How digital PR can drive visibility, trust and SEO value for motoring brands

The UK is believed to be home to over 140,000 automotive companies, so it’s more important than ever for businesses in this sector to stand out. Fortunately, a carefully planned and strategic digital PR campaign can help build brand authority, earn trust, and give these companies a real edge in such a crowded market.

Digital PR offers a range of benefits for motoring businesses. Whether you’re in manufacturing, car leasing, insurance or repairs, a strong digital presence is key to staying visible and relevant in 2025 and beyond. Securing regular coverage in trusted publications helps build authority and trust, while tactics like newsjacking and reactive PR keep your brand part of the wider media conversation.

But it’s not just about raising awareness - digital PR can also boost your website’s SEO by increasing your domain rating and helping you climb the Google rankings.

It also supports the future of search. As AI tools and large language models (LLMs) increasingly shape how people discover information, having your brand mentioned in high-quality, well-cited sources can help ensure you’re surfaced in AI-generated answers. This approach, known as Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), is becoming an essential part of staying competitive in a changing digital landscape.

With the right strategy in place, a consistent campaign can deliver long-term results that support both your marketing and wider business goals.

What’s in this article:

Why should motoring brands consider digital PR?
How can motoring brands use PR to stay visible in AI-powered search?
Five digital PR tips for motoring brands
Key takeaways

Why should motoring brands consider digital PR?

While digital PR can benefit all industries, it’s a particularly powerful tool to help boost visibility and create genuine trust with consumers for motoring brands. The way people interact with motoring businesses today has dramatically changed. Customers no longer rely on showrooms or traditional advertising when deciding on everything from car leasing and insurance to servicing and vehicle purchases.

The majority of customers carry out their research online. In fact, according to Google, 92% of car buyers research online before making a purchase. That’s why it’s key to have a strong online presence.

Digital PR helps your brand stand out by securing valuable coverage on trusted platforms like national and regional news outlets, as well as key motoring publications. Not only does this raise brand awareness among your target audience but it also establishes your expertise and credibility within the industry.

A great bonus of digital PR is that when it’s done correctly, it can help boost your website's SEO and help you rank higher in Google search results. Securing links from high authority and credible motoring websites, national publications or local publications like Auto Express, Road Safety GB, Mirror, and Manchester Evening News can help increase your domain rating. This signals to Google that your site is credible, relevant and trustworthy, pushing you high above competitors in search rankings. So, for motoring brands trying to stay relevant in a competitive market and adapt to consumer behavior, digital PR can play a vital role.

How can motoring brands use PR to stay visible in AI-powered search?

As AI tools and large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google’s Gemini become part of how people search for information, it looks like traditional SEO alone is no longer enough. These platforms don’t just pull content from websites - they draw on a wide range of trusted sources to generate answers.

But that’s where Digital PR comes in. By securing coverage and backlinks from authoritative, well-cited publications, motoring brands can increase the chances of being mentioned in AI-generated results. This is known as Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), and it’s quickly becoming an essential part of staying visible in this fast evolving search landscape.

It’s simple really. The more your brand appears in relevant, credible, and expert-led content online, the more likely it is that AI search tools will reference you - keeping your business front-of-mind, even when users aren’t clicking through traditional search results.

Five digital PR tips for motoring brands

1. Internal and industry data

Data pieces are really appealing to journalists because they add credibility to a press release and provide it with a newshook. Using your own, fresh data is always favoured among journalists as it provides them with something new that they’ve not seen before. This could be customer surveys or internal business data that showcases new trends. If you can’t do this or you don’t feel comfortable sharing sales data then the good news is that there are plenty of secondary data sources out there that you can use.

Google Trends, SMMT reports, Department of Transport and YouGov are great places to start. Find an interesting angle and seek out data that can support your story. Maybe there’s an increase in searches for electric vehicles, a dip in driving test pass rates or a rise in concern over fuel prices. These insights can help support and create a strong, newsworthy and timely story and put your brand in the middle of it, boosting your credibility and brand awareness.

2. Reactive PR

Reactive PR and newsjacking are powerful ways to place your brand at the heart of breaking news. Whether it’s changes to motoring laws, new fines, fuel price hikes or driving test reforms, journalists are always on the lookout for credible industry voices to comment on the story. Becoming that trusted expert helps build authority and trust with both the media and the public. Over time, if you consistently provide valuable insights, journalists may start approaching you directly for your take - putting your brand front and centre in the conversation.

3. Evergreen content

To get the most out of your digital PR strategy, focus on creating evergreen content. This is content that stays valuable and helpful over a long period of time. Seasonal and trend-led content is still great and helps you remain relevant and consistent in the media, but covering evergreen topics can generate links and brand mentions for months and years to come.

Think about guides like ‘Top things to look out for when buying a new car’ or ‘most common reasons cars fail their MOTs’. These topics tap into ongoing consumer needs and questions and they don’t have an expiration date. This kind of content doesn’t expire with the news cycle and journalists will keep coming back to it especially if you continue to update the stories with new information and statistics.

4. Regional PR

Securing coverage in big national publications is really rewarding but don’t underestimate the power of regional coverage as well. Regional based stories perform well as they offer local journalists insight into what’s happening in their community.

Motoring can be highly regional and you can tailor stories to different areas. Think ‘MOT failure hotspots’ or ‘cities with the least amount of EV charging points’. These stories can be more engaging and often provide a stronger news angle for local journalists than more general stories that are being pitched nationally.

5. Thought leadership and expert commentary

Positioning yourself or someone within your business as a go-to expert is a powerful way to build long-term media relationships and brand authority. Journalists are constantly looking for credible voices to explain trends, offer opinions, or simplify complex motoring topics - whether it’s breaking down new vehicle regulations, commenting on EV developments, or explaining the impact of insurance changes.

Offer up expert commentary for upcoming stories, write opinion pieces on industry issues, or contribute to features in relevant trade and consumer publications. This not only gets your brand mentioned in respected outlets, but also helps build trust with your target audience. The more visible your expertise becomes, the more likely journalists are to come to you for input - keeping your brand in the spotlight.

Key takeaways

Digital PR offers motoring brands a powerful way to stay visible, trusted, and competitive - not just in traditional media, but across search engines and AI-powered platforms like LLMs.
Digital PR can help motoring businesses build trust and visibility in a crowded market.
Reactive PR and data-driven stories will help position you as a credible voice in the industry with expert insights.
A consistent digital PR campaign can help improve your site’s SEO and online discoverability.
Evergreen and regional content are great tactics to secure long-term value and wider media coverage.

Want to read more about how we’ve helped motoring and transport brands cut through the noise? Explore our work with automotive clients and discover how strategic Digital PR can drive real results.