Perfect PR and SEO Relationship: 3 Tips

Collaboration between PR and SEO teams can lead to new content, better publicity, and even new business. Here's how to make it work.

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Does your PR team know SEO best practices and vice versa?

PR and SEO teams share a common goal--to increase a brand's presence in the marketplace--but they take different approaches. As a business grows, it can be easy to silo groups and overlook opportunities for collaboration. Forming stronger ties between these two teams can lead to new content, better publicity and even new business. Working with Julie Perrigan, Rise Interactive's SEO manager, we outlined three areas for companies to begin their PR and SEO collaboration:

1. Increase Quality Content and Links

The goal of public relations is to create content, find opportunities to share it and to gain exposure for your organization through media, print and digital efforts. SEO should be a piece of that puzzle, not an afterthought. Creating quality content allows your PR department to promote your company, by providing an easy-to-follow path back to your site through relevant links in your content. But both teams need to share common ground in order to build a website's authority and brand awareness.

Before your PR team creates or pitches a story, members of both SEO and PR teams should discuss key messages, targeted keywords, distribution tactics and overall goals for each team. Also, both teams should explore the content landscape, then brainstorm, and develop content that sets you apart from the competition.

With Google algorithm updates--such as Panda and Penguin--changing the landscape of SEO, there is a growing need for quality content and links in high-authority sites.

2. Build Relationships

Building ongoing, mutually beneficial relationships can help create a more holistic strategy. PR and SEO both utilize relationships to promote websites and brands. While a PR department makes more personal relationships via phone or in-person, SEO groups can build and foster relationships online. Finding those key influencers within your industry and building relationships to obtain links is where SEO and Link Building is heading. Make certain your PR and SEO departments are sharing their media lists and relationship-building opportunities (both online and offline) with one another.

Relationships are instrumental in building a strong network of brand advocates and will provide the most value for your business. However, if your teams are uncoordinated, it can lessen their credibility and damage new and existing relationships.

3. Promote

Social media is the perfect tool to strengthen PR and SEO. Its power to promote a brand and build awareness, coupled with the ability to generate high-authority links and shares, makes it the perfect outlet for certain brands. While print and broadcast channels are the bedrock of traditional PR, promoting your original content via social media platforms exposes that content to an audience of people who have already opted to follow you. As you gain a larger online following, set up tools which can analyze and monitor your social media efforts. By employing these tools, you can test and track which content resonates with your audience. This investment will make your PR and SEO efforts more competitive.

Also, with the rise of social signals as a ranking factor, the more quality content you can provide, and the more your PR and social channels can promote, the better. By utilizing your relationships and promoting your content, you open the door to higher rankings, increased quality traffic and more exposure in every capacity.

So whether you have in-house PR and SEO departments or use an outside PR or SEO company, it is imperative that each channel communicates and collaborates to ensure you are getting the most value and greatest exposure for your business and brand. Integrating the various channels of your organization not only fosters multi-channel knowledge and communication, but allows employees to feel more connected with one another and with the company as a whole. It will also help employees to speak intelligently about every channel in your organization, leading to a whole new level of brand advocates.

Jon Morris is the founder and CEO of Rise Interactive, a digital marketing agency in Chicago which specializes in digital media and analytics. @riseinteractive