We are only as good as the most recent search for our company, brand or name. Executives overcoming negative publicity or dealing with a crisis know this too well. SEO isn’t just important—it’s a brand’s secret digital weapon for outshining competitors, promoting positive content, connecting with an audience and growing revenue.
The digital landscape is changing, and SEO can move you to the top of search results and get a brand noticed by the right people. SEO can cost-effectively amplify public relations activities and optimize website content.
Top 5 Ways to Make PR More Searchable:
- Press Releases: They need to be “smart.” This means maximizing with hyperlinks, keywords and headlines. Hyperlinks should be used sparingly, up to three times per release, ideally linking to past press releases, creating a “daisy chain” effect to boost the other release. Why only three? Because it dilutes the impact on Google Analytics algorithms. Headlines, sub-headlines and even headlines in the body of a release should all tie back to a handful of keywords. Hyperlinks to those keywords and brand names should drive back to a specific landing page that matches the release’s content and not just the home page.
- Social Media: Hashtags have gone through changes and are still valuable and searchable for X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, although LinkedIn no longer tracks them. There is such a thing as overdoing hashtags – 3-5 tags per post at the most. The early bird gets the engagement because likes and comments within the first two hours of a post are weighted the heaviest in the search world. In fact, if 15 people engage early, the post has more authority.
- Blogs: Unlike press materials, brevity works against you with website content. Company blogs should be around 1,500 words and include four hyperlinks – three to other tabs within the company site and one outside link to another website. A company blog is less an editorial article and more marketing material with a call to action to push visitors down the sales funnel.
- Editorial News: Being quoted in a news article, getting a byline article published, guesting on a podcast or securing a feature in a trade journal has significantly more authority than a press release or company blog. These “third-party endorsements” provide credibility and have strong SEO authority. Linking to the news source from the company website can also boost SEO. These facts keep OWC in high demand.
- AI Content: Web content has exploded in the era of AI, but Google Analytics is sniffing out that content and discounting it on its algorithms. So, content needs to “fool the analytics” to break through and get noticed. AI content has a pattern, uniformity and process where most of the copy looks the same, so content should look different. Simple solutions include one-sentence paragraphs, bold declarative statements and even tpyoes (yes, that last word was misspelled on purpose!).
SEO is evolving, and so should you.
Voice search, AI bots and personalized search are on the rise. SEO isn’t just about playing the search engine game. It’s about setting a brand up for unparalleled visibility, credibility and connection with a target audience.
Your brand’s future starts now.
Special thanks to Jason Ciment at Get Visible, one of our SEO partners, for giving us a tutorial on what’s new in SEO
IN THE NEWS
CompoSecure CFO named NJBIZ Leader in Finance
OWC secured recognition for its client CompoSecure, a leader in metal payment cards, security and authentication solutions, and its chief financial officer Tim Fitzsimmons. NJBIZ is honoring him as one of the state’s 2024 Leaders in Finance.
Gulp Data: 2024 is the year of proprietary data
OWC’s client Gulp Data, a provider of data valuations, data-backed loans and data monetization services, declared 2024 a landmark year for proprietary data’s influence. Read the full announcement here.
ICYMI: Talk PR with investor relations guru Moira Conlon
OWC CEO Tracy Williams interviewed Moira Conlon, CEO and founder of investor relations firm Financial Profiles, on the latest episode of OWC’s Talk PR. Conlon spoke about the state of IR and her firm’s work with clients. Don’t miss the full interview here.
