Public relations is often misunderstood as a branding tool that’s hard to quantify. But in today’s data-driven world, that view is outdated. Brands that treat PR as an investment, not just an expense, are asking the right question: What’s the real return on investment (ROI) of our PR efforts?
Measuring PR ROI doesn’t have to be vague. With the right framework, you can connect media coverage to real business outcomes like website traffic, lead generation, and revenue. Let’s break down how to measure the actual impact of your PR campaigns — and what metrics truly matter.
Start With Clear Goals
You can’t measure success if you don’t know what success looks like. Before launching a PR campaign, define your objectives.
Are you aiming to:
- Build brand awareness?
- Drive traffic to your site?
- Generate leads or sales?
- Improve your brand’s reputation?
Your KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) must match these goals. For example, if you’re focused on awareness, look at impressions, media mentions, and share of voice. If you’re chasing conversions, track referral traffic and form submissions from earned media.
“Don’t treat PR as a one-size-fits-all effort. A targeted goal makes it easier to calculate ROI later,” explains Jacob Hale, Lead Acquisitions Specialist at OKC Property Buyers.
Track Media Coverage and Mentions
The most direct output of a PR campaign is earned media. But a long list of press mentions isn’t enough. You need to measure quality and impact.
Use media monitoring tools to track:
- Number of mentions.
- Domain authority of the publication.
- Context (feature article vs. quote).
- Tone (positive, neutral, negative).
Next, assign a value. A mention in Forbes carries more weight than a blog post on a low-traffic site.
“Always combine volume and quality. A single strong feature can outperform 10 irrelevant mentions,” says Jeffrey Zhou, CEO and founder of Fig Loans.
Measure Website Traffic From PR Placements
One of the best ways to track PR ROI is to measure the traffic it brings to your site.
Use Google Analytics or similar tools to monitor:
- Referral traffic from media sites.
- Time on site and bounce rate for referred users.
- Pageviews on the press release landing page.
- UTM parameters (custom URLs for PR links).
If you work with publications that don’t include backlinks, look for indirect lift. You may see a spike in branded search queries (like “YourBrand reviews”) right after a story goes live.
This type of organic lift is hard to tie directly to one source, but still indicates PR success.
Connect PR to Leads and Conversions
Traffic alone doesn’t pay the bills — leads and sales do.
To measure conversion-based ROI:
- Set up goals in Google Analytics (form submissions, purchases, downloads).
- Use CRM tools like HubSpot or Salesforce to track where leads came from.
- Add custom fields like “How did you hear about us?” in contact forms.
- Compare sales data before and after your PR campaigns.
Let’s say you earned a mention in TechCrunch and your analytics show 2,000 referred visits. If 5% of those converted to free trial signups, and 20% of those became paying customers, you can calculate the exact revenue from that placement.
Calculate the ROI Formula
Once you know the value of your conversions, you can calculate real ROI using this formula:
(Revenue Attributed to PR – PR Costs) ÷ PR Costs x 100 = ROI %
Here’s an example:
- Revenue from PR leads: $25,000.
- Cost of PR agency or internal campaign: $10,000.
($25,000 – $10,000) ÷ $10,000 x 100 = 150% ROI
This tells you that for every $1 spent, your PR generated $2.50 in return.
Don’t forget to factor in soft costs like tools, hours spent, or additional design or dev work tied to the campaign.
Monitor Brand Awareness and Sentiment
Not all PR impact is immediate or transactional. Many campaigns are designed to shape public perception, enter a new market, or build long-term credibility.
To track awareness:
- Use surveys or brand lift studies.
- Measure growth in branded searches on Google.
- Monitor follower growth on social media.
- Track direct traffic over time.
For sentiment:
- Use tools like to analyze tone.
- Track reviews, comments, and social media reactions.
- Note shifts in customer trust or perception through NPS scores.
These indicators don’t give instant ROI numbers, but they support long-term value creation.
Use Share of Voice (SOV) Analysis
Share of Voice compares how much media attention you’re getting versus your competitors. It’s a great way to benchmark PR effectiveness.
For example, if your brand earns 30% of all media mentions in your niche for a quarter, and your top competitor earns 20%, you’re winning more media mindshare.
SOV tools can segment by:
- Topic
- Tone
- Channel
- Geography
Over time, growing your share of voice tends to correlate with stronger market positioning and revenue growth, even if it doesn’t translate into immediate sales.
Evaluate Long-Term Brand Equity
PR builds brand equity, which pays off over time. But you can still track its value.
Watch for:
- Higher close rates on leads.
- Shorter sales cycles.
- More media inbound requests (journalists reach out to you).
- Increased partner or investor interest.
These signals are proof that your reputation is growing, thanks to sustained PR efforts. Even if you can’t assign a dollar value right away, keep a record of these trends to support the case for future investment.
Avoid These ROI Pitfalls
Many brands struggle to measure PR ROI because they:
- Don’t set clear campaign goals.
- Rely only on vanity metrics (likes, impressions).
- Fail to track links or use UTM codes.
- Ignore lead and revenue data.
- Focus on volume over value.
Fixing these issues will give you a clearer view of how PR contributes to growth.
Final Thoughts: PR Is an Investment—Treat It That Way
Public relations isn’t just about getting press. It’s a growth engine that can deliver measurable results if you know where to look.
By aligning PR goals with business objectives, tracking the right metrics, and calculating financial returns, you’ll stop guessing and start proving PR’s real value.
So the next time someone asks, “What’s the ROI of this campaign?”, you won’t just have an answer — you’ll have the numbers to back it up.
