How PR Professionals Can Use SEO to Get More Media Coverage

Search Engine Optimization is a hot topic for small businesses with a heavy emphasis on SEO for improving sales and lead generation. With the growing use of Google and Yahoo News, optimizing news content like press releases offers an uncomplicated channel for gaining prominent visibility in news search.

While some small business Public Relations practitioners have warmed up to extending their  online PR effectiveness by integrating SEO into more than press releases, the reality is that PR departments usually doesn't have control over much of the content or digital assets on a company web site.

Content and media types that PR typically manages (if they even exist on a small business web site) include: press releases, online newsrooms, media coverage, online videos, podcasts, images for the media, webinars, case studies, newsletters and a company blog.  

Armed with keyword glossaries, small business PR and marketing professionals can leverage the “Pull” in Push/Pull PR by optimizing the various types of content they publish with keywords that both journalists and consumers are looking for.

A 2007 study by Bulldog Reporter/TEKgroup International reports 64% of journalists research stories through Google News and Yahoo News. 70% read at least one blog regularly and 44% visit a social media site at least monthly. Optimizing content for visibility in these channels increases the opportunity for the media to pull themselves to news content.

Optimizing digital assets and content (Pull PR) in conjunction with media outreach and wire service distribution (the Push) is an effective one-two punch. Determining exactly how effective the Push/Pull PR approach is, involves analytics tools including corporate site and news room web metrics, wire service reporting, social media monitoring, online clipping services and SEO reporting such as rankings and conversions.

Implementing SEO tactics with company news content provides small business PR practitioners a competitive advantage consistent with the way the media are researching stories online. Small business marketers that do not bring a digital PR and SEO offering to their media relations  efforts may find themselves trailing competitors that do.