When it comes to the impact of PR, brands want to see real ROI, and with that comes an increased demand for data and metrics that directly prove results. Within digital PR we have a host of data at our fingertips which can prove the true impact of our efforts on a brand's online performance, and we’ve come a long way from just reporting on reach.

Organic rankings

If you’re not appearing in the SERPs (search engine results pages) for key terms your audience are searching for, how can you expect to compete? While branded search terms are still valuable, this relies on people knowing your brand name and actively searching directly for you. However, for product or service searches, whether long or short tail, top or bottom funnel, you want your brand to be appearing in the results in traffic driving positions.

In 2025, we should be actively monitoring, reacting to and reporting on your organic ranking positions. If you’re actively targeting a specific topic keyword as part of your digital PR strategy, why wouldn’t you want to report on that keyword moving up on the SERPs!

Organic traffic

In digital PR, we’re working to improve online visibility and a direct result of this should be an increase in organic traffic. This can be referral traffic from links secured, or an increase as a result of improving organic ranking positions for specific keywords. Reporting on traffic movements, especially following the execution of a campaign is a hugely valuable metric which can showcase impact.

Share of search

As a brand's online visibility, we’d expect direct brand search to increase over time. As such, monitoring and reporting on Share of Search should be a priority metric. This is not to be confused with Share of Voice, as it focuses on the volume of online branded search terms in comparison to key competitors in the same industry, and provides a percentage of how much you own online.

As you progress through a digital PR strategy, monitor the Share of Search improvements, and report on changes quarterly. While these are just three of the many metrics to track, it’s important to remember that the objectives of a campaign will ultimately dictate which metrics are the most important. Vanity metrics such as reach or domain authority will only take you so far, and don’t highlight the true value of digital PR efforts. Tools such as Ahrefs, SEMRush and Google Analytics are invaluable for reporting effectively, and providing insight into the impact of digital PR. Moving into 2025, PRs should be considering tangible metrics to showcase impact.