Search engines prioritize query results by trying to calculate the best results that will give the searcher what they’re looking for. To do this, they use algorithms. Once upon a time, those algorithms were quite simple. They looked at the metadata on a page, or how many incoming links it had. However, simpler algorithms are easy to reverse engineer – leading to black hat SEO tactics.
Brands get caught in the crossfire of algorithms vs black hat
When search engines upgrade and modify their algorithms to counter new black hat tactics, brands using basic SEO strategies can lose traffic as well. This is a common scenario. A company optimizes its content solely for search engine ranking, using the current algorithm ranking rules. The search engine modifies its algorithm. The ranking criteria changes, and the site dramatically drops in rank.
PR and SEO together can mitigate the algorithm problem
Building strong relationships with popular industry publications is one of the best ways you have to defend your website against ranking losses. Search engine algorithm changes are all about trying to root out fake and low-quality links and content. What the search engine companies don’t want to punish are sites that are:
- Constantly producing high-quality content.
- Building links from other high-quality sites.
- Gaining an audience who visit more than once and actually read the content.
And this is exactly where public relations comes into the picture. Integrating PR and SEO into a single combined effort can improve both quality and findability of your site.
Steps
Develop a link building strategy for PR using SEO keyword research.
Leverage Position Zero (P0) or smart results like featured snippets, people also ask, top stories, and local search results to bolster your PR efforts.
Get your public relations and SEO teams working together to boost efficiency and remove redundancy.
Communicate often and purposefully with stakeholders to build confidence and engagement with your strategy.
Develop website content like a press center and About Us page that will provide information and resources for journalists.
Put together a content and outreach plan that includes a steady stream of action and promotion throughout the year.
Develop a PR pitching process that helps you to build relationships and improve turnaround on your content.
Put together a press kit that includes images, background information, quotes, and a press release or media alert.
Establish baseline measurements, choose metrics to track, and report PR SEO progress to stakeholders.
Last edited by @hesh_fekry 2023-11-14T10:08:38Z