PR And SEO, Public Relations, Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Writing

PR and SEO: Why a Good Combination Wins in Content Marketing

The PR and SEO combo is tough saying YES to – too much WORK. But it’s even tougher saying NO to the results of saying YES!

Not all too often do you hear “public relations” and “SEO” uttered in the same breath. That’s not surprising.

The art of building a positive personal or professional brand image through media publicity and the tactics for improving the ranking of where a website appears in Google’s search results seem far removed from each other.

So, which one do you need?

The answer is BOTH.

Despite their at-face-value unrelated objectives, public relations and SEO have a powerful symbiotic relationship. If you focus on one without the other, you’ll miss out on some prime opportunities to enhance your brand.

Why Should You Have PR and SEO?

  • Public relations specialists excel at communicating and building relationships with the media and its viewers and readers.
  • SEO agencies excel at communicating and building favor with search engines.

Public relations specialists will ensure your message is spot on and directed at the right audience. But without SEO efforts behind it, your content (press releases, articles, videos, etc.) might not be found online by your target audience.

This is why – search engines won’t consider it relevant enough to rank highly on their search results pages. 

On the contrast, SEO specialists can give your content more organic search visibility. But without public relations strategies to refine your message and place it appropriately, you might not elicit the desired response.

Worse still, you stand a chance to lose credibility with your audience if your content sounds unnatural and inhuman. See the dilemma?

 

Related article: How To Create SEO Content That Hooks A Target Audience

 

Now that we are on the same page, how do we get mister PR and mister Google to dine at the same table?

PR and SEO — Getting the Best of Both Worlds!

Find public relations and SEO professionals who recognize the value of working together for the greater good — aka your brand.

Rather than performing their responsibilities in silos, they should be willing to collaborate and coordinate their efforts.

All online PR content should be optimized by someone who has expertise in SEO best practices that will help rather than hinder your visibility on the Web. Share on X

Check out a few practical examples below:

  • Incorporating keywords and phrases (and variations of them) that your ideal audience will be apt to use when searching for content
  • Using internal and external links appropriately
  • Structuring content with strategic use of headers, bullets and lists to provide a logical hierarchy of information
All SEO content should be written to attract your audience’s attention, keep their interest, and leave them with the right impression or call them to action. Share on X

A sampling of what that requires includes:

  • Fully understanding your brand and what it stands for
  • Identifying what topics will resonate with your audience
  • Avoiding words that will offend, alienate or otherwise put off your audience

Long and short is that your needs will help shape the collaborative process between your PR and SEO agencies.

Other factors that will affect the dynamics of the working relationship include the firms’ organizational structures, their skills in their respective disciplines, and their understanding of (and respect for) each other’s areas of expertise.

If your PR partner doesn’t grasp the importance of SEO, you lose. If your SEO partner puts search engine page ranking over projecting the right brand persona, a double loss. Simply, it is possible to find yourself refereeing a cage match.

A buy-in of PR and SEO goals must happen to ensure a practical and productive working relationship moving forward.

The Ultimate Value of a PR and SEO Team Effort

You don’t need to choose either public relations or SEO. Instead, harness the potential of both.  

With coordination between public relations and SEO activities, your brand can build authority with both your audience and search engines.

A well-executed PR plan can facilitate better SEO results, and strategic SEO techniques can expand the reach of PR strategies.

It’s a win-win that starts with inviting communication between your partners — and one that depends on ongoing mutual respect and a willingness to work toward common goals.

 

Is combining PR and SEO a hassle for you? Get a headstart by reaching us here.

Author Bio:

Dawn Mentzer is a contributing writer for Straight North, one of the leading Internet marketing agencies in Chicago that provides SEO, PPC and web design services. As a solopreneur and freelance writer, she specializes in marketing content — and collaborates with clients nationally and globally.

 

Photo by Cody Davis on Unsplash

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