September 15, 2025
|17 minute read
The B2B landscape is facing a critical disconnect.
While 75% of B2B buyers now prefer a sales-rep-free experience, a staggering 41% of B2B marketers admit link building is the hardest part of SEO, feeling unconfident in their ability to do it effectively [2].
This gap isn’t an inconvenience; it’s a vulnerability created by seismic shifts in search engine algorithms.
For CMOs and growth marketers, the old playbook is officially broken. Tactics that once guaranteed visibility are now ineffective or, worse, actively penalized by Google. Brands that fail to adapt risk becoming invisible to their ideal customers.
Tactics that once guaranteed visibility are now ineffective or, worse, actively penalized. Brands that fail to adapt risk becoming invisible to their ideal customers.
On the front lines of this evolution, we see one strategy consistently closing this gap: Digital PR.
It’s the engine for building high-authority backlinks that drive trust, establish credibility, and accelerate the modern sales cycle.
This article is a definitive guide for B2B leaders navigating this new landscape.
Using fresh data and insights, we will provide the framework to audit your current strategies, evaluate potential partners, and focus your investments on what truly drives returns in a world of AI-powered search and self-directed buyers.
In 2025, two major trends are revolutionizing the B2B marketing landscape:
Google’s March 2024 core and spam updates were a watershed moment, driven by the need to combat the flood of AI-generated, low-value content that was cluttering search results.
The company announced its changes would “collectively reduce low-quality, unoriginal content in search results by 45%” [6].
This wasn’t a minor adjustment; it was a purge of websites built to manipulate rankings rather than serve users.
The update effectively dismantled the infrastructure of low-value guest post farms, rendering their links worthless overnight.
If you’re wondering why these updates happened now, it’s largely due to the rapid rise of AI tools creating spammy content at scale, prompting Google to prioritize user value over manipulation.
This algorithmic shift perfectly mirrors a powerful trend in buyer behavior. Today’s B2B buyers are researchers.
A recent McKinsey survey revealed that one-third of B2B customers prefer digital self-serve options at any given stage of the buying journey, using credible, third-party content to research solutions [3].
They actively seek authoritative information to guide high-stakes decisions, with 74% using online platforms to purchase products [7].
This is where Google’s emphasis on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) becomes the central pillar of B2B SEO.
Authority is no longer declared. It’s earned and validated by real media coverage and editorial links.
For those unfamiliar, E-E-A-T is Google’s framework for evaluating content quality—introduced in 2014 as E-A-T and expanded in 2022 to include “Experience” to reward real-world knowledge.
In B2B, demonstrating these qualities is non-negotiable.
True authority isn’t just claimed on a company blog; it’s validated by mentions, citations, and coverage in reputable, industry-leading publications.
Compounding this is the rise of AI-powered search.
With tools like Google’s AI Overviews now dominating search results—appearing in up to 72% of B2B buyer research queries [8]—the game is no longer just about ranking #1. It’s about being featured within the AI-generated answer.
Since these AI models are trained to synthesize information from sources they deem most authoritative, the value of being cited in a trusted news outlet or industry journal has grown exponentially.
The focus must shift from a narrow obsession with keywords to a broader strategy of shaping a compelling brand narrative that earns real, editorial links.
To underscore the urgency, consider that 39% of B2B marketers are planning to increase investment in AI for content creation to enhance their strategies, from content ideation to personalized outreach [9].
This integration not only streamlines processes but also ensures campaigns remain relevant in an AI-driven search ecosystem where 49.2% of businesses using AI report improved search rankings [2].
With a typical B2B sales cycle lasting anywhere from 6 to 12 months, trust is the most valuable currency.
Digital PR transforms link building from a technical SEO task into a strategic, trust-building engine that delivers measurable results throughout this long journey.
Digital PR is the practice of earning high-quality backlinks, media mentions, and social engagement to improve a brand’s online presence and SEO performance.
In the B2B context, it focuses on building long-term relationships with industry journalists and influencers by providing them with value-driven content, such as proprietary research or expert insights.
Unlike general PR, B2B Digital PR is highly targeted, often integrating with ABM to align with specific buyer personas.
It stands in stark contrast to the failing tactics of the past.
While traditional guest posting is increasingly seen as ineffective due to its association with spam [10], Digital PR focuses on earning high-authority, editorial links from genuine media outlets.
These are the links that Google’s algorithms are designed to reward, with 73% of link builders planning to use Digital PR tactics in 2025 [11].
The data is clear:
Reflecting its growing importance, digital PR now accounts for substantial portions of SEO budgets in some agencies [19].
The most powerful approach for B2B marketers is to partner with agencies that integrate Digital PR with Account-Based Marketing (ABM), ensuring every earned link not only boosts SEO but also reaches your ideal customer profile (ICP).
A successful B2B Digital PR strategy is built on a foundation of creating genuinely newsworthy assets that journalists and industry publications are eager to cover.
This approach enhances backlink acquisition while naturally incorporating semantic elements like authority signals and topical relevance.
This is the most reliable and respected tactic in the B2B Digital PR arsenal. It involves creating original research or analyzing existing data to unearth novel insights that fill a knowledge gap in your industry.
For B2B, this is particularly powerful, as proprietary data positions your brand as a primary source and an indispensable thought leader.
Original data is, by definition, unique and cannot be easily replicated by competitors or AI.
It provides journalists with the fresh, verifiable statistics they need to build credible stories. Top-performing B2B teams have found that data-led content earns significantly more backlinks than other formats, with 95% of digital PR professionals using it [10].
Data-led content is a dominant tactic for 2025, with 68% of journalists preferring data such as original research [15].
Yes, it uncovers industry-specific insights that attract specialized media, like surveys on AI adoption challenges for tech firms.
B2B buyers purchase from brands they trust, and that trust is often built on the credibility of a company’s leadership.
This tactic involves positioning your executives as the go-to experts in your industry. By proactively sharing bold commentary on breaking news, your brand becomes an invaluable resource for journalists on tight deadlines.
This practice, known as “newsjacking,” can secure high-value media placements with remarkable speed.
The most brilliant campaign is worthless if it never reaches the right audience. Modern outreach rejects the “spray and pray” mentality in favor of a targeted, personalized, and value-driven approach that supports semantic SEO authority building.
Journalists receive hundreds of pitches a day.
A personalized pitch that demonstrates you’ve done your research on their publication and their audience is far more likely to get a response than a generic blast.
A tech company that executed this playbook perfectly created an AI study that earned numerous high-authority links, leading to accelerated sales cycles [4].
In the age of AI search, Google increasingly recognizes unlinked brand mentions as a signal of authority. While valuable, an unlinked mention is an untapped opportunity. The process of “reclaiming” these mentions by asking for a link is one of the most efficient link-building tactics available.
The hard part is already done—the author knows your brand and has already chosen to include it. Your outreach isn’t a cold pitch; it’s a warm request to enhance their existing article.
Earning a high-authority backlink is the starting gun.
A media placement is a powerful asset that must be leveraged across the entire business to maximize its ROI.
Failing to amplify your wins is like scoring a touchdown and forgetting to celebrate—you’re leaving value on the field.
While digital PR offers unparalleled benefits for backlink strategies, B2B marketers often face hurdles that can impede success.
Recognizing and addressing these proactively can ensure smoother execution and better outcomes.
Common questions include “Is Digital PR too resource-heavy for my team?” or “How do I justify the cost?”—we’ll tackle these below.
Nearly 72% of PR professionals believe digital PR is more challenging in 2025 than in 2024, with 30.6% struggling to measure the business impact of their efforts—a top challenge in the field [18].
B2B campaigns require significant investment, with agencies dedicating substantial portions of SEO budgets to link-building efforts tied to PR [19].
Start small with pilot campaigns focused on reactive PR (e.g., Help A Reporter Out, HARO responses) to build momentum without overwhelming resources. Partner with specialized agencies to leverage their tools and expertise, reducing internal strain while scaling effectively. Regarding cost, while budgets vary, the ROI often justifies it—many B2B firms see returns within 3-6 months through increased leads.
Outdated journalist information remains a top hurdle, and 73% of journalists reject pitches that are irrelevant to their beat. In niche B2B sectors, aligning with the right outlets is crucial.
Invest in robust tools like BuzzStream or Muck Rack for up-to-date media lists. Always personalize pitches by reviewing recent articles—many pros check bios and review past work before outreach. Build long-term relationships to increase acceptance rates over time.
Traditional metrics like link count fall short in capturing full-funnel value, especially with unlinked mentions gaining traction in AI search, where 30.6% cite measurement as the biggest challenge.
Adopt advanced tracking with tools like Google Analytics for referral traffic and Ahrefs for domain authority gains. Focus on holistic KPIs, including ROI potential from qualified leads. Regular audits can refine strategies for sustained results. If wondering “What if I can’t track everything?”—start with free tools like Google Search Console for branded searches and scale up.
By tackling these challenges head-on, B2B teams can maximize digital PR’s potential while minimizing risks.
To justify investment and guide future strategy, B2B leaders must look beyond vanity metrics like link count and adopt a holistic measurement framework that connects PR activities to tangible business outcomes.
These are the foundational indicators of SEO impact.
These capture the broader impact on brand equity and lead generation.
To successfully integrate Digital PR into your growth strategy, follow these steps:
The future of link building is inextricably linked to brand authority.
By 2026, the synthesis of Digital PR with AI-driven predictive analytics will help anticipate what journalists will cover next—is expected to grow, potentially lifting ROI further in the B2B sector, especially as 81% of B2B marketers now use AI tools for strategies like content optimization [9].
The leaders who thrive will be those who move beyond outdated technical tactics and invest in building a brand that is genuinely respected, cited, and trusted.
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