Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies have changed dramatically over the last few years. With a focus switch now on attracting high quality brand mentions, it requires having other websites talk about your company. Creating this buzz requires content marketing to adopt a better customer relationship.
Jordan Whelan from Grey Smoke Media, a leading Toronto based Company specializing in Digital PR sets the record straight on Content Marketing:
Some business organizations believe Content Marketing is about:
– Producing content.
– Engaging people to view it.
– Booking orders from prospective clients.
But content marketing is more about:
– Making a direct connection to your audience.
– Building a trust.
– Becoming an authority.
– Gaining or acquiring loads of work as the go-to company.
This, in essence, is a form of Public Relations (PR).
Rebecca Dillon from Strat Talking says, ‘Historically PR focused on building relationships with the public, while SEO focused on building relationships with websites. However both industries have developed with the public now being largely found online.’
If you want your company website to be successful, then you need to understand how much of an impact both SEO and PR can have on your website and to your target audience.
When creating a PR campaign the content needs to instantly grab the attention and suck the reader in. This same approach should be the same for every single piece of content that you produce.
Relationships with journalists, reporters, and editors are a PR specialist’s forte. Google loves links from authoritative websites. Just a few of these from large authority websites hold serious weight as search engine algorithms increasingly crack down on shady link-building practices. Likewise, the more media outlets and websites that mention your company, the more you will be viewed as an authority by the search engines.
Jonathan Long of the Huffington Post says, ‘SEO and PR will always remain their own entities, but that doesn’t mean you can’t combine them and create a very effective online marketing strategy that produces the kind of results that Google loves, and rewards accordingly.’
Another recommendation is to focus on four key types of content – informative blog posts, infographics, videos and podcasts. Kevin Johnson a Digital PR + Social Media Manager for Fusion 360, a content marketing and SEO agency in Utah, and writing for business2community believes, ‘When implemented properly, this content can both boost organic traffic to one’s site and increase generation of backlinks and co-citations as others share the quality materials through their own channels.’
The notion that PR is the new SEO may seem strange, especially as the latest Google updates favor PR professionals over the traditional SEO approach, so SEO specialists must amend their tactics, seeking out only quality backlinks, using keywords sparingly and varying anchor text.
PR is making a comeback and replacing outdated SEO methods, but the idea that you have to choose between SEO and PR is a myth.
