How PR Agencies can Benefit their Clients by Partnering with SEO Agencies

The PR industry as a whole doesn't appear to have quite got on board with SEO yet, mainly because of a lack of understanding. There does appear to be some recognition and factoring in of SEO into existing PR campaigns, but SEO still sits outside PR on the whole, rather than a core part of it.

PR's already have a head-start without even knowing it. The massive majority of what influences high ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs) is within PR's control:

Link building from diverse and authoritative sites.
Social media signals.
Optimisation of on-page content.
Optimisation of URLs.
Universal search (pictures, video, etc).
Domain-level brand metrics (affinity towards the brand online).

Another key thing for PRs to consider is that SEO finally provides PR agencies with data which can actually prove a return on investment, something which has traditionally been missing with coverage reports. It also provides accurate data which will help plot more effective campaigns in the future for clients.

Organic SEO is an ongoing battle, one which is never won. Because of this, it provides PRs with repeat income over the long-term.

Where PR and SEO collide

Many PR professionals agree that organic SEO is important and that the right PR approach could help search rankings, so why is this not already on the corporate agenda?

1: The Client Many marketing managers are old school and took a while to get on board even with social media. They may have thrown some money at pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, but probably on the whole do not understand organic search and how their PR agency, when armed with SEO knowledge, could really make a difference.

2: The PR Agency Still stuck in the mould of coverage reports, SEO, like social media did, offers PR agencies so much opportunity to up sell if only they themselves could up skill and articulate a PR-led SEO strategy to clients. Those PRs who haven't already got the knowledge need SEO training.

Where SEO's can benefit PR's

The basics of establishing and running a keyword based campaign will start with:

Keywords & phrases: identifying and tracking performance.
Website auditing.
Content calendar and strategy.
Building diverse and authoritative links.
Social media strategising for search.
Setting key performance indicators (KPIs).
Monitoring, analytics and measurement tools and best practice.
Ongoing improvements and long-term strategy.

Conclusion

The monthly client coverage reports will inevitably evolve, as it has for many to include social media metrics, to include keyword rankings, inbound links generated and other relevant metrics from Google Analytics.

Smart PRs who haven't done so already will clue up on SEO and integrate search strategies into their PR and social media campaigns to avoid missing the boat. Those that do not, won't be able to offer the full remit of PR services required in the era of the Social Web.

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