Public Relations is simply the bridge between a brand and its target public through strategic communication techniques to enable them build a relationship with their audience. Public relations can be achieved in several ways, including crisis management, public affairs, Corporate and Social relations (CSR), Employee Relations, media relations, and many more.
In this article, however, we will focus on media relations in relation to SEO. If you are a SEO Aspirant you may consider undergoing some Digital Marketing Course offered by institutes.As an organization, you should constantly be looking to widen your scope and impact by integrating as many game plans as possible. Public relation is an emerging trend, and when fully taken advantage of, it may have your organization reaping huge benefits.
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization is a mechanism designed to increase a website’s traffic. This, in turn, translates to a widened brand awareness. There are two types of SEOs that an organization could work with to ensure they achieve the desired ranking. On-page SEO involves optimizing pages on the organization’s sites to increase the ranking by using relevant keywords, a well-structured website, and quality content. On the other hand, off-page SEO mainly involves factors outside the site, such as backlinks from third-party websites, which nearly contribute to nearly 16% of ranking factors, guest blogging, and even social media marketing.
How to optimize SEO as a PR Strategy
- Create a solid online presence
Do you have a strategic platform where your audience can access information and news regarding your organization and your products? Is it up to date? How well managed is it? A well-put-up site for your organization sells your brand; therefore, it is an investment and will eventually give. A website also makes it easier for media houses or interested persons to access you.
2. Keep Up with the trends.
3. Do your homework
It is said that mastery of one’s craft is the only path toward producing elite products and services. Do your research! Master the art of keeping up with what is new so that you can capitalize and mold that to suit your products and services. No market is static; therefore, flexibility as an organization while keeping up with the new demands is a win.
With research it is easy to understand:
- Who you are retargeting
- Their needs and inclinations and how to meet them
- What attracts the audience to the product or service
- How to use an online presence that will allow them more access to the organization
- What are tools you can manipulate to achieve results
After establishing the pointers mentioned above, you can now develop a workable strategy. Do some intense research, develop a customized strategy, test it by reaching out to individuals along your line of interest from whom you can get feedback, make adjustments, refine and then implement. Optimize your research process by using reliable tools such as ahrefs, Google Ads, semrush, which allow you to analyse websites links and SEO rankings in a more detailed way
On flexibility, be open to new ideas in SEO optimization, such as guest blogging, especially if you are a newbie in digital public relations. Skills in cold pitching come in handy here. Pitch your profile and content to established journalists or brands in your niche who might, in turn, show interest in hosting you. At the same time, work with small organizations that show steady growth. Remember, it is about scaling your business. The more credible sources link to your website, the more traffic you get.
Quality Content Sells; white hats
This is the most reliable and sustainable way of growing your ranking as a business. It involves creating quality content while keeping the needs of your audience in mind. This, unlike black hats, is a long game that gives in the end.
Quality content sells and will automatically earn you backlinks from high-ranking third-party websites and increase traffic. Creating quality content may require that you invest in a professional to create SEO content. Click here to learn more about getting professionals to create content for your site.
To achieve results in SEO in public relations, patience is a must have. Shortcuts such as blackhats are meant to achieve a good SEO ranking through keyword stuffing and link scrapping. It is an easy way but leaves a question about the quality of your content as a website. It is an effort in futility in the long run as the website is likely to get blacklisted. Penalties that may follow may have you starting from scratch again.
The best way of ensuring you as an organization benefit from SEO integrated with public relations, stay away from malpractices and with the right input, you will see your way to the top as an organisation.