The Difference Between Link Building and Digital PR

If you’re reading this article, you know SEO is important to your overall digital marketing strategy. However, you may be confused about which approach is right for your business. In this article, we discuss the difference between digital PR and link building so you can make more informed choices about your business. 

Let’s dive into it. 

What is Link Building?

Link building is a strategy for gaining links from other websites to improve rankings and boost traffic. It involves contacting niche-relevant websites to secure links that help boost your site’s authority. The tactics involved are direct: you contact a site, pitch articles or resources, and they place the link. 

There are various types of links you can secure:

• Editorial Links: Earned organically when a journalist or blogger cites your valuable content.
• Resource Page Links: Secured by getting your content listed on curated resource pages relevant to your niche.
• Guest Post Links: Obtained by contributing high-quality articles to industry-relevant blogs.
• Broken Link Replacements: Achieved by suggesting your content to replace broken links on other websites.
• Niche Edits: Links added to existing content where your resource enhances the reader’s experience.
• Directory and Industry Listing Links: Foundational links from reputable directories or industry associations.

Google prioritizes backlinks built naturally through relationships with publishers since natural links are helpful for audiences and are not spammy. 

Benefits of Link Building:

Link building directly impacts your website’s performance in several ways:

1. Boosts Authority: Acquiring quality backlinks signals credibility to search engines, improving your site’s rankings.
2. Targets Niche Audiences: Outreach efforts can connect your brand with highly relevant, engaged audiences.
3. Builds Topical Authority: Accumulating high-quality links establishes your expertise in your field.

Additional benefits include increased website traffic, better keyword rankings, enhanced discoverability, and diversified traffic sources.

Key Metrics and KPIs:

When determining the value of a link, several key metrics and KPIs should be considered. 

• Domain Authority (DA): Indicates the ranking potential of the sites linking to you.
• Number of Referring Domains: A diverse backlink profile signals authority.
• Organic Traffic Growth: Reflects the impact of your links on site visibility.
• Keyword Rankings: Tracks performance for target search terms.
• Trust Flow vs. Citation Flow: Balances quantity and quality in your link profile.

Together, these metrics offer a comprehensive overview of link building effectiveness.

What is Digital PR?

Digital PR combines traditional public relations tactics with online strategies. It focuses on creating buzzworthy content and engaging with journalists, influencers, and media outlets to amplify your brand’s visibility.

The objective is not to earn backlinks, though that is one benefit. The main goal is to increase your brand’s reputation, credibility, and visibility in the SERPs. 

Building brand awareness, showcasing authority, and demonstrating expertise are important ranking factors. These factors significantly impact search results, especially since Google prioritizes links from digital PR mentions and sites.

Digital PR can include producing:

• Surveys
• Research studies
• Interactive tools
• Infographics
• Case studies
• Thought leadership pieces
• Multimedia content

In short, digital PR assets combine creative storytelling with data to become catalysts for conversation. 

Benefits of Digital PR

Just like any other strategy, Digital PR has its unique benefits:

• Increases brand visibility and reputation.
• Attracts high-authority backlinks from reputable publications.
• Builds trust and credibility in broader audiences.
• Enhances brand awareness beyond SEO.

These benefits are broader than those found in link building, which you should remember when deciding which strategies to consider. It can produce more significant, long-term brand benefits and open the door to high-authority coverage that’s tough to achieve through standard link-building tactics alone.

Key Metrics and KPIs

Several KPIs stand out when evaluating the effectiveness of your digital PR efforts:

• Media Mentions and Placements: Gauges the scope of your campaign.
• Campaign-Driven Traffic: Measures the direct impact of your assets.
• Social Shares and Engagement: Reflects public resonance with your content.
• Branded Search Volume: Tracks growth in brand recognition.

Together, these indicators provide a comprehensive view of our marketing success.

Which Strategy is Right for Your Website?

If your primary focus is improving organic search rankings and you require sustainable SEO growth, link building is the right strategy for you. This approach is particularly effective when you're targeting niche, relevant audiences.

On the other hand, if you want to enhance your brand’s reputation in addition to your SEO efforts, you should consider digital PR. This strategy is ideal if you have the resources to invest in large-scale campaigns and want to secure high-authority, high-visibility backlinks.

That’s not to say link-building and digital PR can’t work together. In fact, they can complement each other. For example:

• Amplify Authority: Use digital PR to gain high-visibility coverage while link building reinforces your niche authority.
• Leverage Unique Assets: Digital PR creates newsworthy content that fuels link-building outreach.
• Achieve Balance: Digital PR’s immediate gains pair well with link building’s long-term benefits.

Ultimately, your choice—or blend—of strategies should align with your business goals, budget, and capacity to execute. Evaluating what matters most to your organization ensures that you’ll reap the rewards of your efforts.