Earned coverage
Digital PR
Digital PR is the work of getting journalists, editors and other site owners to write about a business and link to it, because the story is worth covering. AI SEO Vancouver runs it in campaigns for Vancouver businesses.
No paid placements, ever
Definition
What digital PR is
Digital PR is public relations aimed at websites: a story, a piece of local data or an expert comment, offered to the people who run publications, in the hope they find it useful enough to cover and cite.
The result we work towards is an earned mention or link on a site your customers already trust. That matters for search because Google's local ranking help says prominence rests partly on how many other sites link to a business.
For a Metro Vancouver or Fraser Valley business, that usually means local news sites, trade publications and community outlets, not national press.
Buying links is a different thing. Google's spam policies count paid links that carry ranking credit as link spam, and that includes links placed through press releases spread across other sites. AI SEO Vancouver doesn't pay for placements or swap links.
Source: Google Business Profile Help, "Tips to improve your local ranking on Google" (page carries no date); Google Search Central, "Spam policies for Google web search", last updated 2026-08-28. Both read 2026-10-09. Read the spam policies.
The campaign
What a digital PR campaign includes
Each AI SEO Vancouver digital PR campaign runs for six weeks and follows the same five steps.
- 01
Find the angle
We look for the story your business can tell that a local editor would want: a useful finding, an opinion backed by experience, or a timely comment.
- 02
Build the target list
A short list of named publications and writers who cover your topic or area, chosen by hand. No mass email lists.
- 03
Make one asset
One campaign piece or press release, written in plain language, with the facts checked and your approval before it goes out.
- 04
Pitch and follow up
Each pitch is written for the person receiving it. We follow up once or twice, then stop.
- 05
Report what landed
A dated report of every pitch, every reply and every mention or link that came from it, including the ones that came to nothing.
Price
What digital PR costs
AI SEO Vancouver sells digital PR as a $4,500 CAD campaign + applicable taxes over six weeks, or as a $3,500 monthly retainer + applicable taxes with a three-month minimum.
- Campaign
- $4,500 + applicable taxes, six weeks, one story angle and one asset, with pitching, follow-up and a report.
- Retainer
- $3,500 a month + applicable taxes for one ongoing story stream, quick responses to relevant requests from journalists, outreach and a monthly report.
- Retainer term
- Three months minimum, then month to month. Either side can stop with 30 days' notice by email.
- Billing
- Invoiced by email, with each invoice due within 14 days. Prices exclude applicable taxes (GST, and PST where it applies).
- Not included
- Paid media, commissioned surveys or research, design work and travel. Each is quoted and agreed first.
What do others charge? Two Vancouver PR firms publish prices. Their listed packages ran from $3,500 CAD for press-release distribution to $18,500 for a full launch, with monthly plans between $4,999 and $9,999. Most firms quote only after a call.
Source: AI SEO Vancouver review of prices published on two Vancouver PR firms' websites, read 2026-10-09. Firms are not named.
Limits
What digital PR can't promise
Editors decide what they publish, so AI SEO Vancouver can't promise coverage, and doesn't. What we sell is the work: the angle, the asset, the pitches and an honest report.
- A set number of articles, links or mentions.
- Coverage in a named publication.
- Paid links that carry ranking credit. Those break Google's spam policies.
- A change in rankings or AI answers by a given date.
Related services
How digital PR supports search
Digital PR feeds the two search services. It doesn't replace either one.
SEO
Earned links and mentions help Google judge how well known your business is. They work best when the pages they point to are already in good shape.
Read about SEOAnswer engine optimization
AI tools describe a business from what is written about it. Independent coverage gives them more sources that explain what your business is and does.
Read about AEOWhat it is not
Advertorials, sponsored posts and paid listings are advertising. If you buy them, Google asks that their links carry a "sponsored" label. We don't sell them as PR.
Paid advertisingSource: Google Search Central, "Qualify your outbound links to Google", last updated 2025-12-10, read 2026-10-09.
Last reviewed 27 October 2026
Message
Ask about a PR campaign
Tell us about your work and anything new or unusual going on. A person reads every message and replies by email.
What happens next
- We read your message and look for a story angle worth pitching.
- On a short call we tell you whether there is one.
- If there is, the six-week campaign starts with the target list.
Still unsure? Send us your question and a person will answer it plainly, by email.
Send a questionQuestions about digital PR
Digital PR is public relations for the web. You offer publications a story, local data or an expert view that is worth covering, and the coverage brings mentions and links back to your site. Nothing is paid for.
Not quite. Link building is any effort to get links, and some of it breaks Google's rules. Digital PR earns links as a side effect of real coverage, which is the kind Google's policies allow.
That can happen, and the report will say so. You still get the target list, the asset and a record of every reply. We'll also tell you whether a second angle is worth trying or whether your money is better spent elsewhere.