Digital PR applies public relations methods to online publications with search in mind. Instead of buying placements, you give journalists and editors something worth covering, such as new data, a timely expert view, or a useful tool, and the coverage brings links, brand mentions, and referral traffic. For SaaS companies, original research drawn from product data is often the strongest material.
How it differs from traditional PR
Traditional PR measures success in coverage and reach. Digital PR also cares about whether coverage includes a link, which page it links to, and whether the publication is relevant to the topics you want to rank for. The pitches tend to be data-led or reactive, timed to what journalists are already writing about.
Common formats
Most digital PR campaigns fall into a few repeatable shapes.
- Original research: a survey or analysis of anonymized product data with a clear methodology
- Reactive commentary: quick expert quotes on news in your category
- Expert sourcing: responding to journalist requests on platforms that connect reporters with sources
- Tools and visuals: calculators, maps, or interactive data that publications can embed or cite
- Founder or executive thought leadership placed in trade publications
Why SaaS companies are well placed
Software products often hold aggregate data nobody else has: how teams use a workflow, when they work, which integrations they adopt. Turned into anonymized, well-explained findings, that data can answer questions journalists and analysts are asking. It also creates a page others can cite again later, which keeps earning links after the initial coverage.
Be strict about privacy and accuracy. Use only data your terms allow, aggregate it so no customer can be identified, and publish the method so readers can judge it.
Staying within Google's policies
Earned editorial coverage is fine. Paying a publication for a placement that includes a followed link is not, unless the link is qualified as sponsored. Links in press releases distributed through wire services are usually nofollow, and Google has said it does not count them for ranking, so use releases for awareness rather than as a link tactic.
Example
A remote work tool publishes usage patterns
An illustrative async video messaging company, Loopnote, analyzes anonymized message timestamps to describe when distributed teams record and watch updates across time zones. It publishes the findings with charts and a methods section, then pitches workplace and HR reporters.
Some articles link to the report; others quote it without a link, which the team follows up on politely. The report page becomes a resource the company can update each year.
Common mistakes
Publishing research without a method
Journalists and readers need to know how the numbers were produced. Unclear data is less likely to be cited and can damage trust if challenged.
Pitching stories only you care about
A feature launch is rarely news to a general publication. Lead with what the reader learns, not what you shipped.
Linking coverage to the homepage only
When you can, point coverage at the research page itself so it gathers links and can be updated.
Questions
It is one method of link building, but it also aims for brand mentions and visibility that matter even when no link is included.
They can help people and AI systems associate your brand with a topic. They are also a natural list for polite follow-up asking for a link.
Track coverage, the share of coverage with links, the relevance of each publication, referral traffic, and changes in branded search over time.
