PR is no longer the future of SEO. It already is PR.
SEOs recognise this, and the majority are now carrying out online PR: whether they call it that or not, all decent SEOs are now creating content and reaching out to online influencers.
General marketers realise this. In a survey we recently conducted of 250 UK marketers, 52% said that PR and SEOwork closely together in their organisation, and a whopping 71% think their PR agencies are experts at SEO.
But how are those PR agencies performing in their newfound position as SEO experts?
A majority of those marketers, 61%, said they do not have sufficient SEO knowledge in house, so it’s no surprise they are relying on agency expertise. But it seems that many PR agencies are still playing catch up, and are potentially underserving their clients.
Recent updates to Google – with some having a significant impact, others less so – seem to be less about link building strategies and more about creating quality content that people want to share. And, although you wouldn’t expect us to say any differently, this puts PR agencies at the front of this brave new world of creating content that brands own, earn and pay for. Why? It’s in a PR agency’s DNA – telling stories that are entertaining, interesting and relevant to a specific audience, which that audience wants to tell others about.
The way in which all consumers can now be journalists, and any brand a publisher of news, has created both greater noise to cut through to reach an audience, but also a greater number of platforms and media in which to tell a client’s story. The challenge should be relished.
VIA [econsultancy.com] and [TheGuardian]