Traditional PR can supercharge your SEO. Here’s how!

The significance of PR and SEO in the digital age

The digital age has revolutionised the way businesses operate. In this fast-paced, interconnected world, online visibility is crucial to attracting and retaining customers. 

With PR, you can attract customers through storytelling, relationship-building, and reputation management, which has long been recognised as a vital component of a successful business strategy. On the other hand, with SEO, you can focus on optimising websites and content for search engines, which plays a key role in driving organic traffic and improving online rankings.

PR supports SEO efforts

PR is no longer confined to traditional media outlets. In the digital landscape, PR can appear in various channels such as online publications, social media, influencer marketing, and content creation. These activities contribute to brand visibility, authority, and credibility, which directly impact SEO performance. When your brand is featured in reputable publications, receives positive reviews, or gains influencer endorsements, it creates valuable backlinks that boost your website's authority and improve search engine rankings.

4 ways you can implement an effective PR and SEO strategy

Now that you understand the incredible potential of PR and SEO integration, let's explore 4 ways you can implement a winning strategy:

1. Foster collaboration between PR and SEO teams

Encourage open communication and collaboration between your PR and SEO teams. Establish shared goals, brainstorm creative ideas, and ensure that both teams are aligned in their efforts to maximise results.

Make sure your PR team and SEO teams are talking and sharing ideas. Set goals that both teams can get behind and keep an eye on the price to keep both teams pumped and focused.

2. Conduct keyword research and audience analysis

Invest time in thorough keyword research to identify relevant keywords and phrases that resonate with your target audience. Understand their search intent and preferences, and tailor your PR and SEO content accordingly.

Use tools such as Google Bard’s integration with Google Keyword Planner and Google Trends to research keyword search volume, keyword density and trending topics in your industry.

3. Optimize PR content for SEO

Apply SEO best practices to your PR content. Optimise headlines, meta tags, and URLs with targeted keywords. Incorporate internal and external links to authoritative sources, and make sure your content is easily shareable on social media platforms.

Take a look at our guide to Search Engine Optimisation!

4. Leverage PR opportunities for backlinks

Identify opportunities for securing backlinks through PR activities. Reach out to industry influencers, journalists, and bloggers, offering them unique and valuable content in exchange for a mention or backlink.

Read our guide on how to audit your backlink profile to build your website authority.

Finding SEO-Friendly PR Opportunities

When it comes to PR, finding opportunities that align with SEO best practices can greatly amplify your efforts.

Industry publications and blogs

Research industry-specific publications and blogs that cater to your target audience.

1. Do some research on industry-specific publications and blogs that your target audience loves. Find those go-to places where your ideal customers hang out online. Look for websites that are all about your niche.
2. Check if those publications have a strong presence and a good number of readers. You want to reach as many eyeballs as possible, right?
3. Offer them some awesome content. You can contribute guest posts or provide expert commentary on topics that are relevant to your audience. Show off your expertise and share valuable insights.

You might find a lot of sites actively looking for guest contributors and good content that helps their users as well. Some examples of these are HARO and Sourcebottle.

Collaborate with Influencers

Influencers can be powerful allies in boosting your brand's online presence. 

1. Find the right influencers for your industry. Look for the cool cats who have a big following and lots of engagement on social media. These are the folks who can really get your brand noticed. But remember, a large following on its own isn’t enough; these influencers also need to have a genuine and consistent interest in your industry, as well as genuine and consistent engagement with their audience.  
2. Team up and create some amazing content together. You can collaborate on sponsored posts, product reviews, or even do fun interviews. The key is to create content that adds value and gets people excited about your brand.

When these influencers share your content on their social media platforms, it's like magic. Their followers will see it, click on it, and voila! You've got organic traffic flowing to your website. Your brand's visibility will skyrocket faster than a rocket in outer space. If they have their own websites or blogs, even better. This means you'll get some sweet backlinks that can boost your website's credibility and help you climb the ranks in search engines.

Press releases and media coverage

Press releases remain a powerful tool for PR, but they can also benefit your SEO efforts. 

1. When crafting press releases, incorporate relevant keywords and include links to your website. You know, the words that people are searching for when they're looking for what you offer. This helps search engines like Google understand what your press release is all about. 
2. Don't forget to include links to your website in the press release. This way, when people read it, they can easily click on those links and land on your awesome website. It's like giving them a direct path to discover more about your brand.
3. Spread the word and distribute these releases through reputable industry-specific platforms. If your press release is picked up by news outlets or online publications, it can generate backlinks and improve your website's authority and search engine rankings.

Here's the cool part: if news outlets or online publications pick up your press release and share it with the world, these shares can create backlinks to your website! And you know what that means? It's a signal to search engines that your website is legit and trustworthy. That helps improve your website's authority and gives you a boost in search engine rankings.

Events and awards

Participating in industry events or applying for relevant awards can be excellent PR opportunities with SEO benefits.

1. Join industry events and awards. It's like stepping into the spotlight. You get to show your expertise, meet relevant people in your field, and boost your exposure. 
2. Make sure your online profiles and bios have links back to your website. This way, when people check you out online, they can easily click and visit your website. It's like leaving breadcrumbs for them to follow.
3. Applying for industry awards is another PR move that comes with SEO perks. Winning awards not only boosts your brand reputation but often gets you coverage on award websites or industry publications. And guess what? That means sweet backlinks heading your way, which can boost your website's credibility and make search engines super happy.

So get out there, make connections and bring more people to your website!

Social Media engagement

Engaging with your audience on social media platforms is not only a PR strategy but also an opportunity to boost your SEO.

1. Monitor relevant hashtags, join industry-related conversations, and respond to comments and inquiries from users. 
2. When you provide valuable insights and engage meaningfully, your brand's visibility increases, and users may share your content, creating more opportunities for backlinks and organic traffic. 
3. It’s also a good place to find journalists and bloggers who are looking for industry leaders to comment on specific topics and be featured in pieces. 

Don’t be afraid to make some noise on social media. Marketing is all about interruption anyway, so throw your valuable insights in front of relevant people and boost your brand visibility.