SEO (search engine optimisation) has rapidly become one of the most essential elements of any business wanting their brand to be prominent in search engines-which is every brand! Health businesses know the importance of their PR teams or using a healthcare PR agency but some don’t realise that public relations can utilise their skills to bring about better SEO.
This can be implemented in two ways, PR professionals can extend their skills and experiment with SEO themselves or they can team with an SEO agency such as Session Media and work together and combine their knowledge for the best results.
It may seem daunting at first, having a go in the world of SEO without any prior knowledge, but by following the below six simple steps, even those who had never heard of SEO can create a plan to get web page rankings higher in Google and other search engines.
It’s crucial to remember that SEO does not happen overnight, it is a long-term investment. But with the right advice, a dedicated team and a few hacks, businesses will begin to see the rewards of their venture.
SEO Social Proof
Website content is what keeps visitors on the page, webmasters are always looking for new blog posts and articles to keep potential and current clients informed and interested in the brand.
However, it isn’t just for the benefit of visitors, search engines take user dwell time into account, the more time a visitor spends on a page, the more positive a signal the search engine receives.
Always remember to cater to all audiences, some will be looking for in-depth, lengthy articles, while others will want a snapshot of information. Altering article lengths can help with this.
When brands have been featured with key publications, this should be shown on the website. Placing logos and ‘as featured in’ banners will give visitors the perception that the brand has a higher authority and will encourage them to stay for longer.
Top Tier Backlinks
This is an incredibly effective way to boost SEO for any website. PR teams can reach out to other websites and gain a backlink to the brand’s website.
A backlink is a clickable link that takes the user to a relevant page on the brand’s website. However, there needs to be care when choosing the domain.
Low-quality websites are no longer effective, these sites need to be not just a high authority, but must be reputable and have some relevance to the brand.
These links should be contained within quality articles that focus around a subject potential site visitors and clients will be interested in.
Using a PR agency can help to locate these websites and reach out to them.
Previous PR Reclamation
Quickly searching on Google where the brand has previously been featured can pull up domains that have mentioned the site previously, but may not have featured a backlink.
Simply reach out to these sites and request a backlink – there’s no harm in asking. Be aware that these sites have no obligation to add a backlink, but by reaching out to specific authors via email or social media, this will increase the chances.
Even if a backlink is not placed, this work isn’t in vain. Use this time to build relationships with journalists and authors. In future, when pitching a new campaign, they are more likely to listen and feature it if it’s being pitched by someone they have previously spoken to.
Brand Association
Brand association has always been a crucial element of any business but it is becoming increasingly important within SEO.
By placing the brand within highly visible media placements, the public will begin to associate the brand with the product or service they provide.
When using Google or other search engines, the public will begin to search the brand name with that product or service. For example, in healthcare, people will search ‘headache relief + Nurofen’.
As these searches begin to increase, Google will begin to associate the brand with the service as well. That way, when users search for what the brand provides but without the brand name, Google will suggest the brand’s domain over others.
This opens up an opportunity to convert users into customers who may not have previously been aware of the brand.
3rd Party SEO
It isn’t always possible to rank for every keyword and brand wishes to, especially if they are new to SEO. Highly competitive keywords can be a struggle when competing with large, well-known brands.
Instead, use PR to gain guest posts on sites that do rank for these keywords and are well-known in the industry. With the bonus of a backlink, traffic will filter through to the brand via these high-authority websites and increase numbers to the webpage.
Emerging Keywords
If a brand isn’t able to rank for certain keywords, why not create new ones? With every new product or service created, new terminology will be generated alongside it.
Use PR to spread awareness of this among the media and have this featured within high-authority publications.
This way, the public will be made aware of this new terminology and as no other brands will be trying to rank for it, when users search this there will be no competition and the brand will appear higher, even if the businesses name is not used in the search.
By following the 6 above tips, businesses can be well on their way to boosting their rankings within search engines. Just to reiterate, this is not an overnight success story, businesses may witness weeks or even months without results.
However, with enough patience, brands can witness their pages climb up the ranking, increase traffic and also improve the quality of traffic. This leads to better conversion and higher revenue.
