Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is likely a term you've heard before. Whether you're familiar with the term or it sounds more like a foreign language, its importance can't be overestimated. And given you're on the SourceBottle website, chances are you appreciate the value of public relations in maintaining a positive perception of your business. What you might not realise, however, is that, in this data-driven world, SEO and PR go hand-in-hand.
"What you might not realise, however, is that, in this data-driven world, SEO and PR go hand-in-hand."
We're here to give you a complete guide to how SEO and PR work together to benefit businesses, and tips for putting these practices in place.
There are several reasons why PR and SEO work so well together, like the fact that:
"SEO through 'earned' backlinks are the key to increasing website traffic"
So, what is SEO and public relations, and how can you use them to optimise your online marketing strategy?
Public Relations
According to Business Queensland, Public relations (PR) "is the practice of managing and guiding perceptions of your business to attract new customers and strengthen the loyalty of existing customers." Basically, it's important to keep a positive perception of your business in order to maintain a growing customer base. And creating a well-thought-out PR plan will always be a powerful tool for your business.
"...creating a well-thought-out PR plan will always be a powerful tool for your business."
5 ways to help you develop a digital PR strategy include:
Press Page suggests that SEO is "the process of enhancing your online content to improve visibility in search engine rankings." Search engines, like Google or Bing, use complex algorithms in order to organise and rank content, but put simply, search rankings that determine where your online content is found is based on the keywords you use. That being said, since people tend to click on the top results in any search, where your content falls will suggest how many users will select your link.
Paying attention to the SEO of your company's website, blog or other online resources will, therefore, ensure that people find your content which is turn increases your brand awareness. And since choosing the right keywords is the first step in SEO, your entire PR strategy can be inspired by your SEO strategy. "Consider your brand identity and market placement, then identify the keywords you want to be ranked for."
"And since choosing the right keywords is the first step in SEO, your entire PR strategy can be inspired by your SEO strategy."
It seems that the best digital marketing results appear when SEO and PR are in sync. Team Lewis notes that a results-driven digital PR strategy will promote SEO, and a solid SEO strategy will work to promote your PR. 5wpr informs readers that this can be done by:
Since digital PR works to draw attention to certain links, utilising SEO will help ensure that these links will be found by the most online users.
Your marketing team and PR team are constantly working on creating quality content that's going to boost your brand authenticity, awareness and overall business. SEO works to optimise that content on various search engine platforms, increasing the number of people who will be exposed to this content. It only follows that when PR and SEO work together, results will include:
"Improved success in the digital world."
Basically, what we're saying is... if you're using one without the other, you're going to miss out on a BIG chunk of brand awareness, website traffic, and (ultimately) business!
Want to learn more?
Check out Part 2: for more ways that PR & SEO can work together to boost your digital marketing.