Public Relations & SEO: An Overview

Amy Marshall, Online Marketing SpecialistUVA Health SystemJanuary 5, 2011

A definition

Search Engine Optimization – the process of getting found by

◦Search engines◦Target audiences

Attracting the attention of both requires an approach that covers website content and design, social media, public relations, marketing, and other communications efforts.

What does SEO entail?

Paid/Adwords vs. Nonpaid/Organic

Organic or nonpaid search accounts for most website traffic.

Tasks for Organic/Nonpaid search include:Keyword researchPage optimizationLink buildingSocial mediaContent strategy

Keyword Research

Answers the question what are people looking for and how are they finding it?

Keywords are the terms or phrases people use when performing a search on the web.

An evolving and complex process, researching the best keywords to help people find the targeted web page(s) involves identifying the most effective and commonly used terms that match the specific content and tasks that web page offers.

Keyword research forms the foundation of the basic goal of any SEO process: Getting found.

Optimizing Pages

For a page to be found, it must clearly and accurately identify itself and its content to both search engines and users.

This means both the content users see and the metadata search engine robots read must clearly state the topic and its relevance – so users know if they want to click and robots know where to rank the page.

Link Building

Search engines give more weight to websites with a large number of links from other credible websites. Inbound links also maximize the ability for users to find us.

Sites to find:- Government, education- Directories, industry associations- Reputable blogs, recommending sites

Manage Social Media Presence

A successful SEO campaign requires social media engagement. Not only does social media create links, drive traffic, and build reputation with a targeted audience, but search engines rank websites with social media engagement higher in their search results pages than those without it.

Ongoing Content Plan

It’s not enough for a website or page to be accessible through search; to maintain high search engine rankings over time requires that users consider the content on the site itself

worthwhile, user-friendly,

customer-centric, trustworthy, and

appealing.

SEO & PR: Shared Goals

Building the organization’s reputation and awareness Attracting attention and interest Improving and creating relationships outside the organization Driving, connecting, and matching people to services they need that

we offer (that is, getting business)

In fact, SEO PR is kind of a sub-branch of SEO, defined as:

…a blend of search engine visibility and traditional public relations that disperses a company’s message across the Internet by way of online media outlets and search engines. SEO PR not only helps disseminate an organization’s messages, but it also incorporates search engine-friendly communication through techniques such as optimizing copy in online content such as press releases, articles, whitepapers, blogs, RSS feeds and websites.

Similar Tactics

Public relations strives to build a company’s reputation, largely through the use of positive media coverage.

SEO (link-building, especially) strives to build a website’s reputation by getting links from relevant and respected web sites – including media sites, social media sites, etc.

Both require: Knowing the audience Writing for that audience Content knowledge Relationship-building

How does SEO benefit PR?

SEO:Increases visibility and ultimately more

views of press releasesAllows your target audience to find youGarner more media coverage

How does PR benefit SEO?

SEO-optimized press releases generate:Media relationships that can lead to valuable

linking and social media connectionsBacklinks from credible news sites which increases

the ranking of your website or blog for your keywords

Visibility in search engines Ranking in Google News and Yahoo News for your

keywordsTens of thousands of headline impressions across

hundreds of blogs, websites, and news sites that run RSS headlines

A Nice Quote

“To get the maximum return from any publicity effort, PR people and SEO people need to meet together and look for the synergies that can be created through their respective disciplines.”

Some first steps:From the SEO side, we can: Track traffic for specific news-related itemsTrack search results and social media

mentionsOptimize pages and content to reflect

news items; link to press releasesShare opportunities for outreach or

coverage that appear in search

First Steps

From the PR side, helpful items include:Using keywords for specific anchor text – the terms

that link to the site – in press releasesLinking back to uvahealth.com where possible – and

where it makes senseWriting appealing releases that people will want to

share Try (if not already) an online press release distribution

service that pushes releases out to online as well as print media

Share contacts and connections for link-building activities where appropriate

Resources for Further Research:

http://hubpages.com/hub/SEO-Press-Releases-How-to-Write-them-and-Where-to-Submit-Themhttp://publicrelationsblogger.com/2010/05/what-is-seo-pr-search-engine.htmlhttp://www.toprankblog.com/2009/03/4tips-approval-optimized-press-releases/

Writing Suggestions