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In today’s digitally driven world, SEO is a common term. Ask any communications expert and they will vouch for the importance of SEO and its role in creating a strong digital presence for brands. However, not many of us know, or take out time to question the relation between Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Public Relations (PR).
So, how exactly do SEO and PR go hand in hand? In this blog, I will talk about five important relations between SEO and PR and suggest why they should be seen and implemented in sync with each other. But before we start, let us take a step back and discuss SEO, in detail, first.
SEO is the process of enhancing online content in order to improve visibility in search engine rankings. This process determines where our content appears after we look for results on the web, with the help of specific keywords. Usually, SEO experts focus on three areas to boost rankings – relevance, trust, and user signals.
We need to make sure that we are using the best keywords. The keywords ultimately help us in our search and make sure we reach the right website or link.
Every small step we take in SEO is meaningful, its importance for the success of businesses in today’s digital landscape is immense and it will keep growing. More than just another PR tactic, SEO is an important business goal in its own right. As a PR professional, now is the time to embrace SEO and appreciate the value it adds to PR strategies.
When working together, both PR and SEO can affect the business and consequently its growth.
We will now list down briefly how both PR and SEO can work together for the overall objective of benefiting a company or business.
We need to create awareness of the impact that online media can have on SEO and keyword rankings, so educating PR professionals on the same is crucial. This can be done by explaining what they can get out of this collaboration.
This also applies to SEO professionals who need to educate their PR counterparts on the roles and jobs of SEO marketers.
The SEO team should assist the PR team in optimising links for all the earned media coverage, such as the press release, features, interviews, and opinion pieces. SEO can help to choose the right links that need a ranking boost.
It is also worth noting that links from paid media opportunities are not included to avoid any search engine penalties. So only organic ones should be listed.
The SEO and PR teams must make sure they are aligned on the bigger key messages and timing to ensure that the brand is putting out the same theme of content and not mixing messages or promoting two different things at the same time. A content calendar that aligns with business priorities might be a good option in this case.
Creating content is not an easy task given the fact that we need to ensure that our message is being delivered to the right audience and in the simplest way. It is recommended that a piece that was created by any of the teams (SEO or PR) can be republished as long as there’s a link back to the original source.
For example, a PR team can take that same piece and pitch it out to the media, which will result in more links for the search team and an easy content placement.
In a nutshell, we should always meet with our counterparts so each team is up to date on what the other is working on because, after all, even when optimising for search engines, real readers should remain the target for our content.
Khaled Abu Hishme is Account Director at Cicero & Bernay Public Relations, an independent PR agency headquartered in Dubai offering new-age public relations consultancy to the UAE and across the MENA region. | www.cbpr.me