The PR glossary
Thirty terms, defined in plain English.
Reviewed 3 October 2026
- Advertorial
- Paid content designed to look like editorial. It should be labelled as sponsored or advertising.
- Answer engine optimisation (AEO)
- Shaping pages so search features and assistants can lift a clear, accurate answer from them.
- Backgrounder
- A short document that gives a journalist the context behind a story: history, key facts and who is who.
- Boilerplate
- The standard two or three sentence description of an organisation placed at the end of a press release.
- Brand audit
- A review of how a person or organisation currently appears in search, media and social, used to decide what to fix or build.
- Byline article
- An article written by a named expert and published under their name, often in a trade or business outlet.
- Crisis communications
- The planned way an organisation speaks to affected people, media and regulators when something goes wrong.
- Earned media
- Coverage that an outlet, journalist or creator chooses to give you without payment.
- Embargo
- A request that journalists hold a story until an agreed date and time. It only works if they agree to it first.
- Entity (in search)
- A distinct person, organisation or thing that search systems recognise and connect facts to, such as a brand and its address and profiles.
- E-E-A-T
- Experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness: the qualities Google's quality guidelines ask raters to look for in content.
- Generative engine optimisation (GEO)
- Improving the chance a brand is accurately cited in AI generated answers. Outcomes cannot be guaranteed.
- Holding statement
- A short first public statement in a crisis that acknowledges the issue, says what is being done and when the next update will come.
- Media kit
- A pack for journalists with a summary, images, key facts, quotes and contact details.
- Media monitoring
- Tracking where and how a person or organisation is mentioned across news, broadcast and social.
- Media placement
- A story, feature or mention that appears in a publication, broadcast or podcast as a result of outreach.
- Media training
- Coaching for spokespeople on how to handle interviews, key messages and difficult questions.
- Narrative drafting
- Writing a person's story with evidence, for uses such as awards, immigration or credentialing.
- Newswire
- A service that distributes press releases to outlets and databases, usually for a fee.
- Op-ed
- An opinion article written by an outside expert and published by a news outlet.
- Owned media
- Channels an organisation controls, such as its website, newsletter and social accounts.
- Paid media
- Placements bought with money, such as advertising, sponsored posts and paid partnerships.
- Personal brand
- The reputation and recognition a person has for a specific kind of expertise or story.
- Pitch
- A short message to a journalist proposing a story, with the reason it matters now and the proof.
- Press release
- A short, factual announcement written for journalists, led by the news.
- Reputation management
- Work to shape what people find and believe about a person or organisation, through search, media and owned channels.
- Retainer
- A fixed monthly fee for an agreed scope of agency work, usually with a minimum term.
- Spokesperson
- The person authorised to speak for an organisation to the media.
- Thought leadership
- Content that shows original expertise or a distinct view, intended to build credibility in a field.