SEO Strategies: Reactive PR vs. Expert Quote Link Building
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What Does “SEO Strategies: Reactive PR vs. Expert Quote Link Building” Talk About?
This episode of the Fatrank Podcast features James Dooley in conversation with Chris Pantelli, founder of Linkify, as they break down the key differences between reactive PR and expert quote link building. Chris explains that expert quote link building is an inbound strategy where journalists actively seek third-party experts to validate their articles, while reactive PR is an outbound approach where brands pitch story ideas, data campaigns, or newsjacking pieces directly to journalists. The conversation highlights that both strategies reach fundamentally different types of publications, with expert quotes tending to favour US-based outlets and digital PR campaigns skewing more toward UK publications.
Chris goes into detail about the factors that determine which approach works best for a given client, including niche suitability, story quality, and brand flexibility. He uses practical examples such as gardening seasonality campaigns and tech data breach reactive pieces to illustrate how niche relevance shapes campaign success. The discussion also covers how client brand consciousness can either open or close doors, and why brands need to give PR professionals creative freedom to craft angles that will genuinely interest journalists.
By the end of the episode, both James and Chris land on a clear recommendation: the smartest SEO strategy is to use both methods simultaneously. Because certain publications simply do not accept outbound PR pitches and can only be won through expert quote requests, relying on one approach alone limits the number of referring domains a brand can accumulate. Chris advises starting with one strategy, building momentum and relationships, and then scaling into both for maximum authority and long-term ranking growth.
“Expert quote link building is inbound. Journalists are sourcing experts and you can view those sources and then make your decisions on which journalist you're going to reply to and therefore which publication you're potentially going to receive a link from.”
— Chris Pantelli
Who Are the Guests on “SEO Strategies: Reactive PR vs. Expert Quote Link Building”?
Chris Pantelli is the founder of Linkify, a link building agency that specialises in both digital PR campaigns and expert quote link building. With hands-on experience running outbound PR campaigns and responding to journalist requests on behalf of clients across a range of niches, Chris brings practical, day-to-day expertise to the conversation. He understands the nuances of journalist relationships, media list building, and the creative demands of pitching compelling stories to publications, making him a credible voice on how brands can earn high-quality backlinks at scale.
James Dooley is the host of the Fatrank Podcast and a well-known figure in the SEO and link building space. As the owner of a link building agency himself, James brings a practitioner's perspective to the discussion, asking focused questions that help distil complex strategies into actionable advice. His experience working with clients across various industries allows him to contextualise Chris's insights and draw out the practical implications for brands looking to grow their referring domain count and long-term search authority.
What Are the Key Takeaways From “SEO Strategies: Reactive PR vs. Expert Quote Link Building”?
Here are the key points discussed in this episode:
- Expert quote link building is an inbound strategy where you respond to journalist requests, while reactive PR is outbound, requiring you to pitch story ideas directly to publications.
- Some publications will never accept outbound PR pitches, meaning expert quote link building is the only viable way to earn links from those outlets.
- The best SEO strategy is to use both reactive PR and expert quote link building simultaneously, as each method reaches different publications and builds a wider range of referring domains.
- Client brand flexibility is essential for PR campaign success, because journalists need creative and interesting angles rather than straightforward brand promotion.
- Niche suitability plays a major role in determining which strategy will perform better, with some sectors like gardening and tech being particularly well-suited to reactive and data-driven PR campaigns.
“The best thing is to do both because you want as many different referring domains. You want to be featured as an expert in as many variations as possible.”
— Chris Pantelli
Is “SEO Strategies: Reactive PR vs. Expert Quote Link Building” Worth Listening To?
This episode is worth listening to for anyone who has ever wondered whether to invest in digital PR, expert quotes, or both. Rather than giving a vague answer, Chris Pantelli provides a genuinely useful framework for thinking through the decision based on niche, client mindset, and publication type. The distinction he draws between US-heavy expert quote platforms and UK-leaning digital PR outlets is a particularly practical insight that many SEO professionals may not have considered when planning their link acquisition strategy.
What makes this episode especially valuable is its clarity and brevity. In under fifteen minutes, James and Chris cover the mechanics of both strategies, the factors that influence which one suits a given client, and a concrete recommendation to start with one and build toward both. The real-world examples, including the Euros newsjacking angle and gardening seasonality campaigns, make the advice immediately applicable rather than theoretical. Whether you are running SEO campaigns for clients or managing your own brand's authority, this episode gives you a clear mental model for making smarter link building decisions.
Who Should Listen to “SEO Strategies: Reactive PR vs. Expert Quote Link Building”?
This episode is ideal for:
- SEO professionals looking to diversify their link acquisition strategies beyond traditional outreach
- Digital PR practitioners who want to understand how expert quote platforms can complement their existing campaign work
- Business owners and marketing managers trying to decide where to invest their link building budget for maximum referring domain growth
- Agency owners and consultants who manage client expectations around brand narrative and PR campaign flexibility
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What Are Listeners Saying About This Episode?
“The breakdown of inbound versus outbound link building finally clicked for me after this episode. Chris's point about certain publications being completely closed to PR pitches but open to expert quotes was genuinely eye-opening. Short, sharp, and immediately useful.”
“I appreciated the practical detail around client brand flexibility. The line about nobody publishing an article that says James Dooley owns a link building agency really stuck with me. It captures exactly the mindset shift clients need to embrace for PR campaigns to work.”
“The US versus UK publication slant was something I had never thought about before and it makes a lot of sense now. Chris clearly does this every day and it shows. This is the kind of tactical conversation I wish more SEO podcasts would have.”
James Dooley and Chris Pantelli explain the differences between reactive PR and expert quote link building. Chris provides clear guidance on inbound expert commentary, outbound PR campaigns, journalist relationships and when each method performs best. The value of both strategies increases because each one reaches different publications. This creates stronger authority because a wider range of referring domains supports ranking growth. Chris outlines how niche, story quality and brand flexibility influence campaign success because journalists only respond to relevant and compelling angles. The discussion clarifies why most brands benefit from using both approaches to maximise links, visibility and long term authority.
James Dooley: Hi, so I'm joined today with Chris Pantelli from Linkify and today's question is about reactive PR versus expert quote link building. Which is better and why. Chris Pantelli: They're both different and you can do both. There are differences and nuances between the two. Expert quote link building is inbound. Journalists are sourcing experts and you can view those sources and then make your decisions on which journalist you're going to reply to and therefore which publication you're potentially going to receive a link from. Oftentimes these are not going to be holistically on your brand and your message. You're enhancing the point that the journalist is trying to make within their article. There's a great SEO play and there are some amazing publications you can win links from. Many of these publications are not receptive to PR campaigns. Some freelance writers or journalists or the publication as a whole just isn't doing any form of PR inbound from you as a PR. The only real way to win these links is to answer expert commentary requests from the journalists or writers who are sourcing for their articles on these publications. PR campaigns however are outbound. You need to come up with an idea or a story that will resonate with the journalists that write for the publications. You need a media list of journalists. You need your story idea. You then send your idea to the journalist. It is like cold outreach but not really because journalists are expecting these sorts of emails all day every day from PRs. Over time you develop relationships with journalists. You’ll say hey Judy it's me again we've got another idea and another story. You can do really well because of those relationships and also because you have more control over the narrative. You're coming up with the idea on behalf of the client and the client will be the feature of it. Whether it's a data campaign, an expert commentary campaign, a newsjacking piece or a reactive piece. The Euros are happening now for example. If you’ve got a sports client you can pitch something around that. There's a nuance between the two. Another nuance is the US and UK slant. You'll find much more of a US slant on expert quote side. A lot more US publications. You'll find much more of a UK slant on digital PR side. The best thing is to do both because you want as many different referring domains. You want to be featured as an expert in as many variations as possible. A great way is to start with expert quote commentary. Start building relationships. Then you get an idea of what works well from a PR campaign perspective. You can then leverage the network you’ve built from expert quotes to deliver your PR campaigns. James Dooley: So to simplify it slightly. A reactive PR campaign is where you reach out to journalists and reporters with a story or trending topic and you're pitching that idea to them. It's an outbound PR campaign. An expert quote link building campaign is inbound. The journalist or reporter is already writing about the topic. Whether you get added or not, they’re writing the article. They want third party experts to validate what they're saying. You're looking to place maybe a snippet of content and hopefully they’ll link back to your website. There's big SEO value for both. What do you find is easier? You run Linkify and you do both reactive PR and expert quote link building. Is one easier than the other to get placements? Chris Pantelli: Great summary and great question. It boils down to a handful of things. First is the niche. Some niches are very PR friendly. Think about reactive campaigns or data campaigns. You’re going to the journalist and saying this story will be good for your readers. For that you need something interesting and creative. Gardening is a good example. Many publications write about gardening. If the seasonality fits, gardening is perfect for reactive campaigns. If you're a tech expert you can do really well. If there's a big data leak you can run a reactive campaign on tips for public Wi-Fi safety. It depends first on the niche. Secondly you want to think about the client's mentality. If the client is conscious about their brand and how they want to be portrayed that can guide the path. With reactive pieces you have more control on the narrative and the client can sign off on a campaign. But the client must understand that nobody is publishing an article that says James Dooley owns a link building agency. That's not interesting. You must give us freedom to come up with something interesting. While we control the narrative somewhat, the story still needs to be interesting to the journalist. Expert quote commentary gives us more flexibility. We know the article. We know the angle. But we still need freedom to pitch as you and say something interesting that leverages your expertise. Two different paths with the same outcome, which is links. You must understand the nuances and what the client wants from it. James Dooley: To summarise. People ask me what’s better. Reactive PR or expert quote link building. What I actually took from what Chris said is there are certain websites that do not allow PR campaigns. If you pitch them, they won't publish. But you can get on them via expert quotes. So if you want a big referring domain count, you need both. You need both types of referring domains. Chris, you're doing this day in day out at Linkify. Where can people get hold of you? Can you do both reactive PR and expert quote link building? Chris Pantelli: Yeah we do both PR campaigns and expert quote link building. We always chat with the client first to see what’s best. We'd normally recommend doing both. Start with one. When you've run a number of PR campaigns and got links, you can then do more. You can always get new links. You can always get featured. It's always good to send new signals to Google. New links all the time. People can find us at linkify.io or on X at linkifyore. They can book a call through our calendar widget on the website. It’s a holistic approach. Do as much as you can but don’t do more than you can. Pick one place to start. James Dooley: Good advice. Anyone watching this let us know in the comments what you feel is better. Reactive PR versus expert quote link building. Are you doing either as part of your SEO strategies? If not, I strongly recommend you start doing both. Let us know what you think.
Creators & Guests
Guest
Chris Panteli is the co-founder of UK-based digital PR link building agency, Linkifi. Chris Panteli's also the co-host of the Market Movers podcast.
Host
James Dooley is the founder of FatRank which is a UK lead generation company. James Dooley is the current CEO of FatRank that provides high-quality leads for UK business owners.