The days of gaming SEO are over.
That’s not to say that SEO still isn’t super important. It is.
But, today’s SEO is not as easy as yesterday’s SEO. It’s no longer about pushing out a billion blog posts without a content strategy, stuffing your page with keywords, or building a ton of backlinks without paying attention to which websites they’re on.
Today, you still need a strong content strategy that incorporates keywords and backlinks. But, you also need something else Google cares deeply about: trust.
To build trust, you need a strong PR strategy.
From backlinks to thought leadership, here are four powerful ways public relations helps with SEO.
Sections
1. Diverse backlinks from trustworthy sites
PR backlinks aren’t just any backlinks.
Backlinks generated through public relations efforts are seen as more trustworthy by Google. Generally, brands can’t just buy backlinks from journalists. They have to establish a level of trust with the journalist, and persuade them that their product, service, or marketing campaign is worth covering.
Best of all, when a new site picks up your PR campaign, your brand is more likely to catch the attention of other reputable news sites, leading to more backlinks and more coverage — and all the positive SEO that comes along with that.
2. Keyword-relevant mentions across the web
Sometimes news sites don’t link to outside brands and companies. That’s okay.
PR-generated mentions are still valuable to SEO. That’s because these brand mentions are accompanied by keywords that are often highly relevant to your brand and they’re on a website Google is likely to view as reputable and unbiased.
This is even more true when you work with a SEO-savvy digital PR agency that touches on the right keywords when pitching your brand to the journalist.
3. Increased brand awareness for users and for Google
One major benefit of public relations is increased brand awareness. More press coverage leads to more eyeballs and more awareness of your products and services. Just by itself, that kind of awareness can translate to more organic searches for your brand.
But, press coverage can also speed up Google’s awareness of any new products, services, or campaigns you launch — possibly accelerating the indexing of your related web pages and connection of your brand with new keywords. For example, if you release a new product, simply publishing that page on your website won’t do much to boost Google’s awareness of it. But as you get mentioned in more blogs, articles, and press releases, Google will be more likely to serve the page in the search result for relevant keywords.
Plus, some of those people may already be familiar with your brand, from seeing it in the press. So, when they click through from Google, they may be more likely to convert.
4. Impressive thought leadership and social proof
Not all press coverage is about promoting your products. Sometimes, it’s about promoting your people.
Your executives are thought leaders. Share their insights on a trending topic or challenge facing your industry in a PR piece, and you’re likely to see a nice boost to your brand reputation. That reputation builds trust with consumers and Google, which pays dividends for your SEO.
This thought leadership angle can also help you compete with bigger brands in the search results. When you’re not pushing a specific product, journalists are more willing to work with you, and feature an interview or a quote from your C-team. So, your thought leadership can appear in big-name publications as well as industry-specific niche publications, increasing your keyword relevance and generating social proof.
That’s the power of PR.
It’s time to combine PR and SEO
If you’re ready to see the power of PR for yourself, contact Your Marketing People. As a digital marketing agency with experts in both PR and SEO, we know how to craft a holistic strategy that builds trust with consumers, and brings in more sales and traffic for your brand.
