SEO

PR 2.0 looks a lot like SEO

I’m certain that Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) was not a subject that was on the curriculum when I studied marketing. However, in the year 2011, it’s hard to call yourself a digital marketing consultant or provide PR services and not understand the drivers behind how communications interacts with search engines like Google and Bing.

SEO is not as sexy as witty creative. It’s not as trendy as social media or as cutting edge as an iPhone app, but my informed guess is that Google and Bing send more customers to your client’s sites than any of these marketing methods, and a lot more than mentions in printed press.

Despite the fact that most businesses say that being on the top of Google is one of their most important customer acquisition methods, most marketing and PR people have never been given the SEO tools to help clients take control of this essential digital marketing task.

There are thousands of marketing and PR agencies that have SEO in their menu of services, but in reality, many of these companies don’t know how to do it.

So whose responsibility is it to look after the 50% of new business that is delivered this way? Is it Marketing, PR or IT? The answer is that all these functions have a part to play in making sure that your business has the best chance of being at the top of the search engine results.

Luckily for PR people, they already have the basic skill-set required to do SEO. At the heart of good search engine optimisation is the creation of relevant content for an identified audience. If you know how to do targeting and messaging, then you know how to come up with keyword phrases that your customers use to search for your products and services.

If you know how to pitch an article to a newspaper or magazine, then you know how to pitch for a link from an authoritative website. Building relationships with influencers is a key part of SEO, so all your work building a following on Twitter and acquiring Facebook fans can add value too.

So developing an SEO capability within your agency is something that can bring you new business and perhaps help you deliver more value to existing clients. By using an integrated SEO tool-set with built-in workflow, you can deliver professional SEO services that get results quickly and efficiently.

A Software as a Service (SAAS) tool like Linkdex contains everything they never taught you at marketing school about SEO, woven into an integrated set of tools that can take you from zero-to-hero if you apply the methodology. The secret that SEO people don’t want PR people to know, is that anyone who knows how to use Wordpress or similar CMS can rank at the top of search engines.

David Fuller is Marketing Director for Linkdex SEO Tools. He has an FMCG brand background, having worked for Unilever, but more recently has applied marketing technologies like mobile, desktop applications, social media and SEO for clients like Manchester United through a specialist agency. Twitter @dmfreedom

About PRmoment Learning Zones: This is a promotional feature that we are running in partnership with Linkdex.