strategy. A digital PR strategy isn’t a one-off thing, as it requires consistency to yield the best results. In particular, you should periodically revisit your digital PR content to ensure that it’s fresh and still accurate. You should also keep an eye on your digital PR backlinks to ensure they don’t disappear, break, or get replaced.
Also, there are some common mistakes you should avoid:
- Relying on paid links or low-quality links. Most paid links are on the low-quality side, and buying them can land you in hot water with Google. Also, remember that low-quality backlinks will do next to nothing for your search rankings, so they aren’t worth your time.
- Ignoring relevance. In order for a backlink to count towards your SEO, it has to be relevant to your content in some way. If you build irrelevant links, you risk frustrating your audience, and you’ll see no SEO benefit.
- Neglecting link attribution. Whenever you secure media coverage, like landing a brand mention, always ask for a link back to your website. If you forget this step, you’ll wind up with unlinked brand mentions. While getting a shout-out for your brand is nice, you’re missing out on the full SEO potential by not including a backlink.
Tools and Resources for Digital PR and Link-Building
Lastly, here are some helpful tools and resources for digital PR and link-building campaigns:
- Ahrefs and Semrush. Both of these tools provide in-depth ways to track your backlinks and monitor your domain authority scores.
- Google Search Console (GSC). You can identify and monitor inbound links using GSC, as well as keep track of your position rankings.
- BuzzStream. This digital PR solution is ideal for managing your media and influencer outreach.
Also, here’s a reading list for brushing up on your link-building skills:
- Link-Building 101 – A general overview of link-building as a whole.
- AI-Driven Link Prospecting – How to use modern AI tools to find golden backlink opportunities.
- Top 7 Link Acquisition Strategies for 2025 – The most effective (and modern) link-building strategies for 2025 and beyond.
Wrapping Up: Digital PR and Backlinks for Topical Authority
To summarize, the backlinks you acquire through digital PR are the cream of the crop when it comes to building topical authority.
You can’t beat getting featured in trusted media publications while sharing engaging content that:
- Builds your reputation
- Introduces your brand to new audiences
- Attracts even more backlinks
Do you want to leverage the awesome power of digital PR without having to invest any time into it?
Our Digital PR service is the perfect solution, as our team will launch an extensive media campaign on your behalf, so don’t wait to get in touch!
