SEO PR

Today’s online public relations is all about optimization; optimizing for the search engines, the searchers and the journalists. This takes knowing the basics of SEO (search engine optimization) and how it fits into the world of online PR. In today’s digital world, PR campaigns must be optimized, publicized, socialized and visualized to be found by the people who matter.

The relationship between SEO and PR is exponential. Both industries are focused on producing editorial and organic content in the form of Web pages, press releases and so much more. So your content and news distribution channels need to optimized with SEO best practices in mind. Because SEO PR is all about how to get your company’s news visible in the search results.

But search engine optimization is a complex undertaking and a moving target. It requires PR professionals to learn SEO basics and follow search engine trends. This is so your PR efforts are never stale and never at risk of search engine penalties.

In a world where research by both customers and journalists starts online, are you being found?

SEO PR: Optimizing Your Company News

“In today’s Internet environment, the opportunity exists to get a lot more out of the PR department … This requires a certain amount of change in the way that PR is done, but the payoff is huge.”

-Eric Enge, President, Stone Temple Consulting, and co-author, “The Art of SEO”

The digital world has allowed brands to take publishing into their own hands. Never before has there been so much opportunity for a company to speak directly to its audience. And never before has there been such a great need for PR pros to understand SEO.

Without the right visibility tactics, your story will be buried within the millions of results for what your audience is searching for. Or worse yet, your site could be penalized by the search engines for not practicing “White Hat” SEO PR tactics.

Today, PR and SEO coexist online to ensure your content is:

• Findable by customers and journalists online.
• Readable in way that upholds journalistic integrity and quality.
• Understandable by the search engines so it’s relevant to the search being performed.
• Actionable so users know exactly what you want them to do after they read it.
• Shareable enough so it spreads deeper into the Web and throughout social networks.

SEO in a public relations world ensures your content is:

• Timely: Now more than ever, the data we get from SEO analytics allows us to create content in real-time. Talk about the topics that are trending now and break news faster than ever before — all the while driving traffic to your Web properties.
• Relevant: If your content is not optimized for the keywords that your audience is using to search for things, the story has very little chance of being found amongst the endless sea of results.
• Vibrant: SEO PR is about the user experience, and sharing engaging stories through optimized multimedia including videos, images, third-party resources and social elements.
• Strategic: If you don’t have a PR-centric publishing schedule that supports your SEO efforts, you simply can’t compete for visibility in the search engines on a regular basis.
  

SEO PR: Optimize Your Chance of Being Found

In an SEO PR world, we need to:

• Understand multimedia: Press releases with images and videos are proven to increase online visibility and attract more page views. According to PR Web, Multimedia can improve the “time on page” with press releases by as much as 30 seconds.
• Stay on top of search engines: The rules of optimization are changing all the time, impacting digital PR in an instant. Just some examples include the Google Author tag and News Keywords tag, and algorithm changes like Google’s Panda and Penguin updates.
• Drive traffic through visibility: 2010 data by iCrossing shows more than 95 percent of all site traffic for organic, non-branded terms came from Page 1 results. Outside of this study, it’s a commonly accepted notion that traffic and visibility increase exponentially the higher your rankings go.
• Know our networks: Your customers, online influencers and journalists are getting their news from many places, including Google, Yahoo!, Bing, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and more. SEO PR ensures you are being found everywhere you need to be.
• Be the expert source: With the ability to self-publish, your brand is now the direct expert. Take advantage of the professional platforms that are available to tell your story like PitchEngine and PRWeb — and get a hefty slice of referral traffic to your site in the process.

So The Buyer Group asks, is your public relations program SEO savvy?

The Buyer Group: SEO PR Pros

The Buyer Group specializes in SEO-driven PR. Our SEO PR training, consulting and special projects drive qualified visitors to your website and enhance your online visibility. We use SEO fundamentals with digital PR tactics fueled by industry standards to ensure your news and your brand are being found by the right people.

The Buyer Group is headed up by CEO Lisa Buyer. Lisa is an industry thought leader in the area of SEO public relations, and is involved in training workshops, conferences and speaking engagements nationwide. Lisa has shared the stage at conferences with companies such as Google, Microsoft and Digg as well as thought leaders such as Brett Tabke, Lee Odden, Greg Jarboe, Marty Weintraub and Dennis Yu. Lisa is a former member of the @ClickZ faculty, University of San Francisco faculty and former adjunct professor at the University of Florida College of Journalism.

SEO PR: The Buyer Group Skill Set

Let us help you navigate the complex world of SEO and digital public relations. Here’s just a few areas we can help with:

• SEO PR strategy and audits.
• SEO PR editorial calendar and content strategies.
• SEO PR news distribution analyses and online newsroom creation.
• SEO PR analytics and reporting services.

To find out more about The Buyer Group’s services, please contact us today or schedule a free consultation here.

Want to stay on top of Social PR? Subscribe to Social PR Secrets the podcast for the latest trends, news and events reported by Lisa Buyer and her team.

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