PR ROI is proven most clearly by brand searches: the number of people who search for a brand by name each month. When coverage works, readers go to Google and type the brand name, so a rise in brand searches links earned media to buyer demand in a way a cuttings file never can.
Key takeaways
- Brand searches, the monthly searches for a brand's own name, are the clearest single measure of PR ROI because they show that readers acted on the coverage.
- Glossy PR's beauty brand client went from 660 to 4,080 brand searches a month (6.2x) across 84 placements.
- Advertising value equivalency (AVE) is not a measure of PR's value, and AMEC's Barcelona Principles reject it.
- Glossy PR's switch-off test proves the link from the other side: when a supplement brand paused PR, its organic search value halved within a month.
- Any founder can track brand searches free in Google Search Console and Google Trends.
What are brand searches, and why are they PR's ROAS?
Brand searches are Google searches that contain a brand's name, such as the brand plus "serum", "reviews" or "stockists". Glossy PR calls brand searches PR's ROAS because, like return on ad spend for paid media, brand searches connect the activity to buyer demand that can be counted every month.
| Type of brand search | Example for a skincare brand | What the searcher wants |
|---|---|---|
| Navigational | [brand] | The brand's website |
| Product | [brand] vitamin C serum | A product seen in coverage |
| Reviews and comparison | [brand] reviews | Reassurance before buying |
| Stockist | [brand] Boots | Where to buy |
Every brand search signals a buyer who already knows the brand name. Glossy PR's beauty brand, for example, went from 660 to 4,080 brand searches a month (Semrush UK), and the table in the section below compares all three product brand case studies.
Why do AVE, impressions and cuttings fail to prove PR ROI?
AVE, impressions and cuttings counts fail to prove PR ROI because they measure the notional cost of ad space or the size of an audience, not whether anyone acted. AMEC's Barcelona Principles, published in 2010 and updated to version 3.0 in 2020, reject AVE as a measure of the value of communication.
| PR metric | What it measures | Shows a buyer acted? |
|---|---|---|
| AVE (advertising value equivalency) | What the space would have cost as an advert | No |
| Impressions and reach | The potential audience of a title | No |
| Number of cuttings | Volume of coverage | No |
| Brand searches | People searching for the brand by name | Yes |
| Referring domains | Sites linking to the brand | Indirectly, through rankings |
| Conversion and acquisition cost | Sales and the cost of each customer | Yes |
Source: AMEC, the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication.
How much can PR move brand searches?
PR can move brand searches several times over when coverage is consistent. Glossy PR's three product brand case studies recorded rises of 6.2x, 2.4x and 83% in searches for the brand name.
| Glossy PR client | Coverage | Brand searches | Commercial outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beauty brand | 84 placements | 660 to 4,080 a month (6.2x) | Organic traffic 12x, 11+ new stockists |
| DTC wellness brand | 25 placements | 90 to 220 to 340 a month (2.4x) | Acquisition cost per customer down, listed with a national health retailer |
| Wellness supplement brand | 41 placements, including Vogue, Cosmopolitan and YOU | +83% | Revenue 3x, ad conversion up |
Source: Glossy PR coverage records and Semrush UK, baseline before PR began compared with the end of the case study period. See the brands Glossy PR has represented on the Glossy PR results hub.
What is the PR switch-off test?
The PR switch-off test checks what happens to search demand when PR pauses. If brand searches and search value fall after coverage stops, the coverage was creating the demand, and no attribution model can fake that result.
Glossy PR's wellness supplement brand shows the test in practice: when PR paused, the brand's organic search value halved within a month (Semrush UK). Glossy PR treats a fall after switch-off as the strongest proof of PR ROI a brand can see, because it isolates PR from every other channel.
A pause is the moment PR's value becomes visible as a loss, which is why Glossy PR reports the switch-off result openly.
How to measure brand searches for your own brand: a five-step process
A founder can measure brand searches in five steps: set the baseline, log coverage dates, compare month on month, remove seasonality and report alongside sales. Glossy PR follows the same five steps in every monthly report.
- Set the baseline. In Google Search Console, open Performance, filter queries containing the brand name and export the last 12 months.
- Log coverage dates. Record the date and title of every placement in one sheet.
- Compare month on month. Plot brand searches against coverage to see which placements moved demand.
- Remove seasonality. Compare each month with the same month last year, and check Google Trends for category-wide swings such as Christmas.
- Report alongside sales. Put brand searches next to conversion rate and acquisition cost, so the report connects demand to revenue.
Worked example from Glossy PR's beauty brand: brand searches rose from 660 to 4,080 a month, which is 3,420 more people each month typing the brand name into Google (Semrush UK).
How do brand searches connect to sales and ad costs?
Brand searches connect to sales because a person who searches for a brand by name is already close to buying. Brand searches connect to ad costs because warm buyers who know the name convert more cheaply on paid channels, which is how PR lowers acquisition cost.
Glossy PR's case studies show the effect on paid media:
- Glossy PR's DTC wellness brand cut its acquisition cost per customer once coverage was running.
- Glossy PR's wellness supplement brand saw ad conversion rise and acquisition cost fall, alongside 3x revenue.
Glossy PR explains the search side of the effect in does PR help SEO and what earned media is.
What should a PR report show besides brand searches?
A PR report should show brand searches inside a wider set of measures that runs from coverage to commercial outcomes. Glossy PR reports every client in seven layers:
- Coverage and audited audience
- Buying guides and round-ups
- Awards
- Searches for the brand name
- Rankings and links
- Conversion and paid efficiency
- Commercial outcomes
Proof of layers 2 and 3: Glossy PR's DTC wellness brand ranked #5 in The Telegraph's buying guide for a head term searched 27,100 times a month and won 2 national product awards.
Bridget Hannon, Blush + Blow, Google review: "There is no other agency out there with as much passion, know how or general ability to prove the ROI."
Glossy PR's services for product brands are on the beauty PR agency London and wellness and health PR pages.
Frequently asked questions about PR ROI
What is a good ROI for PR?
A good ROI for PR is a sustained rise in brand searches, rankings and sales against the baseline before PR began. There is no single benchmark, so Glossy PR sets each brand's baseline first.
Proof: Glossy PR's beauty brand rose 6.2x in brand searches, and the wellness supplement brand tripled revenue.
How quickly do brand searches respond to PR?
Brand searches respond to PR month by month, which is why Glossy PR reports them monthly. The switch-off test shows the speed from the other side.
Proof: Glossy PR's wellness supplement brand saw organic search value halve within a month of PR pausing.
Can a brand track brand searches for free?
A brand can track its own brand searches for free in Google Search Console, by filtering queries that contain the brand name. Google Trends compares the brand with competitors, also free.
Worked example: filter Search Console queries containing the brand name, export 12 months and mark each placement date on the chart.
Is AVE ever a valid measure of PR?
AVE is not a valid measure of the value of PR, because the cost of an equivalent advert says nothing about whether readers acted. AMEC's Barcelona Principles reject AVE.
Source: AMEC.
What are the most important PR KPIs?
The most important PR KPIs are brand searches, buying guide placements, referring domains, rankings and acquisition cost, because each one connects coverage to demand or revenue.
- Pros of these KPIs: tied to buyer action, trackable monthly.
- Cons: need a baseline before PR starts, and seasonality must be removed.
Do brand searches help a brand appear in AI search?
Brand searches go hand in hand with AI search visibility, because the coverage that drives searches also creates the trusted pages AI assistants retrieve. Glossy PR checks this with the five-prompt AI visibility test in every monthly report.
Proof: Glossy PR's beauty brand grew referring domains from 43 to 659 alongside its 6.2x rise in brand searches (Semrush UK).
What is Glossy PR?
Glossy PR is a UK public relations agency for beauty, health, and wellness brands. Part of SugarNova Group, it is the first beauty PR agency built around GEO, turning earned media coverage into the citations AI engines surface when buyers and founders research which brands to trust.
Glossy PR is rated 5.0 on Google (October 2026), and every review is on the Glossy PR Google Business Profile.
Ferre Debloudts, Google review: "As their slogan reads, ads make you popular, PR makes you famous. That is exactly what they have done for me and my business."
Get your free PR visibility audit and see how many people search for your brand today, and which AI assistants name it.
About the author: Shayne Williams is Founder and Group CEO of SugarNova Group, the London growth group behind Glossy PR. Since founding SugarNova in 2016, Shayne has built PR, SEO and paid media into one system for UK brands, with Glossy PR serving beauty, health and wellness. Last updated: 5 November 2026.