We promise this blog will be interesting, albeit it’s title. In the ever-evolving and highly stressful world of public relations, practitioners are often asked “how does PR increase my sales?” or “how will I know PR is actually working for my company?” Before we dive into one of the ways to measure effectiveness, we’d first like to share insight into public relations, see disclaimer at the end of the blog. *
A recent article in Hubspot described domain authority (DA) as your website’s reputation as a thought leader. Google uses your domain authority to make sure you can provide the highest-quality content about your specific subject matter.
Every publication, blog site, website has a DA score. Moz scores Domain Authority on a 100-point logarithmic scale. All websites, from large to small and new to old, have a DA. This number isn’t static; the DA of a given website can change over time, but it’s easier for a website with a DA of 20 to get to 30 than it is for a website 70 to grow to 80.
If you want to do a deep dive, read this moz.com article.
BLASTmedia points out that publications like the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes and TechCrunch generate a lot of engagement and traffic. And while we can quantify a portion of their value through potential readership, DA can help place these outlets on a spectrum.
Why does it matter?
Take our client, Lavender Life, for example, they have a lot of amazing products which are perfect for a variety of gift guides – Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Easter…you get the drift. When we are working on placement, we ALWAYS checked the publication or blogger’s DA. Anything with a DA higher than our client’s website works to increase their DA. A higher DA results in more traffic to your client’s website which CAN increase sales. The goal is constant coverage and your DA and sales will increase OVER TIME.
Media coverage isn’t just placing a story in one publication. The right coverage mix is key – broadcast, online, print, etc. and the storylines need to be diverse. DA is a measure of a website’s quality and its ability to rank in search, it is only one measurement aspect of your public relations strategy and reporting process.
As always, we’re here to help.
*Disclaimer: Public relations will result in media coverage, aforementioned media coverage will continue to build on itself while slowly increasing your brand awareness which ultimately will result in an increase in sales. This, however, takes time…like months and months and months. If you hire an agency for say two months and receive lots of great coverage which continues to afford even more opportunity but then say “we’re gonna stop investing cause we don’t see a sales increase,” then you’ve effectively cut off your nose to spite your face. End rant.
