SEO for PR Pros

SEO for public relations prosSeptember 27, 2011
Laura Kempke
SVP, Content Marketing Services
@laurakempke

Process of improving visibility of a website in search engines via “natural” or un-paid (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results (Source: Wikipedia)
SEO defined
ORGANIC
PAID
PAID

Website traffic and conversions
Attract/influence people searching for information on which you’re an authority
Likely don’t know your brand names
More people click on organic results than on sponsored links
Part of the top of the online marketing conversion funnel
Your alternatives: a lot of advertising or reliance on brand recognition
Why do marketers care about SEO?

Clear relationship between placement in search results and click-throughs to a web page
Placement on results page matters
Source: Optify, “The Changing Face of SERPs: Organic Click-Through Rate,” 2011

What affects search rankings?
… and many things we can influence
Things PR people can’t control …
High-quality, fresh website content
Use of keywords—prominence and repetition of terms people actually search on
Popular social media content that includes links to the site
Links from authoritative websites (e.g., media sites)
Consistency over time
Website technology (e.g., URL structure, page load time)
Site age
Heavy use of technologies like Flash
Inclusion of XML site map
4
You have some control over:
On-page SEO = factors internal to your website
Off-page SEO = mostly link-building from other sites

SEO Best Practices for PR People

Research your keywords and use them
But don’t let them get in the way of good writing
Keywords are the words people really use when searching
Probably not your brand names
You might call it “customer care,” but if people search on “customer service,” you must weigh value of search volume vs. messaging
If a list doesn’t exist, create one
Google Analytics—Check traffic to see what terms bring people to your website; exclude paid search, branded terms
http://adwords.google.com and other free tools will let you explore keywords and understand how competitive it will be to rank for them
Reality check—only use terms if they describe what your organization offers
1

Long-tail keywords are valuable, particularly if you need fast results
Create content to support these searches
Create pages on your website that use keywords and keep them updated
Ranking for competitive keywords may be a long-haul proposition
Source: SEOmoz, “Beginner’s Guide to SEO”

Pay attention to titles
If you’re writing website copy, use titles on all pages
Press release titles shouldn’t be too long (65 characters or fewer)
Use a keyword or two, but no more than that
Create titles that make people want to read further and share
“On average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest” (Source: Copyblogger Media)
2

Use anchor text to link to and within your site
In news releases, blog entries and other online content, include keywords in links to pages on your website
“Shop towels are ideal for your toughest clean up tasks” vs. “click here for information about shop towels”
One to a few words, not long phrases or sentences
Go beyond the home page to link to second- and third-level pages
Link within your site, or between your blog and website
Established corporate website but new blog? Link liberally from the site to the blog and among pages on the blog to build quality links quickly
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Stick with it
Website pages must be maintained over time
SEO isn’t a project that you complete and then move on
Search engine algorithms change, as do your competitors’ SEO strategies, so continued cultivation is necessary
If you need an immediate lift in website traffic, consider using PPC also
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Determine metrics and measure progress
Rankings matter, but aren’t the only result to consider
Increased website traffic. Better yet, website conversions
Use Google Analytics or other analytics software for tracking
Include calls to action on landing pages
Look at bounce rate, time on site
If visitors aren’t spending time on your site, clicking deeper into the site or converting based on your CTAs, your keywords may be bringing in the wrong people
More inbound links
Should be accompanied by a quality metric—poor-quality links can work against you
SEOmoz Open Site Explorer and HubSpotLinkGrader let you look at links
Able to hold conversions steady, but decrease PPC budget
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How to Optimize PR Content for Search

May not be able to pick site technology or affect navigation, page load time, URL structure
But you can write great copy, proper headers and include links using anchor text
Ensure you have pages that map to keywords (i.e., include the term in the header and first paragraph, then a few more times throughout)
Use variations on keywords, not the exact term repeatedly
Keep pages up to date
Fix or delete broken links
Build the foundation: Website copy

Journalists may not like them, but releases have SEO value when used properly
Write short titles
If you must write long, get a keyword at the front of the title
No links in press release title—distribution services don’t pick them up
Write great titles to promote clicks and shares
Use quotes
BusinessWire’s EON service, built on Vocus’ PR Web, relies on rotating them to keep release fresh
Use keywords and variations, but don’t overdo it
If you suspect a keyword is used too frequently, try the free PR Newswire keyword density tool: http://www.icrossing.com/tools/calculator.htm
Releases: Maligned by media, but valuable for SEO

Add links using anchor text to keywords
Don’t link to the same page more than once
Do link to pages deeper in the website or to your blog
Consider spelling out your homepage URL at least once since not all syndication sites pick up hyperlinks yet
If you’re catering to your local market, add your address
All major distribution services claim to provide the best SEO support
If partners, VC firms, etc. post your news, check their sites to make sure they’re linking to you
News releases, continued

Allow you to continuously add fresh, pertinent content to the site
Link to your site and other posts to try to extend time spent with your content
Promote and make it easy to share posts to build links
Headlines should be short and include a variation on a keyword
Invite guest posts and contribute to others’ blogs
Quality links matter—don’t rush for quantity without a strategy
Media sites linking to your posts may be some of your most valuable links
No comment spam
Blogs: Your own and other people’s

People sharing your content (plus links) on social sites increases its authority in the eyes of Googleand Bing
May counterbalance traditional factors (e.g., site age)
Google search results increasingly personalized with local results, “+1” feedback from friends
Google+, Twitter, public LinkedIn results show up prominently in search results
If you aren’t using social media but care about search, reconsider involvement in social media
Superb content is shared, which has SEO value
Optimize social content and use keywords in titles
Traffic from social sites is measurable using Google Analytics
Social media and search go hand-in-hand
Social media directly supports search

Videos and webinars
Title matters
Describe the video or webinar in a summary
Use tags if possible (e.g., YouTube)
Consider accompanying short videos with a transcript
Images
Posts with images are more appealing to readers, and therefore more likely to be read and shared
Use ALT text to describe the image in detail
Surround image with relevant text
Include a caption
Name the image file in a manner that includes a keyword if possible
Presentations
SlideShare can provide an easy SEO boost
Web video, images, presentations support SEO

Someone has an ax to grind with your company and they’re making a scene online
Your product received a negative review
Coverage about a resolved crisis is still showing up in search results
Ongoing activities
Continuously monitor company, product, exec names online
Buy domain names, including .org, .net, etc., that include your company or product and negative terms
Register for the same terms on social platforms like Twitter
Participate in online forums where people are likely to discuss your company should something go wrong so you have an established following
After the negative story appears, push positive articles higher in search results
Consider a press release with links to your site or other web properties on anchor text
Comment on negative posts to state your perspective, include links to site
If it’s a media story, ask the journalist or blogger directly for equal time
Blog using the same negative terms to allow people to find your response
SEO and reputation management

Key takeaways
Set your SEO goals
Results page placement is important, but not everything
Focus on calls to action and conversion
Work alongside the online marketing team
PR may not own the company’s web presence, but you control a lot of content
Consider SEO each time you create online content
Know and use your keywords
Use anchor text
Understand that SEO doesn’t replace quality content creation and shouldn’t get in its way

Thank you
Laura Kempke
SVP, Content Marketing Services
@laurakempke
Schwartz MSL
230 3rd Ave., Waltham, MA 02451
781.684.0770
http://www.schwartzmsl.com

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SEO for PR Pros

by Schwartz MSL on Sep 27, 2011

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SEO for PR Pros — Presentation Transcript