SEO PR – how to build brand position and image?
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SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and PR (Public Relations) both allow for the effective building of a brand’s position and image in the market. Typically, they operate independently, with SEO focusing on search engine visibility and public relations managing media relations, publicity, and online reputation. But what if we were to combine both of these elements into one comprehensive marketing strategy?
What is SEO PR?
SEO PR is a marketing strategy that combines public relations (PR) tactics with search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to improve a site’s visibility in organic search results and build a brand image.
SEO PR can include such activities as creating and distributing industry and marketing reports, working with the media, conducting research, or publishing expert articles. An important aspect in the context of SEO PR is the promotion of the developed materials so that they gain publicity on the web and help generate mentions leading to the positioned website.
SEO PR is an issue directly related to content marketing and link building.
SEO PR goals
The main objective of SEO PR activities is to improve a website’s visibility in search engine results, but through the use of public relations techniques. An additional goal is also to build the brand’s image and recognition.
To achieve such results, care must be taken:
- Website optimization – For a website to achieve satisfactory results in search engines, it’s essential to build it in a way that’s user-friendly and friendly to search engine robots. It’s a good idea to conduct a comprehensive SEO audit and then implement optimization improvements. These improvements should primarily focus on fixing errors, speeding up page loading times, configuring meta tags and headers correctly, and publishing valuable content for your audience.
- Targeting on relevant keywords – each page should be optimized for a set of keywords that users are searching for. It’s important to avoid keyword cannibalization, which happens when more than one page is optimized for the same phrases. To find popular user queries, you should conduct keyword research.
- Natural link building – public relations in the context of SEO involves acquiring backlinks in a completely natural way, often coming from the media. These links have a significant impact on a website’s visibility in search engines.
- Creating valuable content – SEO PR involves creating high-quality content that is valuable to your audience, which in turn increases user engagement. Additionally, search engines tend to promote valuable content. In the case of SEO PR, it becomes essential not only to maintain standard blog posts, but also to create content such as reports or studies that users and media could share. This leads to gaining mentions, including links, and positively impacts your visibility in search engines.
SEO PR is different from regular SEO, primarily because it focuses on creating strategic content marketing materials like reports and case studies. These materials are meant to help naturally generate external links leading to a website.
Benefits of SEO and PR synergy
The synergy between SEO and PR can bring many benefits not only to the website, but to the entire brand.
Benefits of SEO and PR synergy are:
- Increased visibility in search engines – the combination of optimizing the website and acquiring valuable backlinks through natural PR actions can lead to higher organic search rankings. This is an effective way to increase visibility and traffic on the website.
- Natural backlink profile – content created as part of PR attracts the attention of other websites and media. This can lead to the natural acquisition of backlinks, which has a positive impact on the website’s visibility in search engines.
- Building authority and trust – good relations with the media, publishing valuable content, and active external engagement are actions that can contribute to building authority and trust. Building a positive company image is not a one-time action, but a continuous process.
- Creating valuable content for users – the combination of SEO and PR focuses on making content that’s useful for the audience. This results in more user involvement, longer time spent on the website, and lower bounce rate.
- Long-lasting results – organic visibility in search results is built through regularity, and the effects last a very long time. If the marketing strategy includes continuous SEO and PR efforts, the brand can be sure that over time it will become popular through search engine visibility and frequent media mentions.
PR activities vs. SEO – what does Google think about it?
According to Google’s official documentation, links referred to a website should be natural, meaning they should not be generated with the only purpose of manipulating rankings.
Publishing SEO PR material leads to acquiring mentions on the web. This is an effective way to build visibility in a way that is safe and recommended by Google (since links are the result of natural mentions generated on the web).
Google’s official statement on external links is as follows:
Google uses links as an important factor in determining the relevancy of web pages. Any links that are intended to manipulate rankings in Google Search results may be considered link spam. This includes any behavior that manipulates links to your site or outgoing links from your site.
Source: Google Search Central > Documentation > Spam policies for Google web search.
As we have always emphasized, links obtained primarily for artificial manipulation of Search rankings are link spam. Our algorithms and manual actions aim to nullify these unnatural links at scale, and we will continue to improve our coverage.
Source: Google Search Central > Google Search Central Blog > December 2022 link spam update releasing for Google Search.
SEO PR case study – Elephate x Nutridome
An example of the impact of SEO PR on search engine effectiveness can be seen in the case study Elephate x Nutridome „Femininity – how do we understand it today?”. The digital PR campaign included a report based on data on femininity and sisterhood, promoted through media relations techniques.
As part of the campaign, a remote quantitative and qualitative survey was conducted on 1,057 respondents. The research plan was to examine areas such as the identification of roles played by Polish women of different ages, satisfaction with life, and how Polish women and men define femininity and sisterhood.
Finally, a report was created with interesting data, which was then promoted in the media.
Effects:
- 618 external brand publications on the web;
- Acquired link: 44 dofollow and 560 nofollow from the domains that have an average of DA 76.
- Total publication reach was about 4 499 496 (data form Newspoint tool);
- Publications value: about 635 458 PLN (that is about 150 000 $).
We have already mentioned building relationships with the media on our blog: How to build relationships with the media? Good practices and most common mistakes
The role of SEO in building brand image and awareness
Visibility in search results is a key element in gaining the attention and trust of online users. With the right SEO strategy, websites can rank at the top of SERP, resulting in increased exposure to potential customers.
A well-thought-out SEO strategy contributes to building trust and brand authority according to users. Websites that provide valuable, up-to-date and substantive content earn a reputation as sources of reliable knowledge. This trust translates into a positive perception of the brand, and can prompt users to recommend it to others.
The synergy of SEO and PR builds positive brand image and awareness even more effectively. Content published on the website, social media and external portals is consumed by a wide audience, which includes potential customers.
Integrating SEO and PR activities with other elements of the marketing strategy, such as the aforementioned content marketing, social media and advertising campaigns, creates a consistent message and impression for the audience. This approach helps build a consistent brand image across all communication channels, increasing brand recognition and memorability for users.
Building your Google search visibility with SEO PR – tips
How to gain the interest of potential customers through the synergy of SEO and public relations?
Create valuable content
Focus on creating high-quality, valuable and original content that is of interest to your target audience. Writing articles for a company blog is not enough. Publish articles, collaborate with industry experts, create infographics, conduct research and willingly share case studies.
To create quality, engaging and SEO-friendly content, it’s essential to develop a comprehensive content marketing strategy.
Optimize content for keywords
It is necessary to use the right keywords in texts to interest the target audience. Then the publications will be in a high position in the search engine, which will contribute to generating more organic traffic.
Acquire organic and natural links to your website
As part of your SEO PR activities, try to get backlinks from websites with authority. The value of such links is huge, both for brand image and search engine visibility.
Create and send press releases
Have you conducted a study and published an interesting report? Or maybe a valuable case study has just been published? The media won’t know about it unless you contact them. Proper press releases are the key to success.
Monitor mentions and request links
Work on getting mentions of your brand or content in the media, in articles, interviews or reports. These mentions can generate valuable backlinks and increase visibility.
SEO and PR tools
SEO PR requires the use of the right tools to properly take care of both website optimization issues and public relations aspects.
- Ahrefs – is a comprehensive website analysis and monitoring tool. It offers features for competitor research, link analysis, ranking position monitoring, and keyword popularity verification. With Ahrefs, you can accurately analyze your competitors’ activities and optimize your site to improve your position in search results.
- Senuto – the tool allows you to analyze keywords, monitor visibility in search results, study competitors and analyze market trends. With Senuto, you can plan an effective SEO strategy and monitor its effectiveness. The tool supports languages as: English, Slovak, Dutch, German, Hungarian, Romanian, Czech, and Polish.
- Brand24 – is a tool that monitors social and online media to track mentions of a brand, products, or competitors. It allows you to analyze customer opinions, detect trends, and respond to comments in real time. Brand24 allows you to proactively manage your brand image and better understand user perceptions of your company.
- Newspoint – is a tool for media monitoring and analysis of press mentions. It allows you to track articles, media coverage and opinions about your company. With Newspoint it is possible to effectively monitor PR campaigns and analyze the effects of media coverage.
SEO PR – summary
The synergy between SEO and PR is a key part of a strategy to build a strong brand image in the digital environment. Optimization of the website not only affects visibility and position in search results, but also strengthens brand authority by providing valuable information to the audience. At the same time, effective PR activities in the media support the creation of a positive image, which translates into greater attention and trust from customers. The integration of these two elements makes it possible to send consistent messages, and increase brand awareness, additionally building the authority and image of an expert on the market.