Most agencies start with a link target. We start with what you can prove — original research, expert commentary and assets journalists have an editorial reason to cite.
Anonymised behaviour you already collect
// drafted from the playbook we run in week one
A digital PR agency earns editorial coverage, brand mentions and backlinks through original research, expert insight, useful assets and targeted journalist outreach. Digital Otters connects those campaigns to the commercial topics and pages a US brand actually needs to strengthen — and reports what was earned, from where, and to which page.
Every placement is logged with the publication, the angle that earned it, the destination page and the acquisition method. Nothing anonymous, nothing unexplained.
// Publication names shown are illustrative. Named client references and live coverage links are shared under NDA on request.
Commission or run a survey, build a defensible methodology, then package findings as charts, tables and quotes journalists can cite without calling you first.
Analyse public datasets or your own anonymised data to surface timely regional, seasonal or industry patterns that a desk can turn into a story.
Position qualified specialists for journalist requests and breaking news, with pre-approved positions so replies go out in hours, not days.
Calculators, benchmarks, templates and glossaries that solve a recurring research task — the kind of page other people link to years after launch.
Unlinked mentions, broken and lost links, redirect losses and risky historic acquisition patterns — the cheapest authority you will ever recover.
Fast, accurate reactions to regulation, market moves or seasonal events, run only where you have a genuine right to comment.
Journalists do not need another template. They need a dataset they can verify, a chart they can republish and an expert who will answer by their deadline.
No blast lists. Every pitch names the reporter, their beat and why this dataset fits their coverage.
Methodology, sample size and raw tables go out with the pitch so nothing has to be taken on trust.
Interview windows are booked before outreach starts, so a reply never waits on internal approvals.
If the data does not support the headline, the headline changes. Retractions cost more than coverage earns.
Third-party authority scores are a supporting indicator, never the decision. These seven checks run on every placement before it is counted.
| Check | Accepted | Refused |
|---|---|---|
| Topical relevance | Publication and section serve the same audience as the target page | Any site that will take the placement, regardless of subject |
| Editorial reason | Journalist used our data, quote or asset because it improved the piece | Link inserted into unrelated content for a fee |
| Acquisition method | Earned outreach, reclamation or a properly disclosed contribution | PBNs, hacked placements, link exchanges, bulk guest-post lots |
| Placement context | In the body of the story, near the claim it supports | Sitewide footer, author bio farm or an orphaned link page |
| Destination page | Points at the commercial or resource page the campaign was built for | Homepage-only links with no connection to the topic |
| Disclosure | Any paid or sponsored element declared and attributed correctly | Paid placement presented to you as earned editorial coverage |
| Reporting | Publication, angle, method, destination and date logged for every link | A monthly total with no method and no verifiable list |
Workstreams overlap on purpose — outreach lists are built while research is still in the field. Pick a bar to see what it produces.
Competitor link gaps, the topics you can credibly own, and three to five angles with the evidence each one needs.
// Exact weeks shift with research complexity, approval speed and media market. The gates do not.
Three to five angles with the evidence each needs. Nothing is produced before you pick one.
Dataset, methodology, charts and the campaign page — reviewed by you before a single pitch goes out.
Each placement logged live with publication, desk, method and destination page. No monthly surprise.
New and recovered domains by relevance tier, cluster movement, and the next two angles worth running.
You see which domains are new, which are topically relevant, which point at commercial pages, and what happened to rankings and demand after each launch.
Publication, section, journalist and audience fit — reported per placement, not as a total.
Referring domains gained, links to strategic pages, and relevance tier of each new domain.
Ranking and impression change across the topic clusters the campaign was built to support.
Referral visits, branded search lift, assisted conversions and qualified opportunities where measurable.
Most strong programs use both. The difference is what earns the link, and what happens to your risk profile when it does.
| Factor | Digital PR | Traditional link building |
|---|---|---|
| What earns the link | A story, dataset or expert a publication wants | A direct request, relationship or placement fee |
| Link quality | Editorial and relevance-led by construction | Varies enormously by tactic and publisher |
| Brand effect | Awareness, credibility and branded search lift | Usually limited unless paired with content |
| Risk profile | Managed through accuracy, disclosure and outreach controls | Paid networks and disguised placements create material risk |
| Speed | Slower to first link, compounds over time | Faster initially, plateaus and decays |
| What you can promise | Process, assets and transparent reporting | Volume — which is exactly the wrong promise |
We would rather name a structural constraint before a retainer starts than disguise it with activity for six months.
Cost moves with data collection, asset production, media markets, expert access and whether the work is one campaign or an ongoing authority program.
Competitor gaps, lost links, risky patterns and a prioritised authority roadmap.
One full campaign end to end — concept, research, assets, outreach and reporting.
A recurring pipeline of proactive and reactive stories plus expert commentary.
Reclamation, resource outreach and linkable assets tied to commercial topics.
No fixed ranking, traffic, coverage or AI-citation guarantees. We guarantee the research, production, outreach process and reporting defined in the scope.
Four of our free tools answer the questions we ask in the first hour of a digital PR scope. They run on your real inputs — no sample reports, no email wall.
A genuine crawl of your page — technical, on-page and content checks with evidence, plus Core Web Vitals.
New links need pages worth landing onUse tool →Free + 1 creditContent Brief GeneratorA complete SEO brief for the article or resource page a campaign will point at — structure, questions, entities, metadata.
Turn an angle into a linkable assetUse tool →Free + 2 creditsAI Visibility CheckerAsk ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Grok real buyer questions and see whether they mention your brand.
See if coverage is being citedUse tool →FreeSEO ROI CalculatorEstimate the traffic, leads, revenue and return a ranking improvement could realistically produce.
Value the rankings links unlockUse tool →If yours is not here, send the site and the topic you need authority in. You will get a written read from the team that would run the campaign.
Ask us yoursDigital PR earns coverage and links through stories, research and expert outreach. Link building covers a wider set of tactics — reclamation, resources, relevant contributions. Strong programmes usually combine both, which is why we scope them together rather than selling them as rival services.
No, and you should be wary of anyone who does. We cannot guarantee that an independent publication will cover a story or link in a particular way. We do guarantee the research, asset production, outreach process and transparent reporting defined in the scope.
Our core approach is earned editorial outreach. If a sponsored or paid placement is ever appropriate, it is proposed openly, approved by you and handled with the correct link attributes. We never disguise paid placement as earned coverage.
Seven checks: topical relevance, editorial reason, acquisition method, placement context, destination page, disclosure and reportability. Third-party authority metrics are a supporting indicator — never the decision on their own.
A reactive commentary campaign can move in days. Original research typically needs six to ten weeks for methodology, fielding, production and outreach. Coverage often continues for months after the initial launch, and that long tail is included in reporting.
Credible mentions and source-worthy data strengthen the public evidence around a brand, which is what AI systems draw on. No agency can guarantee citation by an AI system, and any that does is guessing — the content still has to be accessible, accurate and relevant to the query.
It depends on research complexity, asset production, media markets, expert access and whether the engagement is campaign-based or ongoing. Starting points are on this page. We do not price by quantity of links or by domain metric, because that prices the wrong thing.
Yes. Campaign planning can prioritise US national, regional, trade and industry titles where the story, expertise and audience genuinely fit that market. Whether a publication covers it remains their editorial decision.
Send your site, the topics you need authority in, the data or experts you can access, and the pages that need to rank. You get a written read on credible campaign angles, competitor link gaps and the risks in your current profile — before any scope is proposed.
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