PR and SEO: how do they work together?

In the world of online marketing and brand building, PR (Public Relations) and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) are often seen as two separate disciplines. But in reality, they can perfectly complement and strengthen each other. You just need to make sure you deploy them both properly. At first glance, it might not seem like it, but the puzzle pieces in the picture do fit together.

Both disciplines aim to increase the visibility and credibility of your brand, but they do so in different ways. In this blog, we explore how PR and SEO work together and how you can use this combination to elevate your business to a higher level.

Let's start with a brief refresher on both terms.

• PR revolves around building relationships with media, journalists, bloggers, and influencers to bring your message or story to the forefront. The goal is to increase brand awareness and strengthen your brand's reputation. This is achieved through press releases, interviews, articles, and other media attention.
• SEO, on the other hand, focuses on improving the visibility of your website in search engines like Google. This is done through techniques such as optimizing content with relevant keywords, improving your site’s technical aspects, and obtaining quality backlinks from other websites.

At first glance, PR and SEO might seem to have different goals, but there is a crucial overlap: obtaining backlinks. Backlinks are links from other websites to your website and are a critical factor for search engines like Google to determine how trustworthy and relevant your site is. The more quality backlinks you have, the better your site performs in search results.

This is where PR comes into play. Through a good PR strategy, you can generate media attention, which often leads to publications with links to your website. These links are highly valuable for SEO because they come from reliable sources, such as news websites or influential blogs. Google views these links as a 'vote of confidence', which helps your website rank higher in search results.

Another point where PR and SEO intersect is the quality of content. PR is all about storytelling and conveying a strong message. SEO focuses on content that search engines understand and appreciate. When you combine these two, you get quality content that is both appealing to your audience and scores well in search engines.

By, for example, incorporating the right keywords into your press releases, you ensure that journalists and the media not only spread your message but also make it more findable online. This increases the chance that people will discover your business through search engines when they search for relevant terms.

Both PR and SEO aim to strengthen your authority but in different ways. PR helps you build credibility in the eyes of the public and the media. It ensures that your company is seen as a trustworthy source of information. SEO does the same but in the eyes of search engines. Google's algorithm looks at trust signals, such as backlinks and quality content, to determine if your website deserves to rank high.

Conclusion

PR and SEO may seem like different disciplines, but they work excellently together to strengthen your brand. PR provides quality media attention and backlinks, which benefits your SEO performance. By strategically working on both sides, you can not only create more visibility but also strengthen your brand's trust and authority.