Many businesses might be looking at their digital marketing efforts and wondering what else they can do to strengthen their campaigns, and what the most effective strategies are. They may be unconsciously turning a blind eye to whether or not their PR and SEO teams are working in sync, together. Although they might be asking questions separately like, How do we maximize our PR efforts and earn more coverage? Or How can I increase my rankings that seem to be stagnant? They may not realize that the answer is simple: make sure PR and SEO are working together!

4 Ways SEO and PR Need to Work Together to Help You Meet Your Goals

Whether these are internal positions or agencies are filling the PR and SEO shoes, most of the time they are acting as completely separate entities. One is serving as the digital search arm, keeping in mind what best for rankings and how to rank for more keywords, and the other as the publicity and media arm, building relationships and earning coverage. While both of these roles are crucial to running and growing a successful business, one thing that is even more essential is the joining of the two.

What is one easy way to combine the two? Create engaging content together. It would create an inefficient and disconnected marketing campaign if they didn’t work together. But before they start creating this content, there are a few other things both teams need to take care of first.

Educate One Another

Both PR and SEO professionals know that creative, engaging, and unique content is fundamental in order for their campaigns to be effective, but often have different priorities in mind. PR pros keep their consumers in mind when they are creating engaging content, and SEOs realize that their rankings and results in the SERPS will suffer if good content is lacking. While both of these priorities are important for campaigns, it’s important to make sure each team understands the purpose and benefits. Many PR professionals haven’t been taught about the SEO values that can come from online media placements, so informing them on the advantages and explaining how exactly it works will be extremely beneficial. On the other side, SEOs (SEO agencies included) need to inform PR professionals about the trouble that backlinks can pose if it seems they are trying to manipulate Google’s algorithm.

Google recently announced that it’s Penguin algorithm will be updated in real-time, which is another important talking point. Google’s Penguin update penalizes websites who are engaging in spammy or manipulative tactics in order to boost keyword rankings and increase the number of backlinks a site has.

But it’s not just the PR team that needs to be educated on certain things. It goes both ways, as SEOs haven’t been taught about the importance of building and maintaining relationships and high-level brand awareness. SEOs might also not understand more of the traditional PR tactics and strategies that can benefit organic search.

When both are educated and begin working in tandem, they create content that’s engaging for the consumer, includes useful information for users, and incorporates keywords they want to rank for in the SERPs. This makes for a more unique and engaging story, and the better the story the more people talk about it, right? Clearly this is a win-win.

Create Engaging Content Together

Many businesses are looking for ways to prove their uniqueness and stand tall against their competition, and one way they can do this is by being exceptionally creative with their content. Both teams need to feel that this content is something that they can leverage and that it’s practical for the goal they have mind. A few examples of engaging content they can create that will be beneficial for both PR and SEO are: videos, tutorials, contests, and infographics.

One piece of content that’s a great example of something created with both teams in mind is an infographic by Zenni Optical on How to Measure Your Pupillary Distance. It’s answering a question that people might be entering as a search query, which can help SEO through organic searches and keyword rankings and can help with overall brand awareness for the company. The PR team can utilize this and do what they do best by earning media coverage and editorial placements. It can also be used as a supplemental piece of information with a PR pros pitch for additional information and visuals. By connecting with industry bloggers and online outlets that would be interested in sharing this, it’s a strategic and effective way to help earn results on both the SEO and PR side. This can drive users straight to the site and also keep the brand at top of mind. Even if users don’t click to the site right away, they can go back and organically search for the brand’s name or content they’re looking for.

Communicate and Align

While it’s super important to make sure both teams are educated, it’s even more important to make sure that both teams are communicating with one another. Any earned coverage that the brand receives should have similar context and messaging. So this means both teams need to be reaching out with similar, if not the exact same messaging.

Obviously teams want to discuss the purpose and goals in mind when reaching out, so it’s a good idea for both teams to sit down together and create a pitch. After this, each team will feel more comfortable knowing what exactly the other team is saying.

Divide and Conquer

After each team has solidified the pitch they’ll be reaching out with, you’ll want to talk through the different outlets, blogs and websites each team will be responsible for. Organizing lists of who will be reaching out to who will ensure everyone is kept in the loop and sets expectations in where they’ll hope to earn coverage and backlinks from.

The PR team will be helpful with earning great placements and mentions on traditional and print media sources, which can have a great impact on organic search. They might also be helpful with earning placements on social media, where the SEO link value might be lacking, but can increase page traffic, more shares and overall brand awareness.

It’s always easier said than done, but by education, collaboration, and effective communication both the PR and SEO teams can work together to improve their digital marketing efforts and overall results for their campaigns.