PR | Internet Marketing Blog

Q&A: Ian Monk of Bathrooms.com on a PR-focused approach to SEO

Bathrooms.com was launched by Ian Monk in 2004, and has just recently relaunched with a fully redesigned website.

Part of the relaunch included a focus on social and a PR-centric SEO strategy. I've been asking Ian about the thinking behind this approach and the results so far...

by Graham Charlton 23 April 2013 11:07am 5 comments

The importance of search optimised PR

Why don’t all PR firms offer SEO services? The obvious answer a PR firm will give is “because we’re a PR firm” but seriously, do PR people understand how much impact their hard work has on their client’s search rankings?

Do they realise SEO is a £500m market in the UK?

This article aims to flesh out the opportunity for PR firms willing to innovate and offer a service that mixes the expertise of SEO and PR; for my sins, I refer to this service as search optimised PR (SOPR).

by Simon Hawtin 14 February 2013 11:16am 11 comments

Why PRs need to get to grips with Google's Zero Moment of Truth

Last year Google published a new marketing model that added an extra step into the traditional view of the customer purchase journey.

Labelled The Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT), the model essentially states that the internet has created an additional customer touch point between the original advert and the actual purchase.

ZMOT is when consumers go online to research products, look for reviews or try to find coupons.

At a PRCA event on Tuesday Unibet’s head of search Nick Garner said that ZMOT is an area that PRs should own as it’s about influencing decisions and getting positive brand information onto trusted websites.

by David Moth 27 September 2012 11:19am 7 comments

Seven ways PRs should be helping their clients' SEO strategies

The convergence of PR and SEO has been a hotly debated topic on the Econsultancy blog in recent months.

It began with a guest blog urging PRs to get a grip on SEO, followed by a post warning that SEOs will slaughter careless PR agencies.

Both articles stirred a great reaction in the comments section, with the general consensus being that SEO and PR need to work together to help achieve common goals.

Text 100’s digital and social lead Lance Concannon also addressed the topic at a PRCA event discussing the future of search and SEO.

Concannon stated that PRs should find out who owns SEO within their client’s business and build a relationship with them so they can better coordinate their efforts.

by David Moth 26 September 2012 10:04am 8 comments

Three steps to make your PR social

Using digital platforms for online PR is becoming more important than ever. There are a lot of easy steps to follow when you are considering how and when you engage.

We thought it would be good to go back to basics and then expand on each of the steps below in future posts. Hopefully this will give you a good overview of what to consider as your communications team integrates social media further into your PR planning and engagement.

by Heather Taylor 29 August 2012 20:13pm 3 comments

SEOs will slaughter careless PR agencies

Talking to PR agencies about search engine optimisation (SEO) can make you feel like Noah before the flood.

Building on the recent debate around PR owning SEO, I look at how agencies who fail to embrace search will ultimately fail.

by Chris Lee 20 August 2012 10:58am 37 comments

11 friendly tips to help PRs write effective press releases

In general PRs and journalists have a decent working relationship, or at least I like to think we do.

But new research by Pressfeed highlights the fact that we have differing opinions over what should be included in a press release.

Almost half (45%) of the PRs polled said that visual elements with a news story are not important at all to journalists, while 39% said it wasn’t necessary to add images, videos or graphics to a news release.

But 80% of the journalists included in the survey said it was important or very important to have access to photographs and visual images and 75% wanted video content.

We get hundreds of press releases at Econsultancy, some good, some not so good.

So here’s 11 friendly tips on how PRs can make their press releases more effective, and more likely to be opened and read...

by David Moth 20 August 2012 09:44am 8 comments

Come on PRs, get a grip on SEO

It is about time that the public relations industry got to grips with SEO. As part of my work I have spent a lot of time building an SEO PR proposition, however many agencies still ignore the subject.

Apart from a few savvy PR agencies, the majority of PRs just don’t understand the relationship between PR and search engine visibility, let alone how to measure if this visibility leads to some sort of ‘conversion.’

Frankly, it’s embarrassing.

by James Crawford 14 August 2012 10:28am 56 comments

Earning a place in the future of marketing

Marketing today has so many different guises that it’s impossible for professionals to live by one skill alone.

Ten years ago there were clear divisions and defined roles and skillsets. PRs, writers, marketers, web developers and search marketers hardly spoke, let alone crossed into each other’s worlds.

The situation has changed dramatically since then and it’s time for the agency world to follow suit.

by Lloyd Gofton 28 June 2012 10:56am 7 comments

Is the press treating Apple differently without Steve Jobs?

Apple isn't the same company without Steve Jobs at the helm, but that's easy to forget when looking at the company's financial performance since its co-founder and chief visionary passed last year.

Despite questions about Apple's ability to thrive long-term without Jobs, consumers continue to snap up the company's latest and greatest products at remarkable, record-breaking rates.

by Patricio Robles 02 May 2012 16:09pm 1 comment