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Key Takeaways Instead of sending cold outreach that asks for links, businesses are more likely to earn citations and media coverage by publishing unique, credible data from their own records
As AI-powered search reduces clicks to traditional websites, publishing original research increases the chances of being cited in articles and AI-generated answers, helping build long-term visibility and authority even when users don’t visit the site directly.
Most outreach asks for value and offers none in return. The businesses that earn links and citations publish proof first.
Every Monday morning, I open my inbox and find the same email waiting 30 or 40 times. The subject line says “quick question” or “collaboration opportunity.” The body asks me to add a link to an article I wrote three years ago, points to a homepage and offers nothing in return.
I run a digital PR agency called ESBO and publish a handful of industry sites, so I sit on both sides of this trade. I send outreach for a living, and I delete it for a living. The deleting takes less time every year, because the emails all share one flaw: they ask, and they bring nothing an editor can use.
None of this is personal. Muck Rack’s State of Journalism 2026 survey found that 88% of journalists delete pitches that miss their beat, and about half say they seldom or never respond to pitches at all. What interests me is the small group of requests that get a yes, because the reason is usually unglamorous and repeatable: they arrive carrying proof.
Editors link to evidence, not to companies
When I cite a source in an article, one question decides it. Does this page back the claim I am making? A homepage backs nothing, and neither does a services page with a paragraph about passion for excellence.
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