Public relations (PR) and search engine optimization (SEO) go together like tacos & Tuesdays, peanut butter and chocolate, Sundays and football… Yes, they are great on their own, but they’re just better together. That’s because PR and SEO produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate parts. Think about it like this: SEO needs good content published on high domain authority sites. PR delivers that through earned media. Conversely, digital PR content needs to be optimized through SEO. This increases the odds of it appearing at the top of the search results. The synergy of PR and SEO makes them an obvious duo for any B2B operation.
First, let’s go through some basic information. SEO is the practice of optimizing your website – both the content and structure. This allows you to drive more traffic to your site organically without spending money on advertising (re: Google ads). According to a study by Infront Webworks, 90% of clicks on the first page of Google’s search results are made on organic links, and only 10% go to paid Google ads. Plus, a separate study conducted by Chitika Insights reported that 91.5% of Google’s traffic stays on the first page. So, you can’t afford to appear on page two, or worse.
B2B PR, on the other hand, is the process of utilizing articles published in trade magazines (print and digital) to increase brand awareness, credibility, and leads.
How do B2B PR and SEO work together?
Of all the ways that B2B PR and SEO work together, one of the most important is through the creation of backlinks. One of the top factors in determining where a website ranks in the search results for a particular keyword or key phrase is the number and quality of links that point back to your site from other websites – also called backlinks. PR can be a powerful tool for acquiring these backlinks.
When your business gets an article published in a digital publication, there is an opportunity to include a link back to your website. These links provide valuable referral traffic. They also signal to the search engine (Google/Bing/etc.) that your site is authoritative and trustworthy. This, in turn, improves your search engine ranking and drives more organic traffic to your site.
However, using PR for link building is not just about getting as many links as possible. It’s about acquiring high-quality links from authoritative sources. You see every site has a domain authority (DA) score somewhere between 1-100. The average website ranks at about a 4 according to the Rankin PR SEO research team. So, you can imagine something in the 30s would be a very good score and an attractive place to get a backlink. However, the average trade publication has a DA score of somewhere between 60-90. A backlink from a 90 DA website could be worth dozens of links on lower DA websites.
Google is increasingly looking for good content
The power of B2B PR and SEO goes well beyond just backlinks. Google and other search engines are increasingly looking to place good content at the top of the search results. Back in the day, SEO worked by stuffing as many keywords on a webpage as possible. The Google “bots” would scan the page and rank it highly because the search engine’s algorithm was not nearly as advanced as it is today. Now, search engines are increasingly looking for high-quality content to be placed at the top of the page.
This is exactly what B2B publicity can deliver. Agencies, like Rankin PR, can write educational, insightful, and disruptive articles that focus on solving industry problems or laying out coming trends. This is the type of content your target audience is looking to consume.
So, now you are creating content that Google wants to rank highly. And, you are also delivering valuable content that engages with your audience and converts them into leads.
Here is where the synergy really takes off. After you have created several articles that have been published on these high DA trade-journal websites, you will begin to see Google not only ranking your website highly, but the articles will rank very high as well. In fact, we have a client who now controls the entire top 10 of the Google rankings for its biggest keyword. So, for anyone searching for that class of products, all they see in the top 10 are the client’s website and 9 published articles reinforcing how well the product works.
Getting SEO and PR on the same page
Here is where things can become problematic. Getting your PR agency and your SEO teams to work closely together is not always easy. For starters, there are natural silos between the two. Plus, they are typically motivated by different things – SEO to rank your website higher and PR to get you publicity.
Getting your SEO agency to optimize an article for industry trade publications may just seem like extra work for them since it only helps the article rank higher and not your website. The same is true for your PR team who has to constantly get SEO input on what pages need more backlinks directed at them and what anchor text should be used.
A better solution is to find a PR agency that also does SEO. That way you get the PR team that has the connections within your target industries to get your stories published. They would also understand both your potential customers and what challenges they face. On the other end, you get all the SEO bells and whistles to not only fix any technical issues on your website, but the ability to optimize all that great content.
More reasons PR and SEO are like thunder and lightning
The goals of PR and SEO actually align very closely. The top 5 goals of public relations:
- Messaging: Making the brand’s messaging crystal-clear and engaging
- Awareness: Growing the number of people who are aware of you
- Reputation: Creating a positive perception in the minds of your target audience
- Trust: Boosting your credibility
- Leads: Growing your business
Your SEO objectives are to:
- Messaging: Make sure people find your clear and engaging messaging
- Awareness: Increase your organic traffic so that more people are aware of you
- Reputation: Making sure that people see all the great things you’re doing
- Trust: Increasing your domain authority so your site is more credible
- Leads: Growing your business
In conclusion, SEO and PR may seem like two separate entities, but when they work together, they create a powerful business strategy. By leveraging the lightning-quick results of SEO with the thunderous uproar of a B2B publicity program, you ensure your pipeline remains consistently full of leads and your revenue continues to increase.
Whether you’re an individual or a business looking to build your brand and increase your visibility, Rankin PR has the expertise and experience to help you achieve your goals. With a team of skilled professionals who are passionate about creating compelling content and building strong relationships, we can develop a tailored strategy that meets your unique needs. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you reach your full potential!