SEO in the Know for the PR Pro

On Valentine’s Day, Vice President Lauren Zumpano spoke on a panel for the Philadelphia Public Relations Association’s “SEO: In the Know” program. As a panelist, Lauren reviewed the basics of SEO and leveraged her PR background to talk about the love story between SEO & PR.

The presentation ended with a live demonstration that explained how public relations professionals can put Google Analytics and Google Search Console (our favorites!) to good use.

Key takeaways:

1. Relevancy, quality, authority. Three qualities that are important in any SEO or PR strategy. Google wants to make sure your website is relevant to what people are searching for, the information on the site is good quality, and that you are authoritative in the space. The same goes for any PR strategy.
2. Original content is king. Use query questions to answer the information people are searching for. Go even further and conduct research or surveys, then use that data to create an easily digestible asset. Think infographics, charts, and graphics.
3. It goes beyond getting a link. To an SEO agency, links are our lifeblood. A backlink from a highly authoritative site is one of the factors Google looks at when choosing how to rank sites in the search engine. To a PR pro, a link means something totally different. One mention from a highly authoritative site helps to create brand awareness and establish credibility. For both the SEO and PR pro, establishing relationships with topical sites – ones that fit into your client’s niche – also helps reach targeted audiences. Quality over quantity is the key.

Relevancy, quality, authority, content, and links are the bonds that an SEO and PR pro share. In the end, it’s about enhancing a client’s digital strategy.

Here are some of our favorite SEO tools the panel mentioned:

• Moz Beginner’s Guide to SEO
• Seer Blog
• Google Search Console
• Google Analytics
• SEMRush
• Backlinko SEO Marketing Hub
• Ahrefs
• Answer The Public
• Campaign URL Builder (UTM’s)
• PageSpeed Insights Tool