How to vet digital PR providers with due diligence

What to take away

Build the inclusion criteria before you compare

Define what counts as a provider

A provider is any organisation selling outreach, digital PR or link-earning services. That covers agencies, freelancers and in-house teams acting as suppliers. Decide whether you are buying strategy, execution or both, and write the scope down in a document you can share.

Write down the outputs you expect too: briefs, coverage reports, data files or raw survey responses. A provider selling placement alone tends to hand back thinner documentation.

Decide the evidence each provider must supply

Ask for three things before you compare offers: registration details, two client references with named sources, and a sample coverage report showing the data behind each placement. If a provider cannot show how a number was produced, that is a gap. You can also use this product-comparison page to line offers up side by side.

Set a deadline for documents and score what arrives. Identical document sets from every provider make the comparison defensible.

Verify registration and supplier conduct

Check the company record

Start with the public register. Search the provider's name on Companies House to confirm it is registered, who the officers are, and whether accounts are filed on time. Late filings are worth a question before you sign.

Compare the filing history with the pitch; a claim of long trading should be visible in the accounts.

Apply supplier compliance tests

BSI publishes guidance on supplier compliance and excellence covering due diligence criteria for selecting vendors. Use it to structure questions on ethics, subcontracting and record-keeping. Ask who owns the data, where it is held, and what happens when a campaign ends. For personal data, ask how the provider meets the UK GDPR and check whether it appears on the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) register of fee payers or is exempt.

Check the advertising and claims record

Read rulings for past cases

The Advertising Standards Authority publishes rulings on advertising showing how claims have been assessed. Search the provider's name and the sectors you operate in. A ruling is not automatically disqualifying, but it tells you how a similar claim was judged.

Note any ruling that touches your sector, since it sets the bar for what your own campaigns can claim.

Test the data method in the pitch

Ask the provider to walk through one campaign from raw data to published story. You want the sample size, the collection method and the date. If the numbers cannot be traced, the story is fragile. The same discipline applies to your own outreach.

Ask for the working file as well as the summary, and check the pitch sample size matches the published story.

Checklist you can reuse

Score each item as met, partly met or not met, and keep the notes. A provider that scores well on evidence is easier to defend to a client than one that scores well on presentation.

Common questions

What makes a digital PR provider suitable for a small agency?

Look for a provider that works to your brief and shares its data method. Size matters less than transparency, and a small team with clear records is easier to manage than a large one with a fixed process.

Do I need a lawyer to check a supplier contract?

For standard terms, a template plus your own review may be enough. For long retainers, exclusivity or data-sharing terms, take advice. A review usually costs less than a dispute.

How often should I re-check a provider?

Re-check registration and rulings yearly, and whenever the scope changes. Due diligence is a cycle, not a one-off task.

What if the provider operates outside England?

Confirm which nation's rules apply. Ask where the work is done and where the data is held, then document the applicable requirements in the contract.