Making optimal use of synergies between SEO and PR
PR & Marketing
Posted 28 Apr 2020
Public relations and search engine optimization have several common approaches. Efforts in both fields increase the attention for a product, company, or website. Both not only pursue the same goal, but complement each other perfectly. If you are currently investing in a new website, there is no way around investing money and energy into search engine optimization as well. These efforts can also be used for PR work.
The expectations of article readers are similar to the interests of website visitors: They expect information with added value. Both the selection process of journalistic press texts by journalists, and the determination of Google rankings by Google crawlers, filter texts according to this added value.
A first step is to provide the most accurate information possible in a few characters. It is important to gather ideas and to create a balance between concise text and a pleasure reading experience in several drafts. It does not always have to be a formal press text because storytelling also works in the B2B sector! It is important to stay close to the core of the content and the company’s subject area.
This is also accompanied by research for the right keywords. Apart from the contemporary buzzwords, the goal is to find keywords that define both the company’s activities and the industry in a more detailed way. Positive keywords are indispensable on a website – but a certain level of adherence is required. For PR and SEO, the following applies: Overoptimizing is just as bad as not using any keywords at all.
Speakers should in any case internalize the keywords of the company. During interviews, they have the opportunity to drop these keywords and at the same time, inform journalists about company news. A media training in advance is the best preparation for any event and press meeting. A good example for the combination of SEO and PR.
Data-driven PR is ideal for searching the right words.
Search engine optimization improves the ranking of a website. Besides good content, targeted linking can also contribute to this. It is important to set links to subpages within your own site. Nevertheless, it is important not to insert as many links as possible, but to refer to links with concrete further information on the website. Links from other websites can also increase the ranking of your own site. It is however important to note that there are good and bad backlinks. The more credible the site and the more popular and related it is to the topic, the more the link will increase the credibility and ranking of your own site. Links by journalists in online reports are a good way to increase the number of visitors to your own website.
You can find more information on Technical SEO here.
Even if search engine optimization and PR pursue the same goal, they are best measured separately. For example, there are numerous statistics on Google Analytics in regards to the performance of keywords and the behavior of website visitors. Once activated, it provides a detailed overview of access to all website content. In addition, Google gives tips on improving the website and the use of keywords. All results can be exported and compared with a past time frame.
Coverage reports have been established as a proven tool for measuring PR work. They can be used to evaluate print and online publications according to various indicators. They provide information on the performance of SEO-optimized press work.
Both areas have their strengths, but the best way to be prepared for the future is to combine PR and SEO measures. Find out how successful this combination can be in our success story with the Norwegian smart tech company, Airthings.
Alexander Hencel
Marketing Assistant at HBI Helga Bailey GmbH – International PR & MarCom
Alexander Hencel has been part of HBI’s marketing team since 2018. He is responsible for content management such as the creation of specialist articles, managing social media channels and supporting online marketing campaigns for customers and HBI.
