At one time, PR and digital marketers viewed themselves as separate entities. Now, the areas overlap so much they function as partners. Rather than remain disparate functions, PR and SEO can greatly improve overall marketing efforts by working hand in hand.
The following are major ways to integrate PR and SEO.
Education. Education is the first step. PR pros can learn about SEO; SEO can learn about PR. PR can become familiar with keyword research, page ranking and other intricacies of SEO. It’s essential for PR pros to overcome fear of technical aspects of SEO like its coding, meta data and automated tools.
Revamp the corporate structure. Some experts recommend reorganizing corporate departments to create a flat organizational structure and break down departmental silos. In that structure, all marketing and corporate communications functions are housed under a single marketing department without separate traditional and digital marketing silos. “Strong marketing performance requires coordinating across platforms at a high level,” Brian Bennett, owner and president of STIR Advertising and Messaging, writes in a MarketingProfs article.
Improve communication. Rather than revamping the organization and merging functions, companies may be able to integrate PR and SEO through improved communication and cooperation. Even something as simple as a weekly internal email on current projects can encourage collaboration.
“Is your SEO team targeting a link on an authoritative website? Perhaps the PR team has an existing relationship with the editor there,” writes digital marketing expert Sam Hurley for Muck Rack. “These opportunities are easily missed if internal communication is poor.”
Optimize PR content for search engines. Placing keywords in title tags, anchor text, and image alt tags in press releases, contributed articles and other PR content improves boosts search rankings. Using keywords in press releases encourages reporters to use those targeted keywords when describing a brand. SEO pros can help PR optimize those links in earned media content by making sure content contains links that need a ranking boost, explains Erin Everhart, Senior Manager, Media Strategy for The Home Depot. SEO can also work with PR to make sure links from paid sponsorships are nofollow to avoid search engine penalties, Everhart says in a Search Engine Land guest post.
Develop relationships. Developing relationships with leading influencers in your sector, including media outlets, bloggers and social media influencers, can improve brand awareness and SEO. Monitoring social media will reveal leading digital influencers in your niche and what subjects interest them.
Larger companies may send multiple requests to an influencer. To avoid that confusion, agree on what types of influencers and publications each unit will contact. For instance, PR might handle relationships with mass media outlets, while the content marketing team owns relationships with bloggers and subject matter experts, Everhart suggests.
Share calendars. Keep a shared calendar to track all the blog posts, press releases, webinars, link-building campaigns and other PR and online marketing campaigns. Some recommend Google docs as a calendar-sharing tool. Be careful about taking credit and duplicating work.
Despite the prevalence of SEO recommendations, some public relations veterans urge PR pros to focus on what they do best: developing relationships and gaining publicity. SEO benefits will naturally follow.
“Stop worrying so much about getting links and backlinks and focus on getting publicity and coverage. That’s what will get your product or service noticed and purchased,” advises Ronn Torossian, founder and CEO of 5WPR.
Bottom Line: Integrating PR and SEO is vital for effective digital marketing. Successful PR requires employing SEO best practices, and effective SEO calls for expert PR skills. While PR and SEO teams have sometimes come into conflict, experts say those days are over. The two disciplines share essentially the same goals and can improve marketing results and corporate reputation by working together.
This article was originally published on the CyberAlert blog.
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