Search engines like Google advise webmasters to create great content and let important web sites in your industry know (to attract links). Some of the best link sources are the hardest to achieve, such as a link in a story published at a major publication or even a industry niche publication.
This is where PR and SEO savvy can combine like Yin and Yang to create competitive advantages and extend the value and reach of your online marketing/media relations efforts. Some of the public realtions tactics that can affect search engine optimization results include:
* Contributing articles
* Pitching stories to journalists
* Blogger relations
* Press release distribution
* Social media PR
These are tactics aimed mainly at achieving some PR focused result such as media coverage and exposure to prospects, industry peers, clients and even internal company staff. Working for a company that has a great reputation is a desirable thing that can help attract and retain good people.
The opportunity with the above public and media relations tactics is to leverage search engine optimization knowledge to achieve additional benefit in the form of inbound links and additional search engine listings. A broader footprint on the web creates new entry points for prospective customers and can also push down negative search results.
PR and marketing don’t often talk to each other in many companies so internal or outside SEO expertise is not often available or even considered when PR departments create content. There are many opportunities to leverage SEO for PR content including:
* Press releases
* Letters to the editor
* Online newsrooms
* Media kits
* Corporate web site
* Blogs
* White papers
* Webinars / demos
* Newsletters
* Social profiles
* Real world interviews
* Podcasts
* Internet radio shows
Using keyword research to flavor the content, whether it’s verbal, in print, in video or audio can all influence how the outcome of the PR action is available through search. Using keywords during an interview for example, can influence how the print version of that interview is discovered on site search or general search engines.
The thing to keep in mind is that if a digital asset (text, image, video, audio) can be searched on, then it can be optimized.
When considering using search engine optimization savvy with PR efforts and vice versa, it’s important to consider the audience. Most SEO advice and tactics is centered around lead generation, which is fine, because marketing is the cost center that ususally funds SEO programs.
However, jouranlists are searching too. With over 72,000 media jobs cut in the past 7 years as well as ad budgets shifting from traditional media to digital, journalists and news desks are tasked with doing a lot more with less resources. Beat reporters, TV reporters and correspondents not only report news in traditional formats, but they’re often tasked to start blogging as well.
Search and social web applications are what help the discovery and tracking of news story ideas, sources and memes to be used with formal reporting. Making your content easily found in these channels means being front and center of the people who can provide the media coverage and links that are so highly valued/respected by consumers AND search engines.
The key to leveraging SEO for PR benefit and PR savvy for links that boost search engine rankings is to consider all the content types being published in an organization as well as content that could be published online that isn’t or re-purposed that way.
Then apply the insight that comes from keyword research and web analytics to influence how content is categorized online and use keywords in obvious places like document titles and links between documents. Keywords that are in demand used in places search engines value should be a part of the PR content creation and publishing process.
Info by: Lee Odden
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