AI-powered search tools like Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Claude have been shaking up the search landscape in a big way. 

While Google still accounts for the vast majority of the search market, it has also begun incorporating generative AI (GAI) into its Search product via AI Overviews. 

As a result, AI search is literally everywhere you look now. 

This has created the need for marketers to begin optimizing their content for GAI search tools in addition to traditional search engines. 

Among the emerging generative search optimization (GSO) techniques, digital PR stands out as one of the most effective. 

Digital PR (public relations) involves networking with online media professionals to secure brand coverage. In terms of SEO and GSO, this means:

  1. Securing premium editorial backlinks from trusted news and media sites 
  2. Creating thought-leader content that attracts shares and links. 
  3. Developing original research based on relevant trends. 
  4. Building relationships with bloggers, influencers, and online journalists. 

These techniques are fantastic for building your brand’s authority, generating referral traffic, and improving traditional search rankings. 

As a bonus, the authority and notoriety you establish through digital PR will dramatically boost your visibility on AI tools. 

In this guide, we’ll show you how to improve your GSO through digital PR to help your brand flourish in the age of AI – so don’t go anywhere! 

Why Authoritative Mentions Matter More Than Ever 

In the SEO world, digital PR has long been coveted for its ability to generate top-tier backlinks. 

That’s because getting your brand featured on trusted media outlets and news sites skyrockets your domain authority and brand credibility – paving the way for higher rankings and referral traffic. 

Today, digital PR techniques have the added bonus of boosting your visibility on AI tools.

Here’s why.

Whenever GAI tools respond to user queries, they pull information from reputable online sources like:

  • News articles 
  • Blogs 
  • Thought leadership content (whitepapers, original research, etc.) 
  • Product reviews 
  • Articles from trusted media outlets 

If your brand is frequently mentioned in this type of content, you’re more likely to appear in generative AI summaries. 

What’s the #1 way to get your brand mentioned in relevant online media?

You guessed it, digital PR. 

Don’t just take our word for it, here’s what ChatGPT has to say about the types of content AI tools prefer (and it should know!):

 

For GSO, the goal is to build as much domain authority and brand exposure as possible, as these matter more than direct SEO metrics for improving AI visibility. 

The great thing about digital PR is that it works wonders for both GSO and SEO, so there are plenty of reasons to add it to your marketing repertoire. 

Earning Mentions in High-Trust Online Publications 

Okay, by now it should be clear that high-quality brand mentions are integral for GSO – but how do you generate them?

To find out, let’s explore some of our favorite digital PR techniques. These are the types of tactics we use to build premium brand exposure for our clients, so we can attest to their effectiveness. 

Creating original research 

Nothing generates top-quality backlinks quite like original surveys and studies. 

There’s one caveat, though.

The topics you cover have to be trending and relevant to your target audience. One of our favorite examples is Semrush’s recent analysis of over 200,000 AI Overviews:

This was when AI Overviews were still fresh, and it was some of the first major research done on the search feature. 

The results?

They generated tons of backlinks from high-quality domains in their field:

You can do the same for your brand by developing studies and surveys for the topics that matter most to your audience. 

Networking with journalists through HARO 

After going through several iterations (HERO and then SOS), the classic HARO (Help-A-Reporter-Out) is finally back. 

What’s that?

HARO exists to connect journalists with the expert sources they need for quotes, stories, and general information. 

It’s a favorite amongst digital PR professionals because it’s an excellent way to handle media outreach. 

Once you sign up, you’ll receive several emails during the day containing journalist queries. They’re categorized by industry so that you can quickly scroll to the queries that align with your business. 

Most of the time, journalists are asking for quotes or insight into a topic they’re writing a story about. 

Responding to these queries can help you secure brand mentions in reputable publications, which is what we’re after. 

Here are some HARO best practices to remember:

  1. The platform is very competitive, and the early bird often gets the worm. Do your best to respond to journalist queries as early as possible. Some businesses even designate someone just to track HARO queries, so stay vigilant. 
  2. Answer each journalist’s query in a concise, easy-to-read manner. Do your best to avoid industry jargon as that may confuse the reporter and cause them to overlook your response. 
  3. Don’t forget to politely request a link back to your website. This ensures that you’ll gain a backlink and not an unlinked brand mention (which is still valuable but won’t impact your domain authority). 

Publishing thought leader content 

Lastly, you should consistently publish helpful content that positions your team as experts in your field. 

This will help you achieve thought leader status with:

  1. Your target audience
  2. Search engine algorithms and GAI tools 

In particular, focus on developing:

    • Ultimate guides and how-to’s that dive deep into a topic and provide helpful resources throughout. The longer the better, so aim for around 5,000 words – but ensure everything you include is actually valuable (i.e., avoid filler). 
  • Visual content like videos and infographics that cover trending topics and define common industry terms. 
  • Case studies that showcase client success stories. For these, position your brand as the wise Obi-Wan Kenobi figure that equips the client with the secret knowledge they need to become a Jedi master. In other words, you’re the mentor, and your customer is the hero of the story. 

If this type of content regularly populates your website, you can expect to start seeing more backlinks and brand mentions. 

How to Track and Leverage Your AI Mentions 

You’ll need ways to monitor your brand mentions to ensure that your techniques are working. If you aren’t seeing the results you want after a few months, it’s a sign that you need to rework your strategy. 

Here are some tools you can use to track your brand mentions:

  1. Google Alerts. You can set up Google Alerts to notify you whenever someone mentions your brand name or related keywords online. The best part about this tool is it’s 100% free! 
  2. BuzzSumo. This is a great social listening tool and will keep track of your brand mentions and backlinks. 
  3. Talkwalker Alerts. This is another free option, but it goes a bit more in-depth than Google Alerts. It covers most blogs, forums, and social media platforms. 

Other than that, check out our in-depth guide on optimizing your content for AI Overviews, and you should be all set. 

Do you want us to handle your digital PR?

Our team will secure the high-quality brand mentions you need to improve your SEO and GSO, so don’t wait to try out our Digital PR Service now!