How SEO Firms and Traditional PR Can Work Together

Most marketing experts will agree that far too much time is spent analyzing the merits of SEO vs. traditional PR. This is likely more prevalent among businesses who are keeping the reigns tight on their marketing budget, but to forego one of these strategies for the other can be very shortsighted for any firm looking to gain some traction within their industry. Also, smart SEO experts know that the two can actually work in concert to achieve powerful results for emerging brands. Here are some reasons why:

Good content matters more than ever.

After Google Panda and Penguin, there is more demand than ever for high quality, unique content; plus, more importance is being placed on the goal of getting linked to by high quality sites. While churning out quick content for submission to hundreds of news distribution sites can help with supplemental SEO efforts, remember: not every distribution site is high quality. Working with an SEO firm that embraces some traditional, time-tested public relations principles can ensure your content is strong in quality, not just quantity.

PR is embracing SEO.

So now, SEO needs to start embracing PR. While the early days of SEO saw many in the field getting the cold shoulder from the PR industry, things have changed now that search is at the core of mainstream marketing. Mike Cherenson, former Chair and CEO of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), believes that, “Authentic and relevant link building, aimed at driving engagement, informing publics and building mutually beneficial relationships should be a part of every public relations and SEO effort.”

He also finds that PR is still undervalued in the SEO field, noting, “Public relations professionals are skilled storytellers and content generators and should be a part of every SEO effort. The future of SEO is not in the technology, it’s in the ability to tell stories that readers and Google will find interesting…and that’s public relations.”

Press releases are tailor made for SEO.

And it’s hard to deny that press releases are what PR firms do best. Using SEO in a press release can bring about search traffic, links, direct click-throughs and higher rankings – and that doesn’t even take into account the news stories it could generate, which would be offshoots that make the entire effort all the more valuable. When public relations embraces SEO and vice versa, a great story can be told, leading to more media coverage for the client. Media coverage equals brand recognition, which is another objective of SEO. See how it all fits together?

There are SEO firms that implement PR principles into their services, such as press release writing and distribution. Crest Media offers this in addition to our other extensive SEO and social media marketing services.