For years, digital PR success was measured by the number of backlinks and domain authority (DA) scores. But since then, the industry has evolved and adapted to ever-changing SEO and it’s clear that those numbers alone don’t tell the full story.
The true measure of a campaign doesn’t come down to sheer volume or the highest number but rather to the nuance of relevance, brand reputation, and securing coverage that supports visibility and rankings around the right topics.
In this guide, we’ll look at the PR metrics that still matter and those that have become outdated or need deeper analysis before taking them at face value.
Why does PR measurement matter?
For a long time, digital PR was overlooked by many businesses, but more recently, it’s become clear that companies see its value, with professionals believing it is effective for earning high-quality backlinks, building brand awareness and increasing sales. Muck Rack’s State of PR Measurement 2024 revealed that 82% of PR professionals now measure their campaigns and 86% say measurement is important, underlining how essential monitoring statistics has become to proving PR’s worth.
Measuring PR success isn’t just about showing off results but more about how you prove value to clients and win over new ones. It helps teams understand what’s working, what isn’t, and where they can improve next time. But in order to do that, we need a solid way to measure tangible results to learn and perform. Yet when it comes to measuring a campaign’s success, the waters muddy, and different PR pros focus on different metrics. So how do you actually define what success looks like?
PR metrics to stop tracking
Digital PR is an industry that never stands still, and the goalposts are always moving. Yet despite all the change, many teams still rely on outdated ways of measuring success. With new insights into unlinked brand mentions, no-follow links and the rise of AI overviews, it’s clear the landscape has shifted and the metrics we track need to shift with it.
Number of backlinks
As we pointed out in our Top Digital PR Trends in 2025 piece, the future of link-building is shifting from chasing volume to focusing on meaningful relevance. Link relevance has long been discussed as a ranking factor, but recent Google document leaks suggest it now plays an even greater role in how backlinks are weighted.
This move away from padded backlink profiles renders the sheer volume of backlinks less valuable and calls for examining them beyond surface-level numbers to understand their true impact. Think quality over quantity when securing links.
Domain authority (DA) or domain rating (DR)
Domain authority (DA) and Domain rating (DR) are third-party metrics created by SEO platforms like Moz and Ahrefs to estimate a website’s overall backlink profile strength. A higher score usually suggests a stronger backlink profile, but it’s worth remembering that these are not official Google metrics and don’t directly affect a site’s ranking.
Again, given the importance of link relevance, we can’t rely solely on DA or DR as PR metrics. Although they’re helpful and certainly have a place in our measurements, there’s more depth to a backlink.
Potential reach or impressions
Impressions are often grouped under what many now call “vanity metrics” – numbers that might look good in a report but say very little about the real impact of a campaign. Impressions may reach many people, but who are they reaching, and what are they saying to those people?
Follow over nofollow links
Historically, no-follow links were viewed as second-class to follow links because they passed less link equity. But since then, Ahrefs, among other SEO experts, has highlighted the importance of a natural link profile, which includes no-follow links. No-follow is part of a healthy link-building practice and rather than avoiding them, we should be aiming for them.
This means that measuring PR success by follow links vs the number of no-follow links is outdated and something that is unnecessary.
Brand mentions
Brand mentions are an insightful metric and something celebrated by many digital PR teams, while others see them as less valuable. But one thing most agree on, just as with backlinks, is that volume alone isn’t enough.
As Carrie Rose states on LinkedIn, what really matters is the real estate of the mention within the story and how relevant it is to the topic and category it sits in.
Mentions that appear in trusted outlets, in front of the right audience, can signal authority to both readers and search engines, something that’s becoming increasingly important with the rise of AI-driven search results. Still, it’s worth remembering that counting mentions without context offers little insight into true impact.
How to measure digital PR success
Organic traffic
A successful digital PR campaign should boost organic traffic. It’s a strong indicator that a PR campaign is doing well, not only generating headlines but also offering lasting visibility. When coverage earns quality backlinks from relevant, high-authority sites, it helps search engines connect your brand with key topics, boosting discoverability over time.
As MotivePR explains, effective digital PR and content marketing can significantly boost website traffic by securing mentions and links from trusted external sources. Mentions can make a brand more visible, driving more searches and site visits, while links directly send visitors to the target website.
The issue with using organic traffic as a PR metric is that it’s not a straightforward measurement, as other factors can contribute to traffic growth. Using Google Analytics to the best of your ability can help you track the source of online visitors and monitor before-and-after results.
Change in rankings
An uplift in keyword rankings is one of the most visible signs that digital PR is working. When coverage earns relevant backlinks from trusted sources, it strengthens the authority of linked pages and helps them move higher in search results. As with most things that impact search engine rankings, it’s difficult to pin down the main factor behind rank improvements, as it is often down to numerous factors and likely a cross-channel approach.
Organic visibility and keyword growth show how PR contributes to SEO performance by improving how often a brand appears for its target terms. Tracking ranking changes for priority keywords helps teams connect campaign activity to measurable visibility gains. See which changes to rankings are made before and after a campaign to determine whether it possibly affected search rankings. Although a great metric, it’s also not very reliable. It works best when a single company handles both digital PR and SEO.
Measuring improvements at page-level helps add more specificity and makes it easier to track what may have helped contribute to the success.
Link-building and tracking tools can help monitor traffic and ranking changes, both site-wide and per-page or blog post.
Referral traffic
Referral traffic is one of the most direct ways to see the impact of your PR efforts. As BuzzStream puts it, “Referral traffic is an under-appreciated success metric from digital PR. It is one of the most direct ways to see the impact of your PR efforts.”
Tracking URLs is probably the easiest way to measure a campaign’s impact, as it shows you exactly where the traffic has come from. But it can miss some activity when media outlets don’t include backlinks, allow tracking URLs or simply link to the homepage.
Tracking referral traffic is often provided by the client, using a UTM link to show where clicks came from and how successful a campaign has been. Additionally, it helps track other campaign results such as sales, sign-ups or leads. To view referral traffic in GA4, go to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition, then set the Session default channel group dimension to “Referral.” This shows which external websites are sending visitors to your site. There are other ways to dig deeper into the analytics and track referrals.
These links offer useful insight into reader behaviour, but they don’t tell the whole story. Many outlets still don’t prioritise tracking links, as highlighted in a post we included in our newsletter. Brandon Watts highlights, sometimes it’s better to celebrate the placement’s quality rather than focus on the lack of UTM tracking.
Brand reputation and sentiment
PR is more than winning headlines; it shapes what people think when they see it, the outlets a story features in, and the relevance of the story that’s told (and ultimately associated with the company/client).
Tracking brand sentiment helps show whether stories are being received appropriately, but it’s just as important to consider context. Coverage that aligns with your expertise and appears in trusted, topic-relevant media builds stronger credibility than one-off mentions.
It may be worth monitoring how and where clients are being talked about, who is engaging with them and whether that coverage supports their reputation as experts. When relevance, sentiment and consistency come together, you get a clearer picture of brand authority and trust.
A brand’s reputation can be measured in several ways, including sentiment analysis, share of voice, media exposure, stakeholder feedback and quality of mentions.
Here’s more detail on how to measure all of the previously mentioned metrics:
- Sentiment analysis: Evaluate whether brand mentions are positive, neutral or negative to understand overall perception.
- Share of voice: Compare how often your brand appears in media or online conversations relative to key competitors.
- Stakeholder feedback: Use surveys or direct feedback to gauge how customers, partners or media view the brand.
- Quality of mentions: Focus on meaningful coverage in credible, contextually relevant outlets rather than volume alone.
Topical relevance of coverage
Relevance is one of the clearest signs that a PR campaign is resonating in the right places. Coverage in publications that align with your industry, audience and expertise helps establish authority and trust far more effectively than generic mentions.
At Root, we review the context of every placement to determine how well it aligns with a client’s goals and key themes. A relevant article in a smaller niche outlet often delivers stronger long-term value than a high-traffic placement with no real connection to the brand. It’s about appearing where your audience already is and where your expertise naturally belongs. As Elise Brown highlights, getting topical relevance right can drive branded search and increase organic traffic.
Brand search trends
Tracking branded search volume shows how PR activity influences awareness and intent. When more people start searching for your brand name after a campaign, it’s a strong sign that coverage has prompted curiosity and recognition.
This can be measured through Google Trends or Google Search Console, where increases in branded queries or impressions reveal shifts in awareness over time. PR coverage that reaches the right audience often leads to spikes in searches for a brand, product or spokesperson, showing that people are actively seeking more information after seeing the story.
At Root, we use brand search trends alongside referral data to understand the wider impact of campaigns. It helps show that coverage didn’t just land but encouraged people to look deeper into the brand.
Takeaway
Although a broad range of metrics can be useful, they can also be counterproductive, setting unrealistic expectations and failing to show the full picture. Instead, concentrate on metrics that are more likely to move the needle by ensuring relevance, positive brand reputation and referral traffic.
