The PESO Model: Your Simple Guide to Integrated Marketing Success

Stop Wasting Time, Money & Reach: Discover the Power of the PESO Model

Digital marketing isn’t short of buzzwords, acronyms or tools that claim to change the game. But every once in a while, a framework comes along that actually delivers. That’s where the PESO model comes in. If you’re in tech, SEO or marketing — whether you’ve just opened your first GA4 dashboard or have your tenth website migration behind you; the PESO model is one you need to know. It’s not another marketing gimmick. It’s a structure. A way to organise your media efforts so you stop wasting time, money and reach.

Key Takeaways

• PESO model categorises content into Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned channels for a cohesive marketing strategy.

• Paid includes ads and sponsorships; Earned involves PR and influencer mentions.

• Shared focuses on social engagement; Owned covers blogs, email, and brand platforms.

• Integration of all four builds consistent messaging and maximises visibility.

• Measurement spans impressions, engagement, referral traffic, and conversions.

At Online Marketing Gurus (OMG), we help our clients move beyond a scattergun approach and into strategies that scale. In this blog, we’ll break down what the PESO model actually is, how each media type fits in and how tech brands and SEO professionals can use it to create smarter, sharper marketing strategies.

What is the PESO Model?

PESO stands for Paid, Earned, Shared and Owned media. The model was originally introduced by Gini Dietrich, founder of Spin Sucks and it’s become a staple in integrated marketing strategy since. Each media type plays a unique role, and when you combine all four, you’ve got a much stronger, more sustainable approach to building brand presence, generating leads and driving ROI.

So why does this matter?

Because too many businesses put all their eggs in one basket. You might be throwing thousands at Google Ads or grinding daily on LinkedIn with zero traction. The PESO model helps you structure your efforts, identify gaps and strengthen every part and stage of your marketing funnel.

Let’s break down PESO:

1. Paid Media

Paid media is anything you spend money on to get visibility. Think Meta / Facebook ads, Google Ads, LinkedIn campaigns, display banners, influencer marketing and partnerships and sponsored content. It’s direct, fast and scalable — but it’s not magic.

Paid works well when:

• You want immediate results (think ecommerce sale, product launch or lead generation)
• You’re testing new markets or audiences
• You’re amplifying a proven content piece (like a high-performing blog or video)

But the mistake? Using paid media with zero strategy. If your landing page is weak, your targeting is off or your creative doesn’t hit — your ad spend becomes a black hole.

In the tech and SEO space, we see this often with SaaS brands launching paid campaigns without strong keyword research or CRO in place. Paid is powerful, but only when the foundations are there.

2. Earned Media

Earned media is the good stuff you don’t pay for — but you’ve got to work for it. This includes:

• Organic mentions in media or blogs
• Backlinks from authoritative websites
• Reviews and testimonials
• Guest articles or speaking gigs
• SEO rankings from trusted sources

In simple terms, it’s other people talking about your brand. And that carries serious weight.

In SEO, earned media often takes the form of building strong backlinks. Not spammy ones from dodgy directories, but links from trusted, relevant sources. These boost your authority, rankings and referral traffic.

For tech brands, this could mean getting featured on Product Hunt, mentioned in a tech round-up or being interviewed on a niche podcast. The key? Offering value. You need something newsworthy, insightful or genuinely helpful to earn attention.

This media type takes time, effort and consistency. But the ROI? Long-term visibility, trust and domain authority.

3. Shared Media

Shared media is all about what’s happening on social. It includes:

• Social media posts
• Shares, retweets and comments
• Community engagement
• User-generated content

It’s where your audience becomes your amplifier.

This isn’t just about posting on your company’s LinkedIn page once a week. Shared media thrives when you interact. When your brand voice is active in comment sections. When your posts spark genuine engagement.

For SEO professionals, shared media plays a bigger role than most realise. High-performing content on social can lead to backlinks, traffic spikes and even citations. For tech companies, it’s about showing up consistently where your audience spends time, such as Reddit threads, Slack communities, LinkedIn groups and X (formerly Twitter) and even on dark social and sharing platforms.

One warning: shared media is volatile. Algorithms change, reach fluctuates and what worked last week might flop today. So it’s not a standalone strategy — but it’s a necessary one.

4. Owned Media

Owned media is your home turf. You control it. You publish it. You maintain it. This includes:

• Your website or websites
• Your blog
• Email newsletters
• E-books and white papers
• Your podcast or video channel

Think of owned media as your long-term marketing asset. It builds trust, educates your audience and captures demand.

For SEO, this is the heart of your strategy. It’s your blog content targeting transactional and informational keywords. It’s your landing pages optimised for both humans and search engines. It’s your knowledge base or developer documentation that builds credibility.

For tech brands, owned media often means thought leadership content — breaking down complex ideas in plain English. Or tutorials, demos and case studies that show your product in action.

The trick? It’s got to be valuable. Not fluffy. Not keyword-stuffed.

Why An Integrated Marketing Strategy Matters

When brands silo these media types, results suffer. You might have a killer blog post that never gets seen. Or an amazing ad that leads to a weak landing page. Or great social engagement, but no way to convert it.

3 things an integrated strategy does:

1. Multiplies reach: Paid amplifies owned. Shared boosts earned. Each one lifts the others.
2. Closes the loop: Visitors who discover you via paid might come back via organic or email.
3. Improves trust: When people see your brand across multiple touchpoints — ads, mentions, blogs, socials — it builds credibility.

Example: A SaaS company launches a new AI feature:

• They run a paid LinkedIn campaign.
• Their CEO posts about the launch (shared).
• They publish a blog and video demo on their site (owned).
• Tech news picks up the story (earned).

That’s the PESO model at work; every channel doing its part.

How To Balance Each PESO Media Type For Growth

Not every business needs to go all in on every media type from day one. But the balance matters.

1. Start with owned: Make sure your site is solid. That includes technical SEO, content strategy, conversion paths and UX. This is your foundation.
2. Layer in earned: Build relationships, pitch stories and create link-worthy content. Earned media adds authority and reach.
3. Activate shared: Don’t just broadcast. Engage. Build a social presence that actually talks to people.
4. Use paid strategically: Paid media is best used to speed up what’s already working. Promote top-performing content. Retarget warm leads. Test messaging quickly.

A few tips:

• Don’t scale paid until owned is converting.
• Don’t chase earned if your content isn’t worth linking to.
• Don’t expect shared to perform without consistency.

Growth comes from knowing which lever to pull — and when.

5 Common PESO Implementation Challenges

While the PESO model is powerful, it’s wrong to assume it’s frictionless.

Here are the common challenges you might run into, and what to do about them:

1. Inconsistent messaging

When different teams handle different parts of the PESO model, the messaging often ends up fragmented. Maybe your paid ads are promising something your blog doesn’t deliver on, or your social tone clashes with your email copy. The fix? Get your team in one room. Align your tone, voice and offer across every channel. One message, many outlets.

2. Measurement disconnects

Each media type has its own set of metrics — impressions, backlinks, shares, conversions. If you’re not tracking them in one place or tying them back to a common goal, your reporting turns messy fast. The solution: build a single dashboard or reporting process that tracks every channel’s role in the funnel. Make your metrics talk to each other.

3. Resource imbalance

One week you’re all-in on ads, the next you’re scrambling to update your blog. Many teams swing between media types without a clear plan, wasting time and missing opportunities. Instead, set a monthly or quarterly PESO roadmap. Allocate your time, budget and people evenly — based on what’s working and what needs lifting.

4. Lack of leadership buy-in

Sometimes the biggest barrier isn’t tactical — it’s strategic. If leadership doesn’t understand or support an integrated approach, PESO never gets off the ground. What helps? Show the business case. Highlight how each media type contributes to bigger-picture results, from traffic to trust to revenue.

5. Neglecting post-campaign momentum

Many brands go all in on a launch, campaign or push — then go silent. That stop-start approach breaks the PESO rhythm. What to do instead is always plan for what comes after. Keep the blog updated, schedule follow-up posts and have nurture ads or retargeting lined up to extend the impact.

Need Help Putting It All Together?

The PESO model isn’t a checklist. It’s a strategy. And at Online Marketing Gurus, it’s how we help tech businesses, startups and enterprise brands unlock long-term growth through effective use of digital marketing.

We don’t do fluffy tactics or one-size-fits-all plans. We bring in experts across all SEO services,  Pay-Per-Click / PPC advertising campaigns and management services, content marketing and social media advertising and marketing to build something that works — consistently.

If you’re ready to stop guessing and start scaling, we’re ready to talk.

Let’s grow together. Get in touch with OMG today.

About the Author

Andrew Raso

Andrew Raso, Co-founder and Global CEO of Online Marketing Gurus, has been instrumental in transforming the agency from a start-up into a $15 million global powerhouse. Since co-founding OMG in 2012 with colleague Mez Homayunfard, Andrew has leveraged his deep expertise in SEO and digital marketing to drive OMG’s expansion across Australia, the US, and Singapore.