In Digital PR, the best campaigns don’t just happen; they’re carefully engineered to capture attention, spark conversation, and secure high-quality media coverage that resonates with audiences and boosts SEO authority. For inspiration, look no further than one of the most talked-about campaigns of 2026 so far: the so-called “Beckham clause.”
When travel brand On the Beach launched a tongue-in-cheek holiday refund perk dubbed the Beckham clause, it wasn’t just clever wordplay; it was strategic Digital PR genius. The idea? If a family holiday suddenly unravels due to a family feud, the brand will refund one person’s share of the accommodation as long as the fallout happens at least 60 days before departure.
What made this campaign so effective wasn’t just the offer itself; it was the context and timing.
1. Tap into a trending narrative
The Beckham family has been the subject of global media coverage due to their widely reported family tensions, particularly between David and Brooklyn Beckham. The personal drama has dominated news cycles, social feeds, and search behaviour, creating a cultural moment everyone’s talking about.
On the Beach didn’t create the story, but it inserted itselfinto it cleverly. They took a high-visibility trend and played off it in a way that felt light-hearted, relevant, and perfectly pitched for travel audiences.
Lesson: Your next DPR campaign doesn’t always need a massive original dataset or multi-tier assets. Sometimes the smartest idea is to tap into what people are already searching for and talking about.
2. Use humour and human insight
Family holidays are emotional. People have been there: one person argues, tempers flare, and suddenly plans change. By framing this universal experience with a cultural hook, the campaign struck a chord with audiences, and crucially, with journalists. Clever PR isn’t just about facts; it’s about feelings and relatability.
Lesson: Look for angles with emotional pull, humour, nostalgia, frustration, fear of missing out, to give your pitches an extra layer of resonance.
3. Create newsworthy criteria
On the Beach didn’t just launch a refund offer; they defined clear criteria (like a 60-day notice), making the announcement newsworthy and quotable. Journalists love specifics; it makes writing easier and lends authority to the story.
Lesson: When conceptualising your campaign, ensure there are clear takeaways that reporters can quote and explain in headlines and sub-headlines.
4. Earn media and SEO results
The result? Coverage in major outlets like the Daily Mail and beyond, a perfect blend of reach and backlink potential that boosts branded search and domain authority. For agencies specialising in SEO and Digital PR, that combo is gold.
Digital PR shouldn’t be an afterthought or a bolt-on. The Beckham clause campaign shows how a strong cultural hook, mixed with strategic positioning, can deliver coverage that supports SEO performance, elevates brand presence, and generates engagement. Save this idea for your next DPR brainstorming session. It’s a reminder that sometimes the best inspiration comes not from reinvention, but from reaction and relevance.
Digital PR teams face a constant tension between two priorities. On one hand, there’s creativity: developing innovative campaigns, crafting compelling stories, designing shareable assets, and capturing attention in ways that resonate emotionally. On the other hand, there’s linkability: ensuring every campaign or asset has the potential to earn high-quality, authoritative links that boost SEO and measurable business outcomes.
Both are critical, but finding the right balance is often challenging. Lean too far into creativity, and campaigns may fail to generate measurable impact. Focus solely on linkability, and your content risks being bland or forgettable.
This tension is intensified by limited resources. Many teams are small, and marketers are expected to deliver both standout ideas and measurable results simultaneously. The question becomes: how do you create PR that is both memorable and link-worthy?
The role of creativity in digital PR
At its core, PR is about connection. It’s people talking to people, telling stories that resonate, and creating moments that inspire coverage and engagement. Creativity drives this connection.
Creative campaigns spark media interest, evoke emotion, and encourage sharing. Whether it’s a clever interactive infographic, a thought-provoking survey, or a timely cultural campaign, creativity makes your content stand out from the noise. It’s what turns a press release into a story journalists want to cover, and what encourages audiences to engage with your brand.
However, creativity alone doesn’t guarantee links. A campaign can be visually stunning or entertaining, but if it lacks SEO-friendly hooks or shareable components, it may never earn the organic visibility needed to amplify its impact.
Why linkability matters
Linkability ensures your creative campaigns drive measurable results. It’s the combination of strategic thinking, audience understanding, and SEO awareness that transforms great ideas into tangible business outcomes.
Earned media: High-quality links from reputable publications enhance your site’s authority and visibility.
SEO impact: Links are a key ranking factor; campaigns that naturally attract them can improve search performance.
Sustainable results: Unlike one-off social posts, linkable campaigns create content that continues to generate value over time.
Linkability doesn’t mean stifling creativity; it means designing campaigns with built-in opportunities for journalists and influencers to cover, cite, and share your work.
Finding the balance
The most successful digital PR campaigns strike a harmony between creativity and linkability. Here’s how to achieve it:
Plan with purpose: Start every campaign with both creative and SEO objectives in mind. Ask: How will this idea earn coverage? Which audiences will amplify it?
Use data to guide creativity: Audience insights, competitor analysis, and trend monitoring help shape ideas that resonate and attract links.
Design for shareability: Interactive tools, infographics, and visually compelling assets increase the likelihood of coverage.
Test and iterate: Analyse which campaigns earned links, traffic, or media attention. Use these insights to refine future initiatives.
Collaborate across teams: SEO, content, and PR teams working together ensure campaigns are both imaginative and link-focused.
Why it matters
Balancing creativity with linkability is no longer optional—it’s a business imperative. A campaign that earns coverage but fails to create backlinks may not impact SEO or revenue. Conversely, a campaign designed solely for links may be forgotten by audiences and journalists alike.
When done right, digital PR becomes a dual engine: it builds brand awareness, engages audiences, and drives lasting SEO value. The key is treating creativity and linkability as complementary, not competing forces.
Instant Data Scraper is an automated data extraction tool. It uses AI to predict which data is the most relevant on your page, and allows you to save it to Excel or as a CSV file. The extension is great for scraping lists of data, perfect for data-led campaigns where you are looking to utilise search volumes for a number of keywords.
The Glimpse extensionenhances Google Trends datawith absolute search volumes, in real-time, allowing you to discover trending topics. It can help to provide you with valuable data, such as spikes in search volumes, which can be really useful in demonstrating the ‘why now’ to journalists.
Whilst you can manually inspect for “no follow” links by viewing the page source, there are tools out there, such as the NoFollow tool, which will highlight no follow links in a red box, with those not highlighted in the box determined to be a follow link. The tool can help you to quickly confirm whether a link is a follow link or not, which helps with reporting on client coverage.
When working with international clients, you will need to visit websites that you may be blocked from accessing. Downloading a VPN, such as NordVPN, will allow you to access foreign publications, helping you to find the right targets and build media lists for journalists outside of the UK.
If you’re unable to locate a journalist’s email on databases, their author profile or social media, Hunter can help by identifying the most common email pattern for the website.
Every year, brands battle for a spot in the holiday hall of fame by creating Christmas campaigns that tug at our heartstrings, make us laugh, or impress us with their creativity. Some fade quickly, others become iconic cultural moments replayed for years to come.
Here’s a look back at some of the best Christmas campaigns ever produced, and why they’ve earned a place in festive marketing history.
1) Coca-Cola – “Holidays Are Coming” (1995–Present)
The red Coca-Cola Christmas trucks have arguably become more iconic than many traditional holiday symbols. First launched in the mid-90s, the “Holidays Are Coming” campaign created such strong festive nostalgia that people still anticipate its return each year.
Why it worked: A consistent brand message, unforgettable music, and imagery that triggers instant holiday nostalgia.
2. Sainsbury’s – “1914” (2014)
This cinematic ad recreated the legendary Christmas Truce of World War I, in partnership with the Royal British Legion. The emotional power of British and German soldiers sharing food and football on Christmas Eve created one of the most moving ads ever produced.
Why it worked: A beautifully executed retelling of a historical moment that highlights humanity, unity, and peace.
3. Apple – “Misunderstood” (2013)
Apple took a relatable and modern approach with a story about a teenager who appears glued to his phone instead of engaging with family festivities, only to reveal he was secretly creating a heartfelt holiday video for them.
Why it worked: Modern storytelling that flipped expectations and reinforced Apple’s message about technology bringing people together.
4. Marks & Spencer – “Mrs. Claus” (2016)
Marks & Spencer’s 2016 “Mrs Claus” campaign reimagined the often-overlooked Christmas figure as a modern, stylish, and capable heroine. Played by Janet McTeer, Mrs Claus secretly steps in to help a young boy make amends with his sister by delivering the perfect gift on Christmas Eve. With cinematic visuals, warmth, and a touch of humour, the ad offered a fresh perspective on festive storytelling. It stood out by celebrating empathy, family bonds, and subtle female empowerment, quickly becoming one of M&S’s most memorable holiday campaigns.
Why it worked: A fresh twist on traditional Christmas characters combined with humour, warmth, and strong female representation.
5. John Lewis – “The Bear and the Hare” (2013)
No list of iconic Christmas campaigns is complete without the UK retailer John Lewis. While they’ve delivered several brilliant holiday ads, “The Bear and the Hare” stands out as a masterpiece. Using hand-drawn animation combined with 3D sets, the story of a hare giving his best friend, the hibernating bear, a chance to experience Christmas melted hearts everywhere. Add Lily Allen’s emotional cover of “Somewhere Only We Know,” and you get a campaign that set a whole new standard for holiday storytelling.
Why it worked: Emotional storytelling, cinematic production, and a narrative that celebrates friendship and giving.
Working in a B2B environment requires a different mindset from traditional consumer marketing. Decisions take longer, multiple stakeholders get involved, and the path to conversion is rarely linear. To succeed, your marketing strategy needs to be precise, value-driven, and built around the needs of real businesses, not just individual buyers. In this blog, we’ll break down three essential tips that can help you generate stronger leads, create more meaningful engagements, and ultimately drive higher-quality conversions in any B2B setting. Let’s dive in.
Create Relevant, Conversion-Focused Landing Pages
Make sure your landing page matches the tone and message of your ad. That way, visitors feel like they’re in the right place the moment they click through.
Focus on what really matters to your audience: the business benefits, ROI, and your unique selling points. Show them real proof of your value with testimonials, case studies, or even client logos to build credibility and trust.
Use clear, action-driven CTAs like “Schedule a Demo” or “Get a Quote.” Keep your forms short and simple, but include a few key qualifying questions (like company size or basic criteria) to help ensure you’re getting the right leads.
Track Quality Leads & Support Long B2B Cycles
B2B sales cycles are longer than B2C and involve multiple decision-makers, so focus on lead quality over immediate sales.
Integrate CRM data and offline conversions into Google Ads to track qualified leads and opportunities.
This ensures campaigns optimise for high-value leads and provide accurate performance data.
High-Intent Audience Targeting & Ad Scheduling
Reach people by job title, industry (e.g., healthcare, tech, finance), company size, and location (region, country, city) to ensure the right businesses see your ads.
Use ad scheduling to reduce spend on weekends or outside business hours if target companies operate mainly on weekdays.
This maximises efficiency and minimises budget waste.
Creating content takes time, so it makes sense to get the most mileage out of each piece. One well-crafted blog, video, guide, or report can be broken down into several different marketing assets. Here’s how to do it, step by step.
1. Pick a pillar piece
Start with something substantial: a blog, video, webinar, or guide that’s packed with insights your target audience will care about and is relevant to your service/product. This is your main piece, the one you’ll repurpose into smaller formats.
2. Social media assets
From your pillar piece, you can create:
Quote cards with key stats or tips
Carousel posts breaking down step-by-step advice
Short video clips highlighting key points
“Did you know?” posts with interesting facts
Polls or questions inspired by the content
Each post links back to the main piece (the most detailed one), driving traffic and engagement.
3. Visual assets
Turn insights into visual formats:
Infographics or charts summarising data
Slide decks for LinkedIn or presentations
Custom graphics for Instagram or Twitter
Visuals are shareable, easy to digest, and help your content reach more people.
4. PR and thought leadership
Extract data or insights to create press angles or thought leadership pieces. Journalists love stats, trends, or expert commentary; your pillar content can supply all three.
5. Extra Formats
Think creatively:
Turn blogs into podcasts or audio snippets
Create downloadable checklists or templates
Build mini-guides or educational content from sections of the pillar piece
By breaking down one piece of content across these channels, you can easily create several distinct assets. Each asset reinforces the original message, reaches a different audience, and increases your content ROI.
Repurposing isn’t about working harder; it’s about working smarter. One strong piece of content can fuel your marketing for weeks, giving you consistent, high-quality material without having to start from scratch every time.
Digital PR is a modern approach to public relations that focuses on building a brand’s online presence through strategic outreach, content creation, and relationship building with high-authority websites and influencers. Unlike traditional PR, which centres on media coverage, digital PR aims to generate valuable backlinks, improve search engine rankings, and enhance brand visibility across the web.
For companies, understanding digital PR is essential because it directly impacts their SEO success and overall digital reputation. High-quality backlinks earned through digital PR signal to search engines that a website is trustworthy and authoritative, helping improve rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs). This, in turn, drives more organic traffic and potential customers.
Moreover, digital PR helps companies build meaningful relationships with key online publications and influencers, increasing their reach and credibility. In an increasingly digital world, leveraging digital PR is critical for businesses to stand out, attract more visitors, and grow sustainably over the long term.
In 2024, the typical Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR) for digital PR coverage averaged 61 (Reboot).
The average domain authority achieved through digital PR is notably higher than that of many other link-building techniques, which is why more brands are investing in digital PR services as 2025 approaches. Analysis shows that over 20% of backlinks obtained fall within the strong DR 70-79 range, making it the most common category. Additionally, around 16% of backlinks are in the mid-level DR 50-59 range, while nearly 8% boast a very high DR of 90 or above, about 28% more than those with a DR below 30. These findings demonstrate digital PR’s effectiveness in securing high-quality, authoritative links that can significantly boost SEO performance.
In 2024, the BBC website was the UK’s leading online news source, with nearly 59% of people using it to access news. (Statista)
In 2024, the BBC website stood out as the most frequented online news platform in the UK, attracting nearly 60% of users for their news consumption. Meanwhile, approximately 20% of the population primarily relied on Sky News or The Guardian/Observer, with The Daily Mail close behind at 19%. In contrast, the US showed a more balanced distribution among online news sources that year, with local TV news leading for just over a quarter (28%) of viewers, closely followed by Fox News at 27%.
The typical Ahrefs URL Rating (UR) for digital PR content hovers around 11 (Reboot Online).
A deeper dive into digital PR backlink data from 2024 shows that the average Ahrefs URL Rating (UR) for coverage sits at approximately 11. Notably, nearly one-third (32.96%) of the backlinks earned fell within the 13-15 UR range, while over a quarter (28.81%) were rated between 10 and 12.
Subject lines in digital PR campaigns that included questions experienced a 13% drop in open rates compared to those without questions (Reboot Online).
Analysing over 1,000 subject lines, Reboot Online discovered that digital PR emails sent to journalists showed distinct patterns in open rates. Subject lines framed as questions saw about a 13% decrease in opens compared to non-question formats. Including keywords like ‘data,’ ‘study,’ or ‘survey’ only boosted open rates marginally by 1%. Similarly, listicle-style subject lines offered just a 1% increase over others. However, subject lines featuring buzzwords, such as celebrity names, events, or special dates, performed significantly better, driving about a 12% higher open rate. The most effective subject lines typically contain between 4 and 8 words, with the ideal length ranging roughly from 4 to 11 words.
The global PR market is valued at over $106 billion (Super Links).
Data shows that the global PR market is currently worth more than $106.93 billion and is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 6%, reaching $144.28 billion by 2028.
Platforms used to store media lists (Super Links).
Media lists play a crucial role in digital PR efforts by helping pinpoint and connect with the most relevant journalists and media channels, thereby boosting the likelihood of gaining press coverage and expanding audience reach.
Response rate to PR pitches is 3.15% (Root).
Analysis of 425,000 PR pitches sent to journalists in Q4 2023 reveals an average response rate of just 3.15%, equating to roughly 13,000 replies. Among those that did get a response, 70% came within the same day, with nearly 60% answered within four hours. Additionally, over 83% of responses arrived by the following day. Most news stories stemming from these pitches (65.2%) were published within three days of the initial outreach.
87% of journalists prefer to receive pitches via email (Root).
An overwhelming 87% of journalists favour email as their preferred method for receiving pitches, while fewer than 4% opt for any other communication channels.
According to 60% of PR professionals, media relations management is getting harder compared to this time last year (Bluetree Digital).
Every month in the UK, 8020 Google searches include the keyword ‘digital PR’ (Energy PR).
Important components in securing coverage with a pitch (Superlinks).
Types of media commonly used for pitching (Superlinks)
When launching a digital PR campaign, various media channels are typically targeted. Digital and online platforms dominate, with a striking 90% of respondents frequently using them for pitches. Traditional outlets like magazines and newspapers still play a significant role, with 66% and 63% of respondents respectively including them in their strategies. Television and podcasts also remain influential, cited by 52% and 50% of participants as key components in their media outreach efforts.
A little over half (54%) of digital PR professionals typically send follow-up emails within 3 to 6 days following their initial contact. (Superlinks)
The overwhelming majority (92%) of digital PR professionals surveyed prefer to keep their pitch emails concise, typically limiting them to 300 words or fewer to capture journalists’ attention quickly and effectively. In addition to crafting brief initial pitches, just over half (54%) of these professionals aim to send follow-up emails within a window of 3 to 6 days after their first outreach. This approach balances persistence with respect for the journalist’s time, increasing the chances of securing a response without overwhelming the recipient.
Around 61% of PR professionals reported using or planning to explore generative AI technology (Superlinks).
This means that a majority of PR professionals, around 61%, are already incorporating generative AI tools into their daily tasks or are planning to do so in the near future. Generative AI can help automate content creation, improve communication, and streamline various PR activities, making it a valuable resource in the industry.
More than 50% of PR agencies struggle when trying to obtain responses from journalists (Superlinks).
More than half of PR agencies experience difficulties when trying to get responses from journalists. This challenge can slow down or even halt their efforts to secure media coverage, as timely communication is crucial for pitching stories and building relationships. Journalists often receive a high volume of pitches daily, making it harder for PR professionals to stand out and get noticed. This lack of response can lead to missed opportunities for brands to gain publicity and negatively impact the overall effectiveness of PR campaigns.
This week I am in Estonia discussing a topic that has been of interest to me since I was in high school – the concept of Ethos, Pathos, Logos and how rhetoric can be used in a powerful manner to drive performance in marketing.
I have spoken at a number of events on this topic so thought why not pull together a blog which discusses it in more detail.
Introduction
When I first started working in SEO, I quickly realised that it wasn’t just about rankings or backlinks, it was about people, it was about trust, logic, and emotion. In other words, it was all connected.
We often hear about E-E-A-T in SEO—Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. But there’s an even older framework that can help us bring this concept to life: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.
These three pillars of classical rhetoric are essential to crafting compelling SEO campaigns that drive both traffic and ROI:
Ethos (Credibility)
Pathos (Emotion)
Logos (Logic)
Let’s explore how this trio transforms and builds on E-E-A-T, taking it from a theoretical concept into an actionable SEO and conversion strategy.
Why Trust and Emotion Matter More Than Ever
Today’s consumers don’t just want to buy, they want to believe and as such, before making a decision they research, reflect, and seek validation.
81% of people research online before purchasing.
On average, people spend 79 days researching high-value products or services.
87% of consumers will reverse a buying decision if they read something negative about a brand online.
Your online reputation doesn’t just influence perception, it controls conversion.
In fact, positive internet reputation is the #1 factor influencing consumer trust (according to Trustpilot). In a landscape like this, your SEO and brand perception are deeply intertwined.
Consumers today have more choice and more power than ever before which means it’s no longer enough to simply appear on page one of Google. Your brand needs to stand for something. It needs to resonate emotionally and intellectually with your audience. That resonance is the difference between visibility and conversion.
Trust and emotion work hand in hand and when users feel connected to your brand and see it as credible, they’re far more likely to convert. Whether you’re selling luxury goods, financial services, or educational courses, the foundational element of any strong conversion strategy is belief—belief in your product, your message, and your brand promise.
This is why companies must actively monitor and shape their online perception. Every review, testimonial, media article, and social post contributes to a broader narrative that potential customers absorb and internalise. SEO isn’t just about climbing the ranks anymore; it’s about earning trust in every single search interaction.
SEO Isn’t Just About Rankings—It’s About Persuasion
Great SEO campaigns are persuasive. They build logical arguments, supported by evidence, that make users feel something, that’s where Ethos, Pathos, and Logos come in.
Incorporating these rhetorical elements isn’t just good for branding it has tangible, measurable impacts on user behaviour. When you earn trust (ethos), create emotional engagement (pathos), and offer compelling logic (logos), your SEO content becomes significantly more effective at driving action.
Most SEO professionals understand how to optimise for technical performance and keyword targeting but too often, content creation becomes robotic and formulaic. The most successful SEO campaigns break this mould by connecting with the user on a deeper level and tapping into the same persuasive techniques used by public speakers, journalists, and marketers for centuries.
For example, think of a service page for a mental health clinic. It’s not enough to talk about services and appointment options, the page should express empathy, demonstrate expertise, and clearly explain how their approach logically supports better outcomes. These are real-world examples of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in action.
Similarly, a product page for a high-end bike brand can use emotional storytelling (Pathos) to connect with avid cyclists, establish brand credibility with expert endorsements (Ethos), and logically walk through the advanced engineering benefits (Logos). The result? A user who not only lands on the page but feels compelled to act.
Onsite SEO: Build Trust and Guide Emotion
When users land on your site, they have an intention—a question or a goal. To match that intent and persuade them to act, your content needs all three rhetorical tools.
Logos: Align With User Intent
Logical, clear content that satisfies the search query builds credibility and drives conversions. Consider:
Content type (e.g., product page vs. guide)
Content format (e.g., video vs. article)
Content angle (e.g., comparison vs. tutorial)
The key to logos is clarity, your messaging should follow a logical progression that answers user questions and addresses objections. This might include detailed feature breakdowns, transparent pricing models, how-to guides, or comparison tables that help users make informed decisions – use the existing SERPs as a guide for the type of content that Google is looking for.
Search engines prioritise content that aligns with intent but they reward content that delivers real value even more. That means diving deep into topics, citing credible sources, and optimising the structure of your page for readability and relevance.
You can strengthen your logos-driven SEO by using structured data to highlight important elements, adding anchor links for easier navigation, and including downloadable assets for users seeking additional information.
Pathos: Appeal to Emotion
Content that explains benefits and not just features helps users feel why your offering matters. Start with a story. Show you understand their pain points.
Simple example:
Don’t say “Our mattress has a cooling layer.” Say “Say goodbye to sweaty, sleepless nights.”
Emotionally resonant content improves dwell time, social sharing, and brand loyalty. Think testimonials, storytelling, customer success stories, or user-generated content, all of these build emotional affinity with your brand.
You can go further by including lifestyle photography, community involvement stories, or user-generated campaigns that highlight authentic brand experiences. The key is to speak directly to the emotional motivators behind your user’s goals whether that’s feeling safe, valued, understood, or inspired.
Ethos: Establish Credibility
Use authority-driven content that positions your brand as trustworthy:
Expert commentary
Author bylines
Pillar pages
Detailed FAQs
Videos from real professionals
Credibility is one of the most undervalued elements of content marketing. Your website needs to look and feel like a trustworthy source including the design, the structure, and of course, the credentials of the authors.
Highlight awards, certifications, memberships, reviews, and third-party validations to bolster your brand’s trustworthiness. A well-structured About page, media mentions, and in-depth team bios can significantly increase user trust.
You can further establish ethos by adopting a consistent tone of voice that reflects professionalism, empathy, and clarity. Additionally, displaying security badges, money-back guarantees, or accreditations helps lower perceived risk in the decision-making process.
Google’s algorithms, particularly in YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) spaces like finance and healthcare, are increasingly attuned to credibility signals. This makes ethos not just a conversion tool, but a ranking factor.
Offsite SEO: Build Reputation Where It Matters
It’s not just what’s on your site, your brand’s perception across the web plays a critical role in both trust and rankings.
Steps to Take:
Review online sentiment
Analyse media coverage
Identify weak points and address them proactively
Your offsite reputation can be amplified by proactive outreach and strategic PR. By generating high-authority backlinks through trusted media sources and industry-specific publications, you enhance your domain authority and trust profile.
Online reviews, local citations, and social signals also play a role in shaping the broader narrative around your brand. Consider tools like Google Alerts, Brand24, or BuzzSumo to monitor how you’re perceived and identify gaps in your brand communication strategy.
Digital PR as a Trust Engine
Digital PR, when executed correctly, does more than build links—it builds brand equity.
Real Examples:
Road Traffic Accident Lawyer: 60+ high-DA links built around credibility and expertise.
Vaping Retailer: Leveraged media interest to build trust in a highly scrutinised industry.
Loans Provider: Collaborated with external experts to create human-interest-driven content.
Catering Brand: Used quirky angles like “Tiramisu Drawers” to land high-authority links and show industry knowledge.
These campaigns succeed not just because of the link metrics, but because they tell a story. They appeal to human interest, tie into topical conversations, and offer unique data or insights that position the brand as a thought leader.
Digital PR can also involve thought leadership opportunities, op-eds, or long-form editorial partnerships. These offer a chance to showcase your expertise (Ethos), provide valuable insights (Logos), and connect to larger cultural conversations (Pathos). The result is not just a stronger backlink profile, but a magnetic brand presence that builds over time.
Integrating Ethos, Pathos, and Logos into Content Strategy
To fully implement this model, it’s important to view content as a layered experience. At every stage of the funnel (awareness, consideration, decision) users are looking for slightly different signals.
At the awareness stage, Pathos helps users connect emotionally with your brand message.
During consideration, Logos becomes critical as users weigh the pros and cons and look for rational justification.
At the decision stage, Ethos reinforces confidence that your business is the right choice.
Here’s how that looks in practical content strategy:
Funnel Stage
Ethos
Pathos
Logos
Awareness
Brand mentions in trusted media
Emotional storytelling
Thought-leadership blog content
Consideration
Expert reviews, testimonials
Pain-point-driven messaging
Comparison pages, product specs
Decision
Certifications, money-back guarantees
Reassuring CTAs
Transparent pricing, FAQs
Use Case Example: A Legal Services Firm
Ethos: Bio pages featuring credentials, media coverage, case study testimonials
Pathos: Blog posts on “What to Expect Emotionally During a Divorce”
Logos: Step-by-step breakdown of the legal process, downloadable guides
Combining these ensures your messaging speaks to different cognitive and emotional needs—reinforcing your position in the search results and in the customer’s mind.
Measuring the Impact: SEO + CRO = ROI
To prove that these techniques work, tie Ethos, Pathos, and Logos into measurable outcomes:
Pathos → Higher social shares, increased time on site
Logos → More form submissions, higher conversion rates
Track not only rankings but also:
Goal completions by content type
Engagement metrics for emotionally driven pages
Conversion lift after credibility enhancements (e.g. adding author bios or media mentions)
These allow you to make the case internally that emotionally intelligent and credibility-focused SEO content does more than attract, it converts.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
If you’re trying to integrate Ethos, Pathos, and Logos into your SEO strategy, watch out for these pitfalls:
Over-reliance on logic: Pages that are all data and no story often fail to engage.
Neglecting credibility: Failing to show authorship, awards, or sources damages trust.
Ignoring the user journey: Not all visitors need the same kind of persuasion so make sure you tailor messaging to your funnel stage
Too much focus on links: Digital PR should elevate brand positioning, not just pass PageRank.
Always ask: “Is this content informative, credible, and human?”
Final Thought: The Future of SEO is Human-Centered
Search is changing. Algorithms are becoming more sophisticated, and user expectations are rising. To succeed in 2025 and beyond, SEO professionals must think more like communicators, less like technicians.
Ethos, Pathos, and Logos aren’t “nice to haves” they’re essential tools in the SEO toolkit—helping your content rise above the noise and connect in a way that earns attention, trust, and action.
So ask yourself:
Are we credible?
Are we emotionally resonant?
Are we logically compelling?
If the answer is yes to all three, you’re not just doing SEO. You’re building a brand.
Last Friday our Director Amanda spoke at SEO Estonia, one of Europe’s leading digital marketing events. Her talk, discussing how Aristotle’s Ethos, Pathos and Logos can help to drive ROI was well-received by the 400 attendees and left them with some thought provoking and actionable takeaways around how they can improve CRO and ROI by tying their SEO approach into ancient rhetoric.
The main focus of SEO Estonia this year was on ROI – how do we get more ROI from our SEO campaigns, taking a step away from vanity metrics to ensure that we are focusing on what really matters. With this in mind, each speaker was tasked with really tying their talk back to ROI and how the approach they are suggesting could drive real change in SEO.
Amanda discussed how incorporating the principles of Ethos, Pathos and Logos can directly impact your ROI in many ways:
Improving your brand credibility and awareness means that when people are looking for you, they will be reassured, making them less likely to drop out of the conversion funnel and more likely to engage with your product/service
How to review online sentiment and media coverage to identify where your gaps are and plug them – ensuring that users see what you want them to see about your brand and if there are areas of weakness that these are addressed and dealt with from a reputational standpoint
Using Logos to align with user intent – making sure that your content and content format matches the audience so they can easily understand why it’s right for them and ensuring that you’re showcasing benefits rather than features to push a more emotional appeal with your audience.
Understanding how these ideas map back directly to ROI, for example that Pathos can improve dwell time on site, therefore making users more engaged, or that Ethos can lead to higher trust signals and therefore a better conversion rate.
Overall, the two day conference invited some of the world’s best speakers to share knowledge and learn from each other – leading to some great overall takeaways!
Search engines are now a dominant force in the decision-making process for financial consumers. Whether it’s a consumer choosing a mortgage broker, a retiree researching pension options, or a startup searching for a business loan, nearly all journeys begin with a Google search. According to Google’s own data, over 70% of consumers use search during their decision-making journey in the financial sector.
But for financial services brands, ranking highly isn’t just about technical optimization or keyword stuffing. You’re operating in a “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) space, one of Google’s most scrutinized verticals and that means your SEO efforts must do more than attract clicks, they need to inspire trust, meet compliance standards, and deliver genuinely helpful content.
This comprehensive guide explores how to build a compliant, high-performing SEO strategy tailored for the financial services sector in 2025.
Why SEO Matters in Financial Services
Let’s be clear: SEO is not a “nice to have” in this sector – given the strong YMYL guidance across finance, adhering to guidelines and following these processes plays an important role in ensuring visibility for your brand while also meeting regulatory compliance.
1. Search Is the First Step for Most Customers
Whether it’s “best life insurance UK” or “can I get a mortgage as a contractor,” the first action people take is searching online. If your brand isn’t visible at that moment, you’ve lost the sale often before you knew the prospect existed.
2. Organic Leads Have High ROI
While paid search can deliver leads quickly, SEO compounds over time and delivers leads at a lower cost per acquisition (CPA). In industries like wealth management or insurance, where the customer lifetime value is high, organic leads can be the most profitable over time.
Additionally, paid search traffic in these sectors can often have an incredibly high cost per click, so being able to attract leads organically plays a key role in being able to keep costs down and within control compared to spiralling PPC costs.
3. Trust Is Earned Through Visibility
Ranking high in Google suggests credibility. In a space where trust is everything, consistent organic visibility reinforces that your brand is authoritative, secure, and worth engaging with.
4. Google Prioritises Accuracy in Finance
Because misinformation can have serious consequences in this industry, Google’s algorithms and human quality raters apply stricter standards to financial content. Your SEO efforts must account for these guidelines, or risk invisibility.
Challenges of SEO in Financial Services
The financial industry brings some unique hurdles that marketers in fashion or e-commerce simply don’t face.
A. E-E-A-T Requirements
Google’s emphasis on Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust (E-E-A-T) hits hardest in sectors like finance. If your content lacks expert attribution, verified information, or real-world credibility, it will struggle to rank no matter how well optimized it is. This is often due to the fact that E-E-A-T isn’t just an acronym in these sectors, it’s a way for Google to see that your website is offering genuine value to a user and not putting them in any potential danger.
B. Compliance and Legal Oversight
Financial services content must comply with regulations from bodies like the FCA (in the UK), the SEC (in the US), or other international watchdogs. This creates friction when publishing blog posts, on-page copy, or campaign landing pages. Legal reviews can delay content for weeks, or require fundamental rewrites so it’s important to have a clear understanding of how compliance ties into SEO to make this process as smooth as possible.
C. Longer Content Production Cycles
Because of compliance and internal sign-off requirements, financial brands often have slower, more complex editorial workflows. This makes agility (such as responding to search trends or news) harder which can hinder link-building and content freshness. Experienced SEO agencies in this sector will know what works best from a links perspective and be able to apply this approach to support your business.
D. Difficult Link Building Environment
Google considers backlinks as a signal of authority, but in finance, acquiring these links ethically can be difficult. Many sites are reluctant to link to financial services due to regulatory fears, or they demand high editorial standards, alternately even just getting content in for reactive newsjacking can have a long sign-off process meaning that you can miss the hook. Effective link building in this sector can be a game changer when it comes to performance due to the trickier nature of it.
Core SEO Strategies That Work for Financial Services
Despite the challenges, many financial brands are winning in organic search by focusing on the right strategies.
1. Building E-E-A-T Into Every Page
To rank well in YMYL categories, your website and content must scream trust and authority.
Ways to Strengthen E-E-A-T:
Showcase Authors and Credentials: Every blog post or guide should be written or reviewed by someone with clear financial expertise and their credentials should be visible.
Third-Party Validation: Include awards, media mentions, and Trustpilot reviews to support your credibility.
Secure and Transparent Website: Use HTTPS, display your regulatory information (e.g. FCA license number), and include a clear privacy policy and terms.
Create a Transparent “About Us” Page: This should explain your company’s mission, leadership team, and experience.
Real-World Example:
NerdWallet includes certified financial experts on all of their content and states when it was last reviewed. This type of content hygiene helps Google trust their information and it’s why they rank well for thousands of high-intent financial terms.
2. Keyword Strategy Based on Intent, Not Just Volume
Most financial brands fall into the trap of chasing broad, competitive keywords like “life insurance” or “pension advice.”
Instead, focus on user intent — and break it into three stages:
Awareness Stage:
“What is income protection insurance?”
“How does compound interest work?”
Consideration Stage:
“Best savings accounts for under 30s”
“Credit card vs overdraft: which is cheaper?”
Decision Stage:
“Apply for a fixed-rate mortgage online”
“Open a stocks and shares ISA with no fees”
Tip: Use tools like AnswerThePublic, AlsoAsked, and Google Search Console to discover long-tail and question-based keywords you can realistically rank for.
3. Content Hubs and Topic Clusters
Rather than publishing one-off blogs, build structured content clusters that build topical authority.
Example Cluster: “First-Time Buyers”
Main Pillar: “Complete Guide to Mortgages for First-Time Buyers”
Supporting Blogs:
“5 Government Schemes for First-Time Buyers in the UK”
“What Credit Score Do You Need for a Mortgage?”
“How Much Deposit Do You Really Need?”
Internal linking between these articles tells Google your site is a trusted authority on that topic, improving rankings across the board. You can also then tailor an effective Digital PR strategy to help build deeper links into these pages, building authority and supporting the overall performance of the cluster.
4. Local SEO: A Missed Opportunity for Many
If you offer in-person services even if it’s hybrid or Zoom-based local SEO can help you reach qualified leads.
Must-Have Elements:
Location Pages: e.g. “Independent Financial Advisor in Bristol”
Google Business Profile Optimization: Use categories, respond to reviews, add Q&As, post regularly.
Local Backlinks: Consider local events, get listed in business directories, build partnerships with community organisations.
5. Technical SEO: The Foundation You Can’t Ignore
Financial websites tend to be large and complex with multiple product pages, calculators, forms, and FAQs. Technical SEO ensures all of this is crawlable, indexable, and performant.
Key Areas to Address:
Core Web Vitals: Ensure fast loading, visual stability, and interactivity
Mobile Optimization: Most users now research on mobile, your site must be flawless here
Schema Markup: Use FinancialProduct, FAQPage, and Organization schemas where relevant
XML Sitemaps and Robots.txt: Keep these clean and updated
Duplicate Content: Especially with rates and regulations, ensure content isn’t copied across pages
Digital PR and Ethical Link Building
Earning high-quality backlinks is critical in building authority but you must avoid spammy or black-hat tactics, especially in finance.
Link-Building Strategies That Work:
Data-Led PR Campaigns: Commission or analyse data and pitch stories to journalists (e.g. “Average UK Credit Score by Age Group”)
Expert Commentary: Offer your advisors as expert spokespeople to react to breaking news
Create Free Tools: Mortgage calculators, ISA allowance trackers, or pension age checkers often earn links
Publish Original Research or Whitepapers: Journalists and bloggers love citing original data
Example:
Comparison websites have successfully gained thousands of high-authority links by creating utility comparison tools, consumer affordability studies, and reacting quickly to news stories with expert advice.
Measuring SEO Success in Financial Services
Your SEO reporting should tie back to business outcomes not just traffic.
Key Metrics to Track:
Organic Visibility: Impressions, ranking positions, and share of voice
Engagement Metrics: Time on page, scroll depth, bounce rate
Lead Metrics: Form submissions, quote requests, downloads
Conversion Attribution: Use GA4 and CRM integrations to connect content to customer actions
E-E-A-T Signals: Number of referring domains, quality of backlinks, author profiles built
Tip: Combine data from Google Search Console, GA4, Semrush, and your internal CRM for a full-funnel picture.
Emerging Trends to Watch in 2025
AI Overviews in Search Results: Google’s AI-generated summaries mean more zero-click searches, so optimise content for inclusion in these overviews
Voice and Conversational Search: More people are searching with natural, question-based queries
Search Personalisation: Rankings now vary more by user location, history, and intent local SEO and behavioural data matter more than ever
Topical Authority > Page Authority: Building deep, useful content around a theme will outperform isolated “SEO blog posts”
Conclusion
SEO for financial services in 2025 is about trust, authority, and helpfulness. You’re not just competing for clicks you’re competing to be the most credible option in a high-stakes decision. That means building a search strategy that balances compliance with creativity, data with empathy, and technical structure with user experience.
We’re absolutely thrilled to share that Cedarwood Digital has taken home five trophies from this year’s European Search Awards – including all three Agency of the Year categories!
🥇 Best Small SEO Agency
🥇 Best Small PPC Agency
🥇 Best Small Integrated Agency
Winning these three awards is a huge honour – not only do they recognise our team’s dedication across SEO, PPC and integrated campaigns, but they also position Cedarwood as one of the top-performing agencies in Europe. That’s a huge milestone for us, and one we’re incredibly proud to achieve.
Award-Winning Campaign Work
In addition to agency accolades, we were also recognised for the outstanding results of our client campaigns, winning:
Best Use of Search (FMCG)
Best Use of Search (iGaming)
These awards celebrate the strategic, creative and data-led work we deliver for our clients day in, day out. It’s amazing to see that effort recognised on a European stage.
A Standout Year For Growth & Community
2024/2025 has been a standout year for Cedarwood Digital. Not only have we seen incredible growth as an agency, but we’ve also focused on giving back to the community and helping shape the future of digital marketing talent.
This year alone, we:
Launched Manchester DM, a brand-new digital marketing meetup focused on sharing knowledge and growing the northern digital community.
Partnered with colleges to help students upskill and explore careers in SEO, PPC and beyond.
Delivered talks, training and insights at a range of conferences and events across the UK.
It’s been a year of ambition, collaboration and meaningful impact – and we couldn’t be prouder.
Thank You
A massive thank you to Don’t Panic Events for organising such a brilliant event and to the judges who dedicated so much time reviewing entries – your hard work doesn’t go unnoticed.
And of course, to our team, clients and community – thank you for being part of the journey. Here’s to continuing to push boundaries, drive performance and make 2025 our best year yet.
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