If you think PR is dead, then you are missing out on the great brand awareness opportunities that come with PR in this digital age. Of course, times have changed. The old tactics of traditional public relations expressed in strategic event coordination, crisis communication, reputation management, trade shows, sponsorship opportunities, outreach, press release distribution and leveraging of traditional media (radio, television, newspapers) have now given way to more digital approaches.
Strategies applicable to both legacy and digital PR converge at the point where connections are built and managed. However, digital PR comes with the added benefits of search engine optimization and link building across the internet, while also delivering measurable, tangible results and information and producing easily shareable content.
Why should online public relations be integrated with SEO?
SEO and PR work together in more ways than one. First, creating premium content can build backlinks to your site. So the more media coverage your brand gets, the more links to your site you get. Lastly, with a great PR process, you can create greater connections with influencers in your industry, thereby gaining more links from blogs and social media posts, leading to increased SEO.
Because the realm of online public relations is more niche than traditional, it will help increase your brand visibility and online sponsorship. However, the integration between SEO and PR becomes much stronger when executed strategically.
Here are 6 top ways to boost search engine optimization with online PR.
1. Unify your goals across SEO, PR, and other marketing efforts
Each of these marketing concepts has their unique working styles, but their goal is the same. While SEO leverages digital channels to connect with customers and generate more leads, PR relies heavily on media relations to generate more media coverage for the brand. In the end, your goal is to reach customers, and that’s the part you need to focus on the most. Only then will you be able to take advantage of the capabilities of the different channels.
2. Use data gained from both SEO and PR research to create a general persona.
While SEO relies on audience research to create a brand personality, PR focuses on media research to discover the type of posts that appeal to a brand’s target audience and look for reporters to cover topics. relevant to the brand. The combination of both results will create a strong and unified personality.
3. Coordinate content and keywords across all digital channels to project a unified brand identity.
All of your social media and blog posts, ebooks, newsletters, landing pages, video ads, media posts, and press releases should project the image your brand is trying to communicate.
4. Use your public relations experience as a guide to create content.
With proper research, PR experts gain insight into the type of content their audience will find consumable, valuable, and shareable. Let this experience guide you in creating high-quality SEO content. While SEO professionals are creating high-ranking content, incorporating the most appropriate keywords and sharing it through social media channels, PR experts should be busy presenting this content and attracting as much attention as possible through social media channels. high quality links.
5. PR Can Leverage SEO Keyword Strategy
Keywords used in press releases can lead reporters to use those specific keywords when describing a brand, increasing the likelihood that a business will show up in searches for those specific terms.
Public relations must take advantage of and extend the SEO keyword strategy; For example, keywords and keyword phrases should appear in critical statements, press releases, media interviews, FAQ documents, social media bios, website meta-headings and descriptions, and website copy.
6. Connect with high-level influencers in your industry
Influencer marketing is non-negotiable in integrating SEO and PR efforts for your site. Connecting with influencers can lead to high-quality links from the media, other businesses, and high-traffic pages. Making connections with these influencers increases the chances that they will share your content with their audience and even link to your site, making your content more visible, linked and of course shared.
SEO is a crucial aspect of building a sustainable online presence, but it works best when it joins forces with PR to create strong results. For example, a Forbes link, even if it’s a text link, carries more weight than simple blog comments. Therefore, you should focus on creating high-quality shareable content. You also want your content to be properly and proportionally populated with keywords added to the fact that they have to be relevant to a target audience.