Digital PR is one of the most effective ways to earn backlinks and boost brand authority. However, many treat digital PR as just another SEO commodity, risking its true potential. This article highlights why focusing only on cost-per-link damages digital PR and explores how to leverage it more effectively, going beyond link acquisition to provide genuine value for your brand.
Cost per link is hurting the market
Digital PR has evolved into an essential SEO strategy that builds brand authority, boosts organic traffic, and improves search rankings. With a strong digital PR campaign, you gain quality backlinks, brand mentions, and improved trust, visibility, and growth. However, focusing on “cost per link” has damaged the market. Agencies offering fixed link packages have become popular as they promise predictable, low-cost results, but they come with significant downsides. This approach reduces digital PR to a numbers game, sacrificing creativity and ultimately, higher rankings.
Why hunting link ROI is awful for SEO
ROI often creates confusion because it means different things to different people. It is an efficiency metric, not an effectiveness one. When SEOs focus on cost per link, they mistakenly believe they are increasing value. In reality, it reduces value and pushes the industry to race to the bottom. Digital PR is meant to generate brand publicity and backlinks through data, creativity, expert commentary, and stories, and larger brands with bigger budgets initially embraced it.
However, as the demand grew, cheaper digital PR emerged, and fixed-price link packages became the norm. This approach emphasizes efficiency over effectiveness, which undermines creativity and leads to a commoditized market.
Obsession with do-follow links hurts creativity
Efficient digital PR competes with effective digital PR. When digital PR is about generating as many links and mentions as possible, focusing on cost per link minimizes waste and risk. This emphasis encourages asking for more links at a lower price before any work is done, leading to commoditization and a race to the bottom. Backlinks are important, but brand mentions are arguably more critical. Google can recognize brand citations with or without links, yet cost per link ignores this. The true measure should focus on digital PR’s effectiveness as a whole, not just a single part.
Digital PR effectiveness vs. efficiency
Digital PR should prioritize effectiveness, followed by efficiency. It aims to increase high-quality links and mentions, and contracts should be judged on their effectiveness. Focusing on efficiency directs the market to reduce what is wanted: more links and mentions. Encouraging minimal risk and reduced reach discourages creativity, which takes time and skill. Efficiency transforms digital PR into a product rather than a service, limiting the agency’s ability to explore ideas that might result in significant outcomes.
How to negotiate a better digital PR contract as an SEO
Avoid linking cost per link to contract negotiation. This practice forces agencies to be less creative and focus on guaranteed link-winning ideas. Digital PR should be judged on its ability to generate backlinks rather than adhering to a predetermined cost-per-link model. Effectiveness should be the primary metric used for contract evaluations.
How to judge the effectiveness of digital PR
Effectiveness should be compared to other link-generating methods, such as guest posts or outreach, and previous digital PR campaigns. Unlike traditional outreach, digital PR is more effective as it targets journalists who need stories. Agencies may provide an anticipated link number, which should be compared against past performance. Creativity, relationships, and sector experience contribute to effectiveness, which should be assessed over time or at the retainer’s end.
The efficiency of digital PR
The efficiency of digital PR can be seen when campaigns end or during the retainer. For example, a six-month, $3,000-per-month investment could yield various links and brand mentions. The ultimate measurement of cost should include both links and mentions to truly gauge value, challenging the notion of efficiency based on cost per link alone.
Retainer digital PR vs. productized digital PR
Retainer-based PR encourages long-term thinking, considering future strategies beyond immediate link acquisition. Product-based PR focuses on quick wins. Retainers promote more strategic approaches, enabling agencies to plan effectively and generate meaningful links over time. The effectiveness of digital PR lies in this strategic planning and creativity.
How a focus on links kills the wider benefits that digital PR delivers
Focusing solely on links overlooks digital PR’s broader benefits, such as advertising your brand and reaching vast audiences. While links and mentions are crucial, digital PR also acts as a marketing and sales activation strategy. If you stress cost per link before signing a contract, it limits the ideation and creativity possible for your agency. The success of digital PR should be judged after the retainer period, focusing on broader metrics to maximize potential.
Ultimately, digital PR harnesses human creativity to fuel SEO success, emphasizing the need for strategies that go beyond transactional link acquisition to unlock its full potential.
