SEO FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS PROSSEPTEMBER 27, 2011

Laura KempkeSVP, Content Marketing Services@laurakempke

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Process of improving visibility of a website in search engines via “natural” or un-paid (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results (Source: Wikipedia)

SEO defined

PAIDPAID

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Website traffic and conversions Attract/influence people

searching for information on which you’re an authority

Likely don’t know your brand names

More people click on organic results than on sponsored links

Part of the top of the online marketing conversion funnel

Your alternatives: a lot of advertising or reliance on brand recognition

Why do marketers care about SEO?

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Clear relationship between placement in search results and click-throughs to a web page

Placement on results page matters

Source: Optify, “The Changing Face of SERPs: Organic Click-Through Rate,” 2011

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What affects search rankings?

Website technology (e.g., URL structure, page load time)

Site age Heavy use of

technologies like Flash Inclusion of XML site

map

High-quality, fresh website content

Use of keywords—prominence and repetition of terms people actually search on

Popular social media content that includes links to the site

Links from authoritative websites (e.g., media sites)

Consistency over time

Things PR people can’t control … … and many things we can influence

You have some control over:

On-page SEO = factors internal to your website

Off-page SEO = mostly link-building from other sites

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SEO Best Practices for PR People

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Research your keywords and use them

But don’t let them get in the way of good writing

Keywords are the words people really use when searching Probably not your brand names You might call it “customer care,” but if people search on

“customer service,” you must weigh value of search volume vs. messaging

If a list doesn’t exist, create one Google Analytics—Check traffic to see what terms bring

people to your website; exclude paid search, branded terms http://adwords.google.com and other free tools will let you

explore keywords and understand how competitive it will be to rank for them

Reality check—only use terms if they describe what your organization offers

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Long-tail keywords are valuable, particularly if you need fast results Create content to

support these searches

Create pages on your website that use keywords and keep them updated

Ranking for competitive keywords may be a long-haul proposition

Source: SEOmoz, “Beginner’s Guide to SEO”

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Pay attention to titles

If you’re writing website copy, use titles on all pages Press release titles shouldn’t be too long (65

characters or fewer) Use a keyword or two, but no more than that Create titles that make people want to read further

and share “On average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2

out of 10 will read the rest” (Source: Copyblogger Media)

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Use anchor text to link to and within your site

In news releases, blog entries and other online content, include keywords in links to pages on your website “Shop towels are ideal for your toughest clean up tasks” vs.

“click here for information about shop towels” One to a few words, not long phrases or sentences Go beyond the home page to link to second- and third-level

pages Link within your site, or between your blog and website

Established corporate website but new blog? Link liberally from the site to the blog and among pages on the blog to build quality links quickly

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Stick with it

Website pages must be maintained over time SEO isn’t a project that you complete and then move on Search engine algorithms change, as do your competitors’ SEO

strategies, so continued cultivation is necessary

If you need an immediate lift in website traffic, consider using PPC also

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Determine metrics and measure progress

Rankings matter, but aren’t the only result to consider Increased website traffic. Better yet, website

conversions Use Google Analytics or other analytics software for tracking Include calls to action on landing pages Look at bounce rate, time on site If visitors aren’t spending time on your site, clicking deeper into the site

or converting based on your CTAs, your keywords may be bringing in the wrong people

More inbound links Should be accompanied by a quality metric—poor-quality links can work

against you SEOmoz Open Site Explorer and HubSpot LinkGrader let you look at links

Able to hold conversions steady, but decrease PPC budget

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How to Optimize PR Content for Search

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May not be able to pick site technology or affect navigation, page load time, URL structure

But you can write great copy, proper headers and include links using anchor text

Ensure you have pages that map to keywords (i.e., include the term in the header and first paragraph, then a few more times throughout) Use variations on keywords, not the

exact term repeatedly

Keep pages up to date Fix or delete broken links

Build the foundation: Website copy

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Journalists may not like them, but releases have SEO value when used properly

Write short titles If you must write long, get a keyword at the front of the title No links in press release title—distribution services don’t pick them

up Write great titles to promote clicks and shares

Use quotes BusinessWire’s EON service, built on Vocus’ PR Web, relies on

rotating them to keep release fresh

Use keywords and variations, but don’t overdo it If you suspect a keyword is used too frequently, try the free PR

Newswire keyword density tool: http://www.icrossing.com/tools/calculator.htm

Releases: Maligned by media, but valuable for SEO

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Add links using anchor text to keywords Don’t link to the same page more than once Do link to pages deeper in the website or to your blog Consider spelling out your homepage URL at least once since not all

syndication sites pick up hyperlinks yet

If you’re catering to your local market, add your address

All major distribution services claim to provide the best SEO support

If partners, VC firms, etc. post your news, check their sites to make sure they’re linking to you

News releases, continued

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Allow you to continuously add fresh, pertinent content to the site

Link to your site and other posts to try to extend time spent with your content

Promote and make it easy to share posts to build links

Headlines should be short and include a variation on a keyword

Invite guest posts and contribute to others’ blogs Quality links matter—don’t rush for quantity

without a strategy Media sites linking to your posts may be some of your most

valuable links

No comment spam

Blogs: Your own and other people’s

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People sharing your content (plus links) on social sites increases its authority in the eyes of Google and Bing

May counterbalance traditional factors (e.g., site age) Google search results increasingly personalized with

local results, “+1” feedback from friends Google+, Twitter, public LinkedIn results show up

prominently in search results

If you aren’t using social media but care about search, reconsider involvement in social media

Superb content is shared, which has SEO value Optimize social content and use keywords in titles Traffic from social sites is measurable using Google

Analytics

Social media and search go hand-in-hand

Social media directly supports search

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Videos and webinars Title matters Describe the video or webinar in a summary Use tags if possible (e.g., YouTube) Consider accompanying short videos with a transcript

Images Posts with images are more appealing to readers, and therefore

more likely to be read and shared Use ALT text to describe the image in detail Surround image with relevant text Include a caption Name the image file in a manner that includes a keyword if possible

Presentations SlideShare can provide an easy SEO boost

Web video, images, presentations support SEO

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SEO and reputation management

Someone has an ax to grind with your company and they’re making a scene online

Your product received a negative reviewCoverage about a resolved crisis is still showing up in search results

Ongoing activities Continuously monitor company, product, exec names online Buy domain names, including .org, .net, etc., that include your

company or product and negative terms Register for the same terms on social platforms like Twitter Participate in online forums where people are likely to discuss your

company should something go wrong so you have an established following

After the negative story appears, push positive articles higher in search results Consider a press release with links to your site or other web

properties on anchor text Comment on negative posts to state your perspective, include links

to site If it’s a media story, ask the journalist or blogger directly for equal

time Blog using the same negative terms to allow people to find your

response

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1. Set your SEO goals Results page placement is important, but

not everything Focus on calls to action and conversion

2. Work alongside the online marketing team PR may not own the company’s web

presence, but you control a lot of content Consider SEO each time you create

online content

3. Know and use your keywords4. Use anchor text5. Understand that SEO doesn’t

replace quality content creation and shouldn’t get in its way

Key takeaways

THANK YOU

Laura KempkeSVP, Content Marketing Services@laurakempke

Schwartz MSL230 3rd Ave., Waltham, MA 02451

781.684.0770http://www.schwartzmsl.com