The digital realm is vast, and every second websites fiercely battle in the internet ecosystem for a coveted spot on search engine result pages. Different businesses use unique tactics to stay ahead of their competitors, and while there are many ways to bolster ROIs and crush ROI, PR and SEO are the most reliable ways to transform any brand into a household name. In case you are wondering about what should be your preferred arrow for brand credibility in the marketing quiver, let us tell you, that PR and SEO both can help you. Wondering how? Read on to find out!
A Brief Overview
Public relations and search engine optimization may seem like two separate domains in the world of digital marketing, but they are pretty much intertwined. Although PR has a long-standing industry reputation, SEO is less than two decades old and is still trying to paint black and white. However, recently, SEO has started to look a lot more like public relations. How? Let’s get into individual definitions first.
For one, public relations focuses on managing and maintaining a positive image and reputation for a company or an individual. PR professionals employ a variety of strategies from social media management to media relations and content creation to build relationships with the public, stakeholders, and media. On the other hand. SEO focuses on optimizing a website, its content, and the overall online presence to improve website visibility and ranking on SERPs with techniques like keyword research, on-page optimization, link building, and more.
How SEO and Public Relations Work in Synchrony?
According to Neilson, PR is 90% more effective than advertising in influencing consumers. Do you want to amalgamate this prowess of PR into your SEO blueprint? If the answer is yes, here’s how you can merge PR and SEO strategies to kill two birds with one stone. Enhance brand visibility, authority, and website cost-effectively and efficiently, and do more. Just follow this guide.
#1 Build Quality Backlinks
PR and SEO are interconnected in a myriad of ways, and one of them is the generation of high-quality backlinks. When you execute a successful PR campaign garnering media coverage or secure a guest post on an authoritative site, you naturally acquire valuable backlinks for your brand.
Actionable Steps:
- Create Newsworthy Content: According to Forbes, brands that engage in storytelling witness a 64% increase in customer engagement. Well, you can do that too for your brand. Develop PR campaigns that revolve around newsworthy events, product launches, or thought leadership content. These campaigns are more likely to attract media attention and result in backlinks.
- Guest Blogging: Pitch guest posts to industry-related blogs or authoritative websites. By contributing valuable content, you can earn backlinks and position yourself as an expert in your field.
- Leverage Press Releases: Most people don’t realize that press releases can be a powerful marketing weapon to announce significant developments within the organization as well as the industry. You can ensure your press releases are optimized for SEO and distributed through reputed platforms if you want to maximize your outreach.
#2 Content Strategy Alignment
SEO and PR teams can work together to ensure brand content aligns with broader marketing goals. Creative teams can brainstorm ideas and create content that resonates with your target audience, appeals to the media, and is optimized for search engines.
Actionable Steps:
- Keyword Integration: Identify and incorporate relevant keywords into your PR content to rank well in search results and attract organic traffic. Make your PR messaging align with your SEO strategy while keeping consistency intact in brand voice, content tone, and messaging across different channels for a coherent brand identity.
- Multi-Channel Promotion: Promote your PR content through various channels, such as social media, email marketing, and newsletters to maximize your reach and support your SEO efforts.
- The prowess of visual content: Visual content, such as infographics and videos, is highly shareable and has the potential to go viral. Collaborate with your PR team to create visually engaging content that can be promoted through PR channels and shared on your website. Optimized visual content can attract both backlinks and social signals, boosting your SEO and brand visibility.
#3 Reputation Management
PR is fundamentally about managing a company’s reputation, which directly impacts SEO. Search engines consider brand reputation, trustworthiness, and authority when determining search rankings. Believe it or not, by actively managing your brand reputation through PR, you can successfully influence SEO outcomes.
Actionable Steps:
- Online Reputation Monitoring: Use online reputation management tools to monitor what is being said about your brand, and try to address negative content promptly while encouraging positive reviews.
- Engage with the Audience: Interact with your audience through social media, responding to comments, questions, and feedback to showcase that your brand is engaged and responsive.
- Position as an Industry Leader: Create thought leadership content and secure guest appearances on podcasts, webinars, or industry events, and these efforts can bolster your brand’s authority.
#4 Local SEO and PR
For businesses with a physical presence or those targeting a local audience, the synergy between PR and local SEO is particularly powerful. Effective PR campaigns can boost local visibility, attracting foot traffic and online customers simultaneously.
Actionable Steps:
- Local Media Coverage: Secure coverage in local newspapers, magazines, and news websites to significantly boost your local SEO presence.
- Community Engagement: Actively participate in community events and support local causes. This doesn’t just enhance your image, it also leads to local citations, a vital component of local SEO.
- Google My Business Optimization: Ensure your Google My Business listing is complete and accurate. Encourage customers to leave reviews, which can improve local rankings.
#5 Social Signals and SEO
Social media is an essential component of modern PR, and it plays a vital role in influencing SEO. While social signals, such as likes, shares, and comments, are not direct ranking factors, they do contribute to SEO indirectly.
Actionable Steps:
- Social Media Integration: Promote your PR content on social media platforms. Encourage engagement and sharing to amplify your message and improve visibility.
- Consistent Branding: Maintain a consistent brand identity across social media profiles because this consistency reinforces trust and enhances SEO.
- Influencer Collaborations: Partner with influencers in your industry to promote your content. Their endorsement can lead to increased visibility and social signals.
Measuring Success and Analytics Integration
Explore the significance of measuring the success of your combined PR and SEO efforts. Learn how to set measurable KPIs, integrate analytics tools, and interpret data to assess the impact of your strategies on both brand reputation and search engine rankings.
The Bottom Line
Let’s be realistic. The SEO bubble has popped, and SEO can’t be just SEO anymore. There’s more to search engine optimization than site architecture, link building, and keywords. Why? Search engines are looking at brand signals, data usage, and offline data signals to determine business ranking on SERPs, and PR plays a significant role in determining these. Want to make the best of your marketing strategy and improve your online reputation? Use an amalgamation of SEO and PR techniques and give your campaigns a tremendous boost.
Nikita Sharma is Chief Strategy Centrik @ HIcentrik. She Strategizes, Optimizes & Revises digital activities to deliver optimum results & returns.
6 Years of Global Experience in Multi-tasking, i.e. Digital Advertising, Social Media, Ad Campaigns, Web Design & Development, Lead Generation, and Reporting.
