How to get earned media

Our read: the line between earned and paid matters for trust, and two sets of public rules help draw it.

• The FTC. Its guide Disclosures 101 for social media influencers says an endorsement should make it obvious when there is a relationship with the brand, including financial, employment, personal or family relationships. It adds that a free or discounted product counts as something of value.
• Google. Its spam policies list, among their examples of link spam, advertorials or native advertising where payment is received for articles with links that pass ranking credit, and links with optimized anchor text in articles, guest posts or press releases distributed on other sites.

So a paid article or a gifted product is not earned media unless it is disclosed as what it is, and links in press releases should not be stuffed with optimized anchor text.

Our read, from pitching for clients:

1. A real story. New, local, surprising or useful. "We launched a new website" is rarely news.
2. Proof. Numbers, customers willing to talk, photos.
3. A clear expert. One person who can explain the topic simply.
4. Speed. Answer requests the same day.

1. Answer reporter requests on topics you know well.
2. Publish local data, such as a short survey of customers in your area.
3. Comment on news in your field with a clear, useful opinion.
4. Pitch local outlets about community work you genuinely do.
5. Guest on podcasts your customers already listen to.
6. Write for trade publications your buyers read.
7. Make it easy to share: a press page with bios, photos and contact details.

• Mentions and links, logged in a simple sheet.
• Referral traffic and key events from those sites in GA4.
• Branded searches over time in Search Console.

Is a press release earned media? The release itself is not. Coverage a reporter writes because of it is.

Does earned media help SEO? Coverage can bring links and branded searches. Google's spam policies warn against paid links that pass ranking credit, so keep it genuine.

What about influencers? If you gave them anything of value, the FTC expects the relationship to be disclosed.

Earned media comes from giving reporters, hosts and customers something worth talking about. Keep it genuine, disclose anything you gave, and measure the mentions, links and searches it brings.