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The Crossover Between SEO and PR
The crossing over of these two industries has been heavily facilitated by the ever-evolving digital landscape, and as a result, new ways of digital marketing are beginning to emerge. To understand just how the relationship these two industries share can help businesses, it is important to understand what each concept is, and of course how they support each other.
Many will know what search engine optimisation is – it would not be a stretch to say that it is the bread and butter of any business. Better search engine results increase traffic to a website, the home of where all a business’s services will be. This will inevitably result in increased business potential, something that all serious players will desire. It is easy to see then how incredibly useful SEO is, but where does PR come into the equation?
It is a fact to those in the know that PR is generally misunderstood by the wider public. The influx of satirical representations in TV and film have rendered the industry to the realms of fancy parties and pesky journalists. The reality is that PR is all about carefully cultivating narratives through the media that represents the client in the best way possible. Again, this is useful to virtually any kind of business: the ability to create positive business outcomes and change the public’s minds on matters is highly desirable.
With the two concepts now fully understood, it is clear to see how each may interrelate with the other. One popular way that has emerged within the SEO industry is article placements – creating content to be placed on websites to increase traffic. At its heart, content creation is the practice of creating informative, engaging pieces of text and PR shares the same directive. Both roles desire to produce content that could either be posted on a website or discussed with a reporter and doing both is key to growing into a successful business. High-quality content, whether it is created for a website or a news story, will help in delivering a message to the right audience, something that all businesses should strive for.
Another area where the two cross over is when it comes to outreach. This is key for any business, as it allows new connections and potential business relationships to form which could lead to higher revenue. The SEO industry is intimately familiar with the concept as they will need to source websites to audit, produce content amongst a range of other things. Similarly, PR professionals will need to work to find the right journalist, influencer or celebrity who can help promote their brand. Outreach is yet another way in which PR and SEO intersect, as both industries realise the benefits good outreach can have.
There is no doubt that SEO and PR both have clear similarities. However, they can also help each other to a certain degree. For example, PR professionals can use their connections to promote the publishing of a book for an author, and direct attention to the author’s website which will in turn naturally increase its search engine rankings. On the other hand, the SEO process can help those interested in PR as certain references to a website can be included in press releases that will do a great deal in increasing SEO impact for that website.
What is there to take away from this then? The answer is simple. SEO is a massive part of any business, as is PR. Those that do not have both departments, or regrettably any, are missing out on a massive opportunity to increase their business as the two can work in tandem to create increased traffic and media presence. However, the notion of better opportunities is most apparent in SEO, and more specifically content marketing; it is clear that Google appreciates high-quality original content.
It is common for businesses to use other methods of advertising to increase traffic to their site, the most typical being paid advertisement like pay-per-click links. While this is a valid method to increase search engine rankings, the short term benefits it offers pales in comparison when a tailor-made content marketing strategy comes into the equation. Opting for this route will ultimately increase traffic naturally, and will directly lead to a higher quality website, something that is invaluable in this age.
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