67.3% use digital PR as their primary method

DemandSage's 2026 survey of link-building practitioners finds that nearly seven in ten now name digital PR as their primary link-acquisition tactic, up sharply from prior years when guest posting still held the top slot. The migration reflects three converging pressures: rising guest post rejection rates as editors push back against AI-assisted submissions, journalists' willingness to source data-driven angles from agencies, and the ranking-signal weight that comes with placements on news domains versus mid-market blogs. The shift is now structural rather than fashionable, which means agencies that have not staffed for digital PR campaign production over the past eighteen months are now playing catch-up.