Glossary

PR and media distribution terms

Plain definitions for the terms buyers see when comparing press release distribution, sponsored placement and earned media options.

SEO

Anchor Text

Anchor text is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink — a key SEO signal that tells search engines what a linked page is about, influencing how it is indexed and ranked for relevant queries.

Link Building

A backlink is a hyperlink from one website that points to a page on another website, signaling trust, authority, and topical relevance to search engines — one of the most important ranking factors in SEO.

Link Building

Backlink Profile

A backlink profile is the complete collection of all external hyperlinks pointing to a website — including number, quality, relevance, anchor text distribution, and domain diversity — used as a key indicator of SEO health and authority.

Digital PR

Boilerplate

A boilerplate is the standardized "About [Company]" paragraph at the end of a press release that provides journalists with factual background information about the issuing organization.

SEO

Brand Mention

A brand mention is any reference to a company, product, or individual name on an external website — whether or not the mention includes a hyperlink — recognized as an authority and trust signal in SEO.

Press Release

Dateline

A dateline is the line at the opening of a press release that states the city of origin and the release date — a standard formatting element that establishes the source location and timing of the announcement.

Digital PR

Digital PR earns online media coverage, backlinks, and brand mentions from authoritative publications through journalist outreach, press releases, and original content — combining traditional PR with measurable SEO outcomes.

Link Building

Do-Follow Link

A do-follow link is a standard hyperlink that passes link equity from the referring website to the linked page, contributing to the target site's domain authority and search engine rankings.

SEO

Domain Authority

Domain Authority (DA) is a third-party metric developed by Moz that predicts how likely a website is to rank in search results, scored 1–100 based on the quality and quantity of its backlink profile.

SEO

Domain Rating (DR)

Domain Rating (DR) is a proprietary backlink strength metric by Ahrefs, scored 0–100 on a logarithmic scale, estimating the overall strength of a website's backlink profile relative to other sites in Ahrefs' index.

SEO

E-E-A-T

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness — Google's framework for evaluating the quality and credibility of web content and its creators.

Digital PR

Earned Media

Earned media is publicity a brand receives through editorial merit rather than paid placement — including news articles, journalist-authored features, expert citations, and organic social sharing.

Press Release

Embargo

An embargo is an agreement between a brand or PR team and a journalist that restricts the publication of a news story until a specified date and time — allowing media to prepare coverage in advance.

SEO

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the practice of structuring content so AI-powered search engines — including ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews — can accurately extract, summarize, and cite key claims in their generated responses.

Link Building

Guest Post

A guest post is an original article written by an external contributor and published on a third-party website, typically in exchange for a byline credit and one or more backlinks to the contributor's domain.

Digital PR

Inverted Pyramid

The inverted pyramid is a journalistic writing structure where the most important information is presented first, followed by supporting details in descending order of significance — the standard format for press releases and news reporting.

Link Building

Link building is the process of acquiring hyperlinks from external websites that point back to your own, with the goal of improving domain authority, search engine rankings, and organic traffic.

Link Building

Link Insertion

A link insertion — also known as a niche edit — is the practice of adding a hyperlink into an existing published article on a third-party website, pointing back to a target page, typically in exchange for a fee paid to the site owner.

SEO

Link Juice

Link juice is an informal SEO term for the ranking value passed from one page to another through a hyperlink — formally referred to as link equity — which contributes to a target page's domain authority and ranking potential.

Digital PR

Media Coverage

Media coverage is the editorial mention, feature article, or news story about a brand, product, or event that appears in a media outlet — representing an independent journalistic decision to cover a story.

Digital PR

Media Outreach

Media outreach is the practice of proactively contacting journalists, editors, and content creators to pitch stories or expert commentary with the goal of earning editorial coverage and media mentions.

Digital PR

Media Pitch

A media pitch is a short, targeted communication — usually an email — sent to a journalist or editor to propose a story idea, offer an expert source, or suggest coverage of a newsworthy development.

Digital PR

Media Relations

Media relations is the ongoing practice of building and maintaining professional relationships with journalists, editors, and media outlets to facilitate consistent, positive earned media coverage over time.

Digital PR

News Release

A news release is an official written statement from an organization distributed to media outlets to announce a newsworthy event or milestone — functionally equivalent to a press release, with the term preferred in digital-first contexts.

Press Release

Newswire

A newswire is a distribution service that transmits press releases and news announcements to a network of media outlets, journalists, and online platforms — enabling a brand to reach hundreds of publications with a single submission.

Link Building

Niche Edit

A niche edit is a type of backlink acquired by inserting a hyperlink into an existing, already-published article on a third-party website — also commonly referred to as a link insertion.

SEO

Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO refers to all optimization activities that occur outside a website's own pages — primarily link building, digital PR, brand mention acquisition, and social signals — that influence how search engines evaluate a site's authority.

SEO

Organic Traffic

Organic traffic refers to website visitors who arrive through unpaid search engine results — clicking on a link that appears naturally in Google or another search engine rather than through paid advertising.

SEO

Parasite SEO

Parasite SEO is the practice of publishing content on high-authority third-party websites not for editorial value, but to exploit that site's domain authority and ranking signals to rank pages that would not rank independently.

Digital PR

Press Kit

A press kit is a curated collection of brand materials — including company background, executive bios, high-resolution images, key facts, and recent press releases — provided to journalists to make coverage faster and more accurate.

Press Release

Press release

A press release is an official written statement issued by a company or organization to announce news, updates, or events to media outlets and the public. It is used in digital PR to secure media coverage, improve online visibility, and strengthen brand credibility.

Digital PR

PR and media distribution terms

Anchor Text

Backlink

Backlink Profile

Boilerplate

Brand Mention

Dateline

Digital PR

Do-Follow Link

Domain Authority

Domain Rating (DR)

E-E-A-T

Earned Media

Embargo

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

Guest Post

Inverted Pyramid

Link Building

Link Insertion

Link Juice

Media Coverage

Media Outreach

Media Pitch

Media Relations

News Release

Newswire

Niche Edit

Off-Page SEO

Organic Traffic

Parasite SEO

Press Kit

Press release

Press Release Distribution

Referring Domain

Topical Authority

Wire Service