EBOOK PR And SEO

EBOOKPR and SEOA Beginner’s Guide

In a marketing landscape dominated by data (some might evensay oversaturated by data), teams are getting smarter about whatthey measure; the most important metrics are the ones that have abottom-line impact on the business, after all.Improved technology means PR and comms pros finally have access to the samelevel of data as their digital marketing peers, allowing you to prove the value of thework you’ve been doing using hard numbers. Teams who have integrated theirearned media alongside their paid and owned can finally fully measure its impact,often making it the most valuable form of media— not to mention the most trusted.If a strong SEO (search engine optimization) strategy isn’t already part of your largerapproach, make that a goal for your team starting now. Why should PR pros careabout SEO? Of the many factors that drive SEO success, high-quality content andauthoritative links are two of the most important; two things that are already partof your daily work.

As a PR pro, you specialize in creating – or tapping journalists or influencers to create –high-quality content. And publications, from major media outlets to niche industry tradepubs, tend to have high domain authority, a metric that measures how high a websitewill rank on search engines. In other words, your work as a PR pro gives you the ability toinfluence SEO – one of the most powerful digital marketing levers – with the work you’realready doing.We want to show you how to take advantage of that opportunity.In 2021, 69% ofGoogle isThe first 5 positionsOrganic searchmarketers investedresponsible for 93%of the searchdrives 53% of webin SEO.1of total organicengine results pagetraffic, while paidtraffic.2(SERP) generatesearch drives 15%,70% of user clicks.3and organic socialgenerates 5%.469%93%A NOTE BEFORE WE BEGINConsider this piece a fundamental overview of SEOfor PR pros. If you’re already familiar with SEO, thisinformation may be a little rudimentary, however,it serves as a helpful refresher. And for context,review our Communicator’s Funnel so you knowhow we’re approaching this subject in terms of anintegrated strategy.Got questions?Find us on Twitter any time at @Cision.3 PR SEO 101: A BEGINNER'S GUIDE70%53%

WHERETHE COMMUNICATOR’S FUNNELMarketers use a marketing funnel or "Buyer’s Journey" model to understand theirobjectives and key metrics at each stage. We can apply a similar model – theCommunicator’s Funnel – to PR and communications. Starting at the top, we have brandimpact, measuring awareness, and reputation. These metrics give you a good yardstick forthe actual impact your PR work is having on your brand.For the data-driven PR strategy, digital impact breaks down into traffic (both to yourwebsite and to other digital properties), SEO (what we’re all here for!), and social impact.These are all measurable with tools like Google Analytics, or a strong PR analytics platformthat integrates web and social analytics.This section is our mainfocus in this piece, sincethis is where SEO lives andwhere it will impact PR’sdigital metrics and goals.But for further context,we’ll mention that the nextstep down the funnel isrevenue, which is why weare tracking all of this in thefirst place: to measure PR’scontribution to the bottomline. By working with yourdigital marketing peers andaccessing their tools, youcan measure where yourefforts led to actual conversions.Now that you’re thinking about your PR strategy in a more data-driven framework, let’srefocus on SEO.4 PR SEO 101: A BEGINNER'S GUIDE

WHATSEO (SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION)SEO was born when website owners realized that high rankings in search engines broughtvaluable business results. When done right, increasing your website’s rank brings highervisibility that inevitably drives increased website traffic, creating a positive feedback loop.This is valuable traffic, because these users are already searching for the product or serviceyou offer; they’re often warmer business leads. This is why organic web traffic — trafficdriven by natural search rankings — usually drives conversions at a much higher rate thanother drivers of web traffic, such as paid search or social search.SEO TO AMPLIFY PR EFFORTSAs PR pros, we have several audiences to serve. From our executive team to the wide arrayof journalists we regularly interact with, there is no lack of opinions. But understandingwhich metrics search engines use to qualify "quality content" is a strong starting point tojustify the direction of your PR efforts. So when you’re drafting your next piece, considerthese SEO qualifiers:1. Engagement metrics: Search engines seek the “longclick”; that is, when someone searches a specific termor phrase, and they click on a search result, do theystay on that page for an extended period of time? Ifso, that signifies they found what they needed andthat link is legitimate. If they quickly abandon thepage, and go back to the results, it seems the userwas not satisfied with the site. This is where "keywordstuffing" gets sites in trouble; they might get severalinitial clicks but as people abandon the page at arapid pace, search algorithms take note and drop thesite’s search rank.5 PR SEO 101: A BEGINNER'S GUIDE

2. Machine learning: Google is constantly rolling out improvements to its searchalgorithms that mimic human evaluation of search behaviors. This can get technical, butit means that Google is no longer fooled by “black hat” strategies of the past meant totrick or manipulate search engine algorithms.3. Backlinks: We dive deeper into backlinkslater in this piece, but this is where PR getsto be the rock star. Search engines viewbacklinks as a proxy for votes and popularity.Journalists understand the value of backlinksand therefore need them just as badly. Sonever hesitate to ask for a backlink fromyour PR efforts. That would be like stoppingright before the finish line of a race. Ask for abacklink at every opportunity!TOOLS YOU CAN USE: SEMRUSHKeyword research tool: Use thiskeyword research tool to lookfor the keywords you’ll want to ownin upcoming PR campaigns (youideally want keywords with highsearch volume and low competition).You can also compare the numberof backlinks to your site vs. yourcompetitors’ sites.SEO TO BENEFIT PR EFFORTSPR can also use SEO to its benefit. You can use SEO analysis to focus on higher quality sitesand the most impactful journalists, in order to drive high quality web traffic that translatesto business revenue.You might already be influencing SEO if. You’re interacting with influencers, journalistsand bloggers via social media You’re pitching guest posts to news outlets orother online publications with highly engagedaudiences You’re asking journalists, thought leaders,and others who talk about your products forbacklinks, direct mentions, etc.6 PR SEO 101: A BEGINNER'S GUIDE

HOW SEO AFFECTS PRHow to prioritize your pitch list for maximum SEO impact:12Use Cision to look atprevious coverage on thetopic you’re writing about.Sort outlets by highestDomain Authority. Clickon the outlet to add it toyour pitch list. The DomainAuthority is a 1-100 scorepredicting how well awebsite ranks in searchengines.3If you don’t have access toCision, check out Moz’sOpen Site Explorer tomanually research whichoutlets have greatestDomain Authority andconsider these a top priorityfor pitching.A strong SEO strategy includes quality content that target audiences will find useful, as wellas the need to build relationships with authoritative websites (think The New York Times),in an effort to get one of them to link back to your website. Conveniently, quality links andcontent are the ingredients to great public relations, so PR can be a powerful lever fordriving SEO results.Recall that SEO is the CMO’s favorite marketing channel, because all traffic from organicsearch is free! If you can drive high-quality traffic from search, your CMO will be happy,your CAC (cost to acquire a customer) numbers will improve, and you can justify additionalbudget to expand the program driving those awesome results: PR.PR also drives serious value for digital marketing and SEO, which means executives canjustify earmarking budget for another PR campaign, an incremental headcount, or anincrease in PR agency retainer.TOOLS YOU CAN USE: MOZ OPEN SITE EXPLORERDevelop a High-Quality Inbound Link Profile: Moz offers free SEO tools that let youexplore metrics like top-ranking keywords and Domain Authority.7 PR SEO 101: A BEGINNER'S GUIDE

MEASURING SEOSEO is all about getting found when people search in Google or other search engines.PR can be a big asset for this, but with time as a commodity, PR pros need to focus on themost effective publications. Some publications have a high level of SEO impact while othersdon’t, and knowing which are the most impactful to your strategy is key.To start, look at the Domain Authority of your referring domains to help assess whetherthey’re helping increase your rankings for desirable search terms. This is important because– as we’ve mentioned – not all links are created equal.A single link from a high-traffic, highly-regarded website can have a big impact on whereyou rank in search engines and, consequently, an impact on how easy it is to find yourcontent. Links from lower-traffic, lower-authority sites still improve your search rankings,but to a lesser degree.SEO impact is a loaded metric, so let’s break it down even more, by diving into DomainAuthority and backlinks in more detail.8 PR SEO 101: A BEGINNER'S GUIDE

DOMAIN AUTHORITYDomain Authority, developed by Moz, is a score (on a 100-point scale) that predicts how wella website will rank on search engines. A well-established publication with quality traffic,informative content and strong audience interaction will have high Domain Authority.Obviously, this means you’ll want to include publications with high Domain Authority whenevaluating and placing content. This adds a dimension to the research you already do whenplanning your pitch strategy; start by researching the top publications and journalists inyour market, then ask which publications have the strongest Domain Authority and whichjournalists have the highest impact.If you’re wondering how to go about this, there aredifferent ways to measure a publication’s DomainAuthority: Uncover content and link-buildingopportunities, and track your site’s link profile overtime, comparing it to competitors for intelligent,targeted link-building using free tools like Moz.With this information, you can focus yourPR efforts on the publications and journaliststhat are going to have the greatest positiveimpact on your brand by doing things likedriving more traffic to your digital assets andbringing more quality eyes to stay and readthem, which hopefully turn into warm leadsthat are easier to close.TOOLS YOU CAN USE: CISION DOMAIN AUTHORITY WIDGETMeasure PR’s influence on your brand’s search engine ranking by integrating withthe industry-best SEO software provider, Moz. Cision customers can now identifyhigh SEO potential outlets and measure their impact on their company’s searchrankings.9 PR SEO 101: A BEGINNER'S GUIDE