In the digital PR industry of 2025, measuring the impact of a PR campaign can be a challenging aspect for PR professionals - more to the point, over 30% of professionals think it’s the most challenging part.
So, if you’re new to digital PR and are struggling to identify which metrics to focus on when reporting to clients, superiors, or stakeholders, here are some of the top benchmarks to report on, including what they are and why they’re important:
Backlinks are links from external websites that refer back to your own. Despite debate in the SEO community about whether or not links are still important in a modern SEO strategy, the bottom line is that they definitely are. Links play a pivotal role in improving a website’s authority, increasing online visibility, and giving brands a competitive edge.
The number of backlinks earned from a PR campaign is arguably the most important metric to measure a campaign’s overall performance.
However, it’s important to note that not all backlinks are equal. Backlinks from low authority, irrelevant websites hold less weight with search engines than high-quality links from relevant publications.
A thousand low-quality links might look impressive from a numbers perspective but they won’t have nearly as much effect as 50 high-quality backlinks will.
With this in mind, here are the main factors that affect the quality of a backlink:
In addition to quality, you need to look at the type of backlink.
The three main types to look for are:
Keeping track of a site’s backlink profile throughout your PR campaign gives you a tangible number to report on that shows the reach of your campaign.
Referral traffic is traffic from users who have clicked through to your website from an external link. Referral traffic can be tracked using GA4.
Referral traffic is an important metric in PR for several reasons:
Referral traffic measures the impact of your content. A high volume of referral traffic indicates that people aren’t just seeing your content, they’re actively engaging with it and looking to learn more.
By evaluating which PR sources are driving the most traffic, you can get a better idea of where your audience spends time online and what topics and coverage types interest them most.
Relying on a single traffic source can make you vulnerable to search engine algorithm changes. By targeting multiple traffic sources, you can sustain long-term success.
By tracking referral traffic that converts into leads or sales, you can start linking your PR efforts to other important KPIs, such as revenue.
Referral traffic allows you to reach a wider audience and gets your brand in front of more people.
Leads are visitors who have expressed an interest in your brand and conversions are when a user completes an action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form.
Leads and conversions are an important metric to track because not only are they a clear measure of success, but they can also offer helpful insights into your campaign. If your campaign is generating traffic but not generating conversions, it could be a sign there is a disconnect between your messaging and your audience’s intent.
Tracking the complete journey from media coverage to completed action allows you to accredit real ROI to your PR activities. This is crucial for accurately demonstrating the value of your campaign.
Keyword ranking is the position of a webpage in the SEPRs (search engine results page) for a specific keyword or search query. High-quality backlinks earned through a successful digital PR campaign can improve your rankings for certain keywords, which in turn directly affects the visibility and reach of your brand.
Monitoring keyword rankings as your campaign progresses can help demonstrate the impact your campaign has had on your site’s SEO.
Brand mentions are when your brand is referenced by third parties online. Even when your brand is mentioned without a link, it still carries value as Google sees brand mentions as an implied link.
Although unlinked mentions do present a good for acquiring links, you should still contact the publisher and request that they add a hyperlink, converting your mention into a valuable backlink.
Additionally, a recent study by Ahrefs found that web brand mentions were the highest driver for brand visibility in AI Overviews. If the LLM is consistently seeing your brand name appear in the search results, it’s more likely to feature in an AI Overview. And since AI Overviews are at the top of the search results, appearing in one can significantly boost traffic to your site and enhance your brand’s awareness.
ROI (return on investment) goes beyond just the commercial leads. Metrics like coverage, links, and engagement can all be used to demonstrate the value and effectiveness of PR efforts, showing how campaigns can contribute to the overall business goals.
From ideation to measuring success, running a digital PR campaign is no easy feat and It’s no surprise that PR professionals find measuring the impact of their campaigns the most challenging part.
Backlinks, referral traffic, leads and conversions, keyword rankings, and brand mentions are just a handful of important metrics that can be used to demonstrate the value of your PR campaign. But what you choose to include in your report can depend on who you are reporting to and what the goals of your campaign are. So, if you’d like expert help running a PR campaign or simply measuring its success, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today.
