Results matter.
Whether it’s advertising, marketing or public relations, each expenditure needs to be justified by its results.
Besides the fact that many people don’t even know what PR is or what it does (need a refresher? Read this blog post), an even smaller number of folks know how to measure its effectiveness.
But wait… is it even possible to measure your PR efforts when all PR really does is send out press releases?
Short answer: Yes.
And to clarify that previous statement: PR does A LOT more than just issue press releases. It also helps companies be authentic, find embarrassing typos, inspire employees to be more engaged, media training, customer relations, storytelling, rise above the noise, and more.
It also helps shape perceptions, influence opinions, generate buzz, raise awareness, build relationships, and preserve reputation — just to name a few.
PR’s Its Own Entity
PR’s results can’t always be measured the same as advertising. It’s not apples to apples.
It’s not the same way you’d measure a Facebook ad campaign or SEO ranking.
PR doesn’t always deliver an immediate spike in leads. It’s not designed to.
Instead, PR’s generally a longer-term play that increases visibility, trust and credibility. These things matter just as much, if not more, than clicks and conversions to sales.
7 Ways to Measure Your PR Efforts
Here are seven practical ways to measure PR’s effectiveness:
1. UTM Tracking Links – This is one of my favorite ways to track PR success. UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module. These parameters are short tags you add to the end of a URL to track the source, medium, and campaign in platforms like Google Analytics. For example, a link might look like: [YOURWEBSITE]?utm_source=[NAMEOFNEWSOUTLET]. So, if I had an article in Forbes this month, I could use: https://authenticitypr.com/?utm_source=ForbesJuly2025. This lets you see exactly where traffic came from (e.g., which article, podcast, social media post), how those users behaved after clicking the link, and whether they converted — providing more direct attribution for PR success.
2. Share of Voice (SOV) – Compares how often your brand is mentioned vs. your competitors. Tools like Brand24 or Mention can help with this. Social media and blog mentions count here, too.
3. PR Output – Number of quality press releases written and distributed monthly. I say quality because I had a job in the early 2000’s where the PR lead thought it made his department look good churning out 10-15 press releases every month. How we found that many newsworthy topics to write about is beyond me. Did the CEO’s shoe become untied? Press release it! (Sarcasm alert.) I personally heard from some press outlets how annoyed they were. One told me they just automatically started tossing our releases into the garbage. Quality trumps quantity.
4. Reach – Circulation, listenership, viewership, unique visitors per month (UVPM) to a website, or social media engagement.
5. Perception Shift – You can measure this through surveys or polling: Ask people what they think about your company, product and/or service before a campaign, then again after. Did awareness go up? Did sentiment improve?
6. Website Traffic & Leads – If you create specific landing pages for a PR campaign, you can track traffic and form fills tied to those efforts.
7. Lead Attribution (Kind Of) – Train your sales and support teams to ask, “How did you hear about us?” Some people will say, “I read about you on Yahoo! News” or “I heard your CEO on a podcast.” It’s not scientific — but it’s directional data and better than nothing.
One Way NOT to Measure PR’s Success: AVEs
Some PR agencies use Advertising Value Equivalents (AVEs) to estimate what the equivalent ad space would cost if you had to pay for the coverage.
For example, if you get a full-page feature in Fast Company or Inc. magazine, they might calculate what a full-page ad would cost in that issue and assign that value to the PR win.
But many in the PR world (including AuthenticityPR) reject AVEs as outdated and misleading. Editorial coverage simply doesn’t equal paid advertising because it generally carries more weight, more trust and more authenticity than advertising.
And it’s just different. It’s like an implied third-party endorsement.
However, don’t look at PR as a silver bullet. It’s part of your overall promotional/communications strategy.
The 3 Big Takeaways
- PR is unique – Don’t try to measure PR’s results the same as you would your advertising or marketing initiatives.
- UTM your link – If the press includes a link to your website, try to get them to use a UTM version.
- Ad equivalents – AVEs are a HORRIBLE, antiquated way to measure PR success.
Have a question whether or not your PR efforts are successful? Or how to make your future PR efforts successful? Email me.
In the meantime, stay authentic — and MEASURE your PR efforts!
Jeffery E. Pizzino, APR (seen here in a vintage photo circa 1983 serendipitously doing a Clash impersonation in a since-forgotten location) is a spin-free public relations pro who is passionate about telling the why of your story with clarity, impact and authenticity. He began his PR career in 1987 at Ketchum Public Relations in New York City but has spent the majority of his career as a solopreneur. He’s the Chief Authentic Officer of the Johnson City, TN-based public relations firm, AuthenticityPR. He also functions as the fractional CCO for technology startup Converus.
Jeff has an MBA in Management from Western International University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications — with an emphasis in PR — from Brigham Young University (rise and shout!). He’s a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but also holds an Italian citizenship. Jeff and his storyteller wife Leticia have four children and four grandchildren. In his extremely limited nonwork hours, he studies italiano, practices guitar, write songs, gardens, disc golfs, reads, listens to New Wave music, serves in his church, watches BYU football, and plays Dominion and Seven Wonders. Email Jeff.
