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| Online PR & Search
Engine Optimization |
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Is SEO and online public relations really the same
thing? |
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by
Amanda DiSilvestro
HigherVisibility
 In
many businesses the public relations
department as well as the SEO department work together.
They both deal with marketing
online, they both make connections with other editors, they
both write content, and they both promote this content.
Because SEO is still a new industry and public relations
have slowly moved to the online realm, it is becoming harder
and harder to see the difference between the two
professions. If you’re an SEO or a PR pro, it’s natural to
ask yourself: We might have different titles, but are we
doing the same thing.
Where PR and SEO Differ
Although there might be some similarities, there are enough
differences to make sure that these two departments remain
separate. In many situations, you can’t do the job of the
other. A few of these differences include:
- Analytics and Data – SEO spends a
lot of time analyzing results and tracking certain keywords
and clicks. This is something that public relations
departments generally steer away from. In other words, SEOs
put a focus on the Google bots and are always conducting
research and using different tools to optimize a website.
- Offline Appearances
– Public
relations pros are often making appearances offline, which
is quite different than answering a question or explaining a
company via the Internet. You have to be outgoing, and you
have to be able to think on your feet. This is something
that isn’t needed nearly as much in the SEO world.
- Content Creation – The way that the
two departments create content is completely different.
Although both want to write content that gets readers
engaged, SEOs have to write a much larger number and
therefore shorter pieces. PR professionals are the
opposite—they write long pieces of detailed content less
frequently.
The differences might not seem like many, but they are major
aspects of each profession. The three things discussed above
make up a large amount of the day for both SEO and PR, and
because they differ so much, they actually compliment each
other quite well.
Why PR and SEO Departments
Work Well Together
Just because the two professions deal with different aspects
of marketing does not mean that there isn’t some overlap
when it comes to the two. There are a few different ways
that PR and SEO compliment each other:
First, both have their own set of
contacts and relationships. Public relations typically
have more authoritative contacts in the media, so they
can work with SEO to help get backlinks on those
websites. SEO will be able to tell the PR pros what
keywords to utilize and what links to use when writing
and publishing articles online.
Second, both departments are in charge
of writing content for both the site as well as third
party sites. Public relations should be able to offer
engaging content for readers and help keep things
current, while SEO will be able to write a higher volume
of articles for link building and educating readers.
Finally, SEO will be able to tell the
PR department how their content is doing in terms of
clicks and traffic. This can help the PR team determine
where they should put their focus. On that same note, PR
departments will know what is buzzing outside the online
world, which should give SEOs a good for the next piece
of content for the site.
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