79% of top news sites block AI training bots via robots.txt. Google-Extended is the least blocked among training bots. 71% of sites also block AI retrieval bots. PerplexityBot, used for indexing, is blocked by 67%. Only 14% of publishers block all AI bots, while 18% don’t block any. Read more

Agency-sent email addresses have ~15% higher open rates, largely due to more effective subject lines and pitch content. Brand email addresses drive ~60% more replies, likely due to built-in authority and perceived credibility. Best performance came from agencies sending from brand domains. Read more

8–9 AM local time sees the highest journalist email engagement across most major media domains. Monday is the top-performing day for both opens and replies, especially among freelancers and UK-based journalists. Freelancers show broader engagement throughout the week but still peak around Read more

Unlinked brand mentions are now critical for appearing in AI Overviews and search citations. “Building coverage” is replacing “building links” as the goal of digital PR for small businesses. Emotional, founder-led stories drive local and niche media coverage that AI tools increasingly Read more

AI Mode finds valid journalist emails only ~44% of the time, with ~69% of those verified as deliverable. AI's email guesses based on pattern matching are often incorrect due to journalist turnover and media brand ownership. AI Mode pulls from public sources like PDFs, social posts, and websites, Read more

Average monthly contract: $5,458 across all respondents. Most retainers fall under $10K per month, with half priced below $5K. Average cost per link (CPL): $597. Costs vary widely by service type, ranging from $150 for guest posting to $800 for large hero campaigns. 1 in 3 respondents don’t Read more

"Most" and "Best" surveys average 10+ more links due to shareability and passive link-building from search queries. Timely surveys outperform evergreen ones in average links, but evergreen content builds consistent, long-term authority. Emotionally charged topics—especially joy, curiosity, Read more

Over 85% of guest post sites are low-quality, with poor traffic and DR, yet still command premium prices. High-quality guest posts (DR 71+ & 50K+ traffic) make up just 4.6% of the marketplace. Average guest post costs $365—but quality posts range $692–$957 before vendor markup. The Read more

LinkedIn surpassed Twitter/X as the top social platform for journalists, making it a key platform for PR relationship-building in 2025. Email remains the dominant marketing method (96% preference), despite a slight increase in DM-based outreach. Journalists now prefer exclusives over original Read more

Qwoted dominates for volume and quality, offering the most media requests and the highest share of DR 80+ opportunities. Twitter/X and LinkedIn have 82% outlet overlap, making it redundant to monitor both for journalist requests. HARO has the highest cross-platform overlap, underscoring its Read more