Show notes
E1092: Digital PR has become one of the most effective ways to build authority, earn high-quality backlinks, and strengthen your brand across both Google Search and AI search. In this episode, Aashish Khakhar breaks down the exact process his agency uses to consistently earn links from major publications. Instead of vague advice, he walks through every stage of a campaign - from coming up with ideas that journalists actually care about to building media lists, writing pitches, sending outreach, and measuring results. We also discuss where AI helps, where it hurts, why surveys continue to outperform most linkable assets, and how digital PR fits into modern SEO. Topics covered: - The difference between reactive PR and proactive (active) digital PR - Which approach is best for beginners and small businesses - How to find journalists that are likely to cover your story - Building media lists with Muck Rack and Hunter - Structuring outreach emails that actually get opened - Subject line strategies that improve open rates - How BuzzStream fits into large-scale outreach campaigns - Email warm-up and deliverability best practices - Why personalization still beats AI-generated outreach - Creating surveys that naturally attract backlinks - Using data studies and infographics as linkable assets - A case study that earned links from major publications - How internal linking amplifies the value of digital PR campaigns - Why anchor text matters more than many SEOs realize - Reverse engineering competitors' digital PR campaigns - Combining reactive PR opportunities with proactive campaigns - Whether press releases still provide SEO and AI visibility benefits - How digital PR contributes to brand authority and entity building - The role of brand mentions with and without backlinks - How AI is changing journalism, outreach, and digital PR - Common mistakes agencies make when running digital PR campaigns - The workflows Aashish's team uses to run campaigns efficiently - How he approaches topic ideation for campaigns that have the best chance of earning coverage - Why surveys continue to generate some of the strongest results in digital PR Whether you're an SEO, agency owner, consultant, or business owner trying to earn stronger links without relying on traditional outreach, this episode offers a practical look at how modern digital PR campaigns are planned and executed. Subscribe for daily conversations about SEO, AI search, Google, content marketing, and the strategies that are working today. ⭐️ Aashish Khakhar on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aashishkhakhar/ ⭐️ Aashish Khakhar's agency - https://healthsparkpr.com/ ⭐️ Aashish Khakhar's work example: Gulf Physio - https://gulfphysio.com/ ⭐️ Aashish Khakhar's work example: Power Your Curls - https://poweryourcurls.com/ 💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/ 00:00 Digital PR Kickoff 00:19 SEO Origin Story 01:42 Reactive PR Basics 05:11 Active PR Explained 06:48 Which PR Works Best 10:22 Case Study TikTok Stats Campaign 15:45 Building Journalist Lists 19:02 Pitch Templates And Tools 25:36 Email Sending And Warmup 30:42 Avoiding Generic Outreach 32:53 Pitch Testing Strategy 34:07 Subject Line Length 34:28 Reactive Meets Proactive 37:27 Press Release Reality Check 39:39 Cheap PR Distribution Hacks 41:24 Entity SEO Case Study 43:44 Common Digital PR Mistakes 46:17 Surveys Win Links 47:11 Survey Workflow Breakdown 51:04 Survey Ideation Challenges 52:44 AI Limits In PR 53:40 Budget And Team Scaling 56:05 AI Automation Boundaries 58:22 Competitor Campaign Recon 01:00:29 Quick Wins And Time Wasters 01:01:41 90 Day Link Playbook 01:02:56 Core Digital PR Mindset 01:05:00 Where To Find Aashish 01:05:45 Final Wrap Up The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #linkbuilding #backlinks #searchengineoptimization #seo