Did you know that online PR is the best way to build your brand reputation when compared to traditional PR?
In this online PR case study, we’ll show you exactly how we helped a client grow their traffic to 160K+ visitors/month and got them hundreds of mentions on high-authority websites.
And guess what?
Our online PR strategy wasn’t only focused on growing traffic and the number of brand mentions. Instead, it paid attention to driving overall growth for the client in terms of branding and public relations.
This involved promoting the client on social media, getting them interviewed on podcasts, and much more.
But how did we do all of this?
To discover that, let’s dive into our online PR case study.
Online PR Case Study: The Objectives
The main goal of the project discussed in this case study was to establish our client’s reputation as a thought leader in the digital marketing industry.
Some of the objectives we wanted to accomplish were:
- Growing the client’s website traffic
- Boosting their SEO results
- Increasing their social media presence
- Getting them more brand mentions on prominent websites
- Getting them featured in popular podcasts
- Increase the number of speaking engagements they had
We helped the client get all of these results.
Wondering how? We’ll cover that in the upcoming sections of our online PR case study.
Online PR Case Study: The Challenges
When we started managing digital PR for our client, we had to face numerous challenges. We’ll talk about them in this section of our online PR case study.
Let’s get started.
1. Competitive Industry
One of the biggest challenges we faced while managing online PR for our client was that they belong to a highly-competitive industry.
The client wanted to become a thought leader in the digital marketing space, which is already full of other experts.
And that wasn’t all.
These experts had a loyal following and were already well-established in the industry too. As a result, breaking into those ranks was going to be an uphill task.
On the other hand, our client was a relatively new entrant in the industry. As a result, there was a lot of relationship building and digital PR work required.
COVID-19, too, added to the competitiveness of this industry due to a significant rise in interest in “digital marketing.”
See how the popularity of “digital marketing” touched its peak recently.
Image via Google Trends
We’ll disclose the strategies that helped us overcome these challenges in the next section of our case study.
2. Low Traffic
The client’s site had relatively low traffic, which meant that establishing them as an industry thought leader would require a lot of impetus.
Note how the traffic on their website was just about 2K visitors in 2018.
We needed to drive a lot more traffic to the client’s website to get them more exposure.
We not only increased their website traffic but also got them featured in popular publications. Keep reading or case study to learn how.
3. Fewer Relationships
Another challenge we faced while managing online PR for this client was the absence of good relationships in the industry.
We had to do a lot of footwork to build meaningful relationships and get the client noticed by established people in the digital marketing space.
This was essential as only the most well-connected and popular personalities in the industry get invitations for interviews and expert round-ups.
And how did we go about all of this?
Find out all about our digital PR strategy in the next section of this case study.
Online PR Case Study: The Strategy
While offering our PR services to this client, we leveraged numerous PR strategies and channels. These included SEO, social media marketing, email marketing, brand monitoring, video marketing, and more.
Our focus was to build the client’s personal brand on every possible digital marketing channel to ensure maximum exposure and build a good reputation.
So, here’s how we went about digital PR work to boost the client’s online reputation.
1. Current Brand Sentiment Analysis
Before creating a digital PR strategy for our client, we decided to analyze where they stood in terms of PR already.
We started by analyzing their current brand sentiment by leveraging a social listening tool, Brand24. This helped us identify the number of brand mentions that the client already had and their approximate social media reach due to those mentions.
We also leveraged Semrush to get a detailed idea of how much organic traffic the client’s site was receiving in 2019.
Along with this, we delved into the number of keywords the client was ranking for at that time.
Analyzing these things helped us get a better understanding of where the client’s brand image stood. This, in turn, helped us create an informed online PR strategy for our campaign.
2. Online PR Strategy Development
Next, we developed a detailed online PR strategy for our client based on where they stood and where they wanted to reach.
We figured out that the client didn’t have:
- Good presence on search engines results pages
- Good social reach
- Decent website traffic
Based on this analysis, we came out with a four-pronged approach.
- We decided to leverage search engine optimization (SEO) to organically grow the client’s website traffic.
- We decided to regularly create social media content for major platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram to build a powerful social presence for our client.
- To take the client’s online PR to the next level, we also decided to launch a marketing podcast for them and invite reputable industry experts as guests.
- Finally, we decided to implement an email marketing strategy to build a loyal subscriber base, reach out to industry leaders, and build a rapport with them.
3. SEO
In this section of this case study, we’ll discuss what exactly we did to improve the SEO of the client’s website and why it was so important.
Improving their SEO would have helped us rank their website higher in the search engine results pages (SERPs). This, in turn, would help us drive more targeted traffic to their site and improve their brand recognition.
So, how did we go about it?
Our SEO strategy focused on both on-page and off-page SEO parameters to optimize their site for search engines like Google. It helped their site get a boost in search visibility and organic traffic.
Let’s take a look at the SEO strategy we employed.
A. On-Page Optimization
We started by analyzing the client’s existing website for on-page SEO parameters. We needed to understand if the client’s website provided a good browsing experience to their visitors.
For that, we leveraged the Site Audit tool by Semrush. Running timely SEO audits helped us get insights into the client’s site on-page SEO factors such as:
- HTTP/HTTPS errors
- Structured data errors
- Page loading speed issues
- Internal linking issues
- JavaScript and CSS issues
- Core Web Vitals issues
- Crawlability issues
Based on these insights, we could work to improve the overall visitor experience.
We focused on optimizing the client’s website for faster loading and addressed all of the HTTP errors to improve their site’s crawlability.
And finally, we rectified the structured data errors to increase the chances of getting it listed in rich results in the Google SERPs.
B. Content Creation
Content was at the heart of our SEO strategy for our client’s online PR work. After all, that’s the backbone of building a strong digital brand.
For content creation, we started by conducting extensive keyword research. Our goal was to chase long-tail keywords with high CPC and low competition.
Based on this research, we came up with relevant topics and developed a comprehensive content calendar for the client.
We also focused on creating different types of content, varying from infographics to review posts and in-depth guides.
What else?
The client already had some published content pieces on their website. We started updating those content pieces to improve their rankings in the search results.
The content creation story didn’t end here though. We also optimized our client’s content using tools like TF-IDF Tool.
However, content creation alone wasn’t enough. We had to come up with a strategy to amplify the reach of their content to get better digital PR results.
For this, we regularly shared the content published on the client’s website on social media and syndicated it on multiple sources including Medium.
C. Brand Mentions and Backlinks Acquisition
Our content and website optimization efforts took care of on-page SEO. However, we were still concerned about our client site’s off-page SEO.
In this section of this case study, we’ll tell you what we did to provide a boost to our client’s online reputation.
First things first, we decided to get the client more brand mentions and backlinks. When we say backlinks, we are referring to relevant links from authoritative websites in their niche.
And how did we go about it?
By outlining and executing a solid outreach strategy for earning links and mentions.
We started finding prominent websites in the digital marketing niche and reached out to them for guest posting.
Additionally, we registered on HARO and answered numerous questions by journalists on our client’s behalf. This helped us get our client more brand mentions from popular websites.
We did competitor research using Semrush to understand who was linking to our client’s competitors. This helped us identify and reach out to websites that could give links to our client.
4. Social Media Marketing
The next digital PR strategy we’ll talk about in this case study is social media marketing.
We crafted a powerful social media marketing strategy to help boost our client’s reach, social mentions, and engagement. The idea here was to reach relevant audience groups and direct more traffic to our client’s website.
We came up with a social media content promotion calendar and started creating visual content for platforms like:
In addition to standalone posts for social media, we also shared links to the client’s blog posts and other articles.
This, in turn, worked not only to improve our client’s brand awareness but also helped us drive traffic to their website.
Want to learn about the results our campaign generated? Keep reading this case study till the end.
5. Podcasting
Our online PR strategy for the client also involved podcasting. The aim here was to get the client featured on as many popular podcasts as possible.
This, in turn, would help establish their name among reputable digital marketing professionals. And, build solid relationships with other industry experts.
For this, we came up with a digital PR outreach strategy.
In this section of this online PR case study, we’ll tell you how we leveraged podcasts to build our client’s brand and improve their public relations.
We strategized and launched a marketing podcast for our client. We aggressively promoted this podcast through the client’s website and also on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and Stitcher.
Image via Apple Podcasts
Additionally, we invited the most prominent digital marketing personalities on the client’s podcast through our guest outreach strategy.
We did this to strengthen the relationships between our client and industry experts and to promote the podcast among their guests’ audiences.
6. Email Marketing
The next strategy we’ll discuss in this case study is email marketing.
We wanted to achieve three main PR goals by running an email marketing campaign for our client. These include:
- Promoting content published on the client’s website
- Building a loyal audience
- Developing and nurturing their relationships with industry experts
We added pop-ups and bars to the client’s website to build their email list. Once the list grew, we started sending out weekly newsletters to their subscribers.
We did this to keep the subscribers engaged and also to drive traffic to the new content published on the client’s website.
What’s more?
We also leveraged email marketing to help the client stay in touch with industry experts and build solid relationships with them.
Online PR Case Study: The Results
By implementing our online PR strategy, we successfully boosted the popularity and brand image of our client in the digital marketing industry. We also established them as an authority in the digital space over time.
Let’s take a look at some of the things we accomplished to improve our client’s online exposure and credibility.
1. Campaign Results At a Glance
Through our powerful online PR strategy, we were able to:
- Boost their website traffic to over 160K+ visitors/month.
- Grow the number of inbound leads by 52%.
- Launch and grow their podcast to 91K+ downloads/month.
- Rank their website for over 150K keywords globally (as of April 2021).
- Get the client featured on high-authority websites and build high-quality backlinks.
That’s not all.
Keep reading this case study to learn more about our online PR campaign results.
2. Numerous Features and Mentions
Through our powerful guest posting strategy, we were able to get our client featured on some of the most prominent websites out there. These included New York Post, VICE, Entrepreneur, The Atlantic, and more.
In all, we got the client featured on 150+ websites in the digital marketing space.
3. Improved Link Profile
With our online PR strategy, we significantly improved the link profile of our client.
Not just their number of backlinks increased dramatically, but the quality of backlinks improved too. The client now has over 389K backlinks from 7.2K+ reputable domains.
These backlinks have helped improve their domain authority and drive more referral traffic to their website.
And that’s not even the best part.
The majority of these 389K backlinks — about 69% — are all dofollow links.
Which means?
The client’s site received a major boost to its search visibility and rankings.
4. Increased Website Traffic
Our online PR and SEO strategy helped skyrocket our client’s organic search traffic significantly. We grew it from 82K per month to 167K visitors per month in just two years.
We also generated 877K clicks between October 2020 and March 2021. This figure was significantly higher than 794K clicks in the preceding six-month period.
5. Site Ranking for More Number of Keywords
In this section of our online PR case study, we’ll talk about increasing the number of keywords that our client’s website ranked for.
We also not only increased the number of keywords our client’s website ranked for but also improved their ranking positions in the SERPs.
Within just six months, our client started to rank for 7.1K+ new keywords. Additionally, the number of keywords on the first page grew by 374 to reach the 3.4K mark.
6. Social Media Growth
Our social media PR efforts started to pay rich dividends to our client.
We grew their Instagram followers from 10.8K to 13.3K in 1.5 years. This marked a growth of 22.86%.
And the best part?
All of this growth was purely organic.
Additionally, we generated over 6.14 million impressions on Pinterest during the same period for our client. We also built an engaged audience of 124K+ people on the platform.
7. Content Syndication Success
We generated a huge amount of referral traffic by syndicating posts published on our client’s website. The syndicated posts on Medium generated 86K+ views in just 30 days.
And guess what?
It wasn’t just the views. We were able to drive 26K+ visitors to our client’s website — about 5% of the entire traffic — through content syndication.
That’s not all…
Check out more awesome results in the coming sections of this case study.
8. More Number of Speaking Engagements
We got the client 150+ speaking engagement opportunities, including those on podcasts, events, and video interviews, all through our online PR strategy.
Some of the events our client spoke at, were:
- Influencer Marketing Days Conference, New York
- OPLZA 2018
- Bi-Annual Cinnamon TBCasia Conference, Sri Lanka
- DigiPlus Conclave, India
- Social Media Strategies Summit 2020
Through our powerfully executed online PR strategy, we got the client featured as one of the top 100 influential people in the influencer marketing space.
9. Increased Brand Mentions
We helped our client get 28K+ mentions within just one year and this helped them potentially reach 34 million people. These mentions also generated 17K interactions and enhanced positive sentiment around their brand.
10. Rise in Podcast Popularity
We successfully launched a podcast for our client and also helped them scale it up from 32K downloads/month to 91K downloads/month in just three months.
We also invited and got some of the most prominent digital marketing experts on the client’s podcast, including:
- Rand Fishkin
- Larry Kim
- Jeff Bullas
- Andy Crestodina
And that’s not even the best part.
We also got the client featured on numerous other podcasts like:
- Thought Leadership Podcast
- Shareworthy by IZEA
- MarketPlay
- Onalytica
- The Brainfluence Podcast
- CoSchedule’s Actionable Marketing Podcast
FAQs
Q1. Why is online PR important?
A. Online PR is important as it can help you establish yourself and your brand as an authority in your niche. This can play a major role in boosting your website traffic, domain authority, engagement, sales, and so much more.
Q2. What is the difference between online PR and digital marketing?
A. While online PR and digital marketing have a lot of similarities, they’re fairly different.
PR is all about building your brand awareness and reputation. On the other hand, digital marketing is a broad term that covers online PR work but is more focused on driving leads and conversions.
Q3. What makes a good online PR campaign?
A. A good online PR campaign focuses on giving an overall boost to your brand’s authority and credibility. It should include strategies for multiple channels like social media, SEO, email marketing, content marketing, podcasts, and more.
Online PR campaigns should help you boost brand awareness and reach and engage wider audiences through multiple channels.
Q4. What is an online PR strategy?
A. An online PR strategy is a strategy created and implemented to improve the awareness and positioning of your brand online.
It includes leveraging channels like social media accounts, media mentions, search engines, quality content, emails, podcasts, bloggers, journalists, press releases, influencers, and more.
Q5. What are some useful PR strategies?
A. Some useful online PR strategies that you should implement are:
- Creating content for SEO
- Publishing content on social media
- Launching podcasts
- Writing guest posts
- Sending email newsletters
- Participating in expert roundups and HARO questions
Ready to Replicate the Success Showcased in This Online PR Case Study?
If you’re looking for ways to boost your brand’s reputation online, online PR is the way to go.
We did find it challenging to boost the online presence of our client in the digital marketing space. But we were able to do it successfully through our well-thought-out strategy, which we’ve talked about in this case study.
We successfully established our client as an authority in the influencer marketing space and also grew their website traffic manifold.
And that’s not all.
We got the client featured on numerous podcasts, events, and web conferences as well.
If you’d like to achieve similar results, get in touch with us for our online PR services.
