Decide what success means before the campaign
Start with the business goal. A company entering a new market may care about coverage read in that country. A campaign supporting a useful guide may aim to earn references to that page. An enquiry-focused campaign also needs a way to record visits and leads.
Save a baseline before outreach starts: current coverage, linking websites, search performance and the enquiries you already receive. Use a stated date range and keep notes of other changes, such as a website relaunch or advertising campaign. Those changes can affect the result too.
What to record for each piece of coverage
Record the live article URL, publication date, brand attribution and whether a link is present. If there's a link, check its destination, visible wording and rel attributes. Note whether the article is original reporting or a syndicated copy.
A referring domain is a website that links to yours. Two articles on the same domain can contain two links but add only one distinct referring domain. An unlinked brand mention adds no referring domain. Record a website as new only if it was absent from the link data used for your baseline.
Labels such as nofollow and sponsored describe the relationship of a link. A regular link doesn't need a dofollow attribute. Google's official link guidance explains the values. None of them lets a reporting tool calculate a guaranteed ranking gain.
A simple digital PR report example
The following is a fictional report, with made-up publication names. It demonstrates the counting method and isn't a client result.
| Article | Publication site | Link to the business | Coverage type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Study launch | Paper A | Yes, to the study; no qualifying rel value | Original article |
| Follow-up story | Paper A | Yes, to the study; no qualifying rel value | Separate original article |
| Regional edition | Paper B | No | Syndicated version of the launch |
| Expert interview | Trade Title C | Yes, to the homepage; nofollow | Original interview |
That's four articles across three publication sites, including one syndicated copy. Three articles contain links, but only two distinct sites link: Paper A and Trade Title C. Paper B supplies an unlinked mention. You can't call all four articles new referring domains or four independent editorial decisions.
The table alone tells us nothing about readership, visits, rankings or sales. Those need separate evidence. If Paper A already linked before this campaign, it isn't a newly acquired referring domain either.
Connect coverage to visits and enquiries
Where analytics is available, check referral visits from the publication and what those visitors did on the site. For example, a completed enquiry form is more informative than simply loading the contact page. Use consistent event definitions and avoid counting the same enquiry twice.
Attribution is incomplete. Someone may read an article, remember the brand and search for it later. Privacy settings and missing referral information can also hide a visit's source. Report the visits and enquiries you can observe, explain the gaps and avoid crediting PR with every sale after publication.
For return on investment, the revenue figure needs a defensible connection to the campaign. Comparing an assumed advertising value with the agency fee isn't a measure of profit.
Use Search Console for search performance
In Search Console, an impression records an appearance under Google's counting rules; a click records someone selecting your result. Average position describes the appearances that were counted. It isn't a permanent place in the results.
Compare the same page and query with the same country, device and search type filters. A full 28-day period is usually more useful than a few hours, particularly on a small site. Keep branded searches separate from searches for a service. Use a longer view and the previous year's pattern where seasonality matters.
More impressions or a better average position can be encouraging, but they don't prove a PR link caused the change. Other site work, demand and Google's systems also matter. Google's Performance report documentation explains the metrics and reporting limitations.
Check quality and explain uncertain numbers
Read the article. Does it use the business as a credible source, and does the link help a reader? A high third-party domain score can't answer that. Domain Authority and Domain Rating are third-party tool metrics, and Google doesn't use them.
A publication's estimated monthly traffic isn't the number of people who read your article. Adding several publications' audiences together doesn't establish unique reach, because their readers may overlap. Label estimates with their source and date.
Share of search is the share of a defined set of brand searches belonging to your brand. It can give context, but depends on which competitors and keyword estimates you use. It isn't market share or proof of a PR campaign's effect.
What the monthly summary should say
A useful summary explains what was published, which coverage carried links, what remains in progress and what will change next. Attach the coverage log so the reader can check the totals. State the date range and any missing analytics access.
Keep the campaign's delivery commitment separate from broader business performance. Completing a placement batch doesn't automatically mean sales or rankings rose. Our package page sets out the scope, while the service page explains the work behind it.