Press Mention Link Rate
Benchmark data on the percentage of brand or product mentions in press coverage that include a backlink, with trends across SEO industries
Benchmark Data
| Segment | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online-Only Publications | 40 | 60 | 80 |
| Traditional Media (Online Edition) | 15 | 30 | 50 |
| Industry / Trade Publications | 45 | 65 | 85 |
| Blogs and Independent Media | 55 | 75 | 92 |
Not every press mention translates into a backlink, making the mention-to-link conversion rate a critical metric for digital PR teams. Blogs and independent media lead at 75% median, as these publishers typically link freely to sources and referenced companies.
Industry and trade publications follow at 65%, reflecting their digital-native audience expectations and the practice of linking to sources for credibility. These publications also tend to maintain their articles and links longer than general media outlets.
Online-only publications convert 60% of mentions to links, though editorial policies on outbound linking vary widely. Some digital publications have strict linking guidelines that limit links to primary sources only, while others link generously throughout their articles.
Traditional media outlets with online editions have the lowest conversion at 30%. Many newspaper and broadcast sites maintain conservative linking policies, and their content management systems sometimes strip or nofollow outbound links by default.
Teams can improve their mention-to-link rate by providing journalists with ready-to-use URLs, including links in press releases and media kits, and following up on unlinked mentions with polite requests for link inclusion.