Measuring results in the world of PR isn’t always easy, and it can be tricky to pin down exactly how your campaigns are performing and who they’re reaching.
Domain authority, or DA, is one metric that has been popular in recent years. Based on a score between one and 100, DA predicts a website’s ability to rank in search engine results, reflecting its overall strength and credibility.
A higher score indicates a better likelihood of appearing at the top of the results page, and is determined by factors including good quality backlinks, domain age and history, content quality, and technical SEO features such as mobile-friendly design and loading speed.
A high search ranking drives more traffic, so it’s common sense that DA is helpful when building content strategies. But it’s not the whole story. PR is about so much more than metrics and rankings, and with the growing influence of AI, things are changing quickly.
The shifting landscape
Backlinks have always been an important component of SEO and search results, and generally speaking, the higher number of good quality backlinks a webpage has, the better. But this isn’t necessarily the case anymore.
AI generated summaries now automatically appear at the top of Google’s results page, for instance, and answer engines look beyond DA to determine what appears first. It’s about more than numbers and metrics, and is instead about how relevant the content is, and whether it actually answers the question being posed.
Expertise, authority, relevance and trustworthiness are key – volume of backlinks and DA score alone don’t hold the same influence they once did.
Quality over quantity
Audiences and algorithms alike are now looking for signs of authority, expertise and trust when seeking out websites to help with their queries.
This is why a good quality, thoroughly researched white paper can come out on top in search results, outranking smaller soundbites of information. The more expertise, nuance and detail, the better. These things indicate trustworthiness and can often more accurately answer the question at hand.
High DA is still important, and backlinks act as proof that the content is authoritative and is trusted by other sources. But the balance is shifting, and taking the time to build a strategy that looks beyond DA scores is important in our AI-driven world.
Don’t forget the story
At its core, PR is about storytelling. It goes beyond metrics and is about brand values, meaningful engagement, and building trust. Getting caught up in the numbers can take away from this, and while metrics are important, that isn’t what we want to achieve.
It’s also worth remembering that demand for content that feels authentic and personal is growing. Audiences are becoming more cautious and sceptical as AI-generated content becomes more common, and this means that there is more space for value-driven storytelling than ever before.
Stories with personality, unique experience, genuine insight and a human voice are worth their weight in gold in an overly saturated online space, and this is what PR is all about.
So while domain authority still has its merits, it’s certainly not the whole story when it comes to PR. Getting the right balance of human storytelling, authoritative content, and good quality backlinks is the best route to take.
If you would like to hear more about how we can help you elevate your brand and amplify your message, contact hello@makemorenoise.co.uk or call 0121 594 0712.
