Resources
Digital PR glossary
The language behind modern PR and AI visibility. Digital PR, SEO, media relations and AI visibility overlap, but the same words are often used to mean different things. This glossary defines the terms as Meet Lula uses them across the product and its reporting.
Core PR terms
The work and the result.
Digital PR
The use of stories, expertise, evidence and outreach to earn online coverage, mentions, links, citations and other third-party visibility.
Earned media
Coverage or inclusion an independent publisher chooses to provide rather than placement purchased as advertising.
Media outreach
A relevant approach to a journalist, editor, producer or publication with a proposed story, expert, evidence or contribution.
Journalist request
A time-sensitive call from a journalist or editorial team for experts, comments, products, data, examples or case studies.
Pitch
A concise proposal explaining why a story, expert or contribution may be useful to a particular recipient and audience.
Placement
A published article, mention, listicle addition, review, appearance, listing or other accepted inclusion.
Press release
An approved public announcement that records company news and may support a wider targeted campaign.
Citation and placement terms
How brands appear on third-party sources.
Business citation
A third-party reference to a business's identity, website, category, location or contact information.
Directory listing
A structured business or professional profile within a local, industry or company directory.
Listicle
An article organised as a list of products, companies, approaches or examples.
Comparison page
A page that compares products, services, companies or alternatives against stated criteria.
Review placement
An independent or disclosed evaluation of a product or service on a third-party source.
Placement gap
A relevant source or page where comparable brands appear while the target brand is absent or inaccurate.
NAP consistency
Consistency of a business name, address and phone number across relevant listings.
Search and AI terms
Discovery and the source footprint.
SEO
Search engine optimisation, the work of improving discovery and performance in search results.
AEO
Answer engine optimisation, the work of making information easier for answer systems to find, understand and support with credible sources.
AI visibility
How a brand appears, is described or is cited in AI-generated search and answer experiences.
Source footprint
The collection of first-party and third-party pages that provide discoverable information and evidence about a brand.
Backlink
A link from another website to a page on the brand's site or approved source.
Unlinked mention
A published reference to the brand that does not contain a clickable link.
Referral traffic
Visits that arrive through a link on another website.
Cited source
A page identified by a search or AI interface as supporting an answer.
Workflow and reporting terms
How Lula organises the work.
Opportunity match
A client-specific assessment of whether an opening fits the brand's expertise, evidence, market, timing and rules.
Relevance score
A prioritisation signal accompanied by reasoning, not a guarantee of acceptance.
Proactive campaign
A defined outreach programme built around one approved objective, audience and angle.
Targeted contact
One unique new relevant journalist, editor, writer, producer, organiser or publication contact researched for a brand.
Approval rule
A boundary defining the subjects, claims, audiences, exclusions, senders and limits within which Lula may act.
Hard bounce
A permanent delivery failure indicating that an email address should not receive further sends.
Out-of-office hold
A temporary pause applied until a recipient's stated return date.
Opt-out scope
The campaign, client, sender or broader platform activity covered by a recipient's request.
Activity metric
A count of work completed, such as research, sends or submissions.
Outcome metric
A result such as a reply, placement, citation, link, visit or observed visibility change.
Attribution
The degree to which an outcome can reasonably be connected with an action, recognising other possible causes.
Frequently asked questions
- Why distinguish a citation from a backlink?
- A citation can mention business details without linking. A backlink is specifically a clickable link.
- Is every placement earned media?
- No. Paid, affiliate, gifted, partner and syndicated routes should be disclosed separately.
- Is a relevance score a probability of coverage?
- No. It helps prioritise fit but does not predict an independent editorial decision.
- Are SEO and AEO the same?
- They overlap, but AEO focuses on representation in generated answers while SEO also includes traditional search rankings and traffic.
- Does a press release guarantee distribution?
- No. Hosting, syndication and earned coverage are different outcomes.
- Why separate activity and outcome metrics?
- It prevents a high volume of outreach from being presented as evidence of meaningful PR results.
Use clearer language to make better PR decisions
Explore Lula's features and see how these concepts work together in one client workflow.