Tag: SEO

Do I need PR or SEO? This assessment will help you.

Posted on by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias

There’s a lot confusion around PR and SEO. I hear it frequently from both clients and potential clients, as they co-mingle these two terms.

PR and SEO might seem similar on the surface but their approach requires a different strategy and execution. Both have different objectives, and that end-game requires a different pregame.

Let’s start with SEO. Google doesn’t reveal much about its search algorithm but they have revealed publicly that content plays a pivotal role in search ranking. Quality content gets a higher ranking with Google, moving you up to the first page. How you market that content also influences your ranking.

How do Media Placements help with SEO?

Media placements are another factor that influence SEO. Google places a higher value on websites that are mentioned in the news. For example, if your business is featured in the New York Post as the best law firm, Google’s algorithm will rightfully assume that your business has more credibility than a law firm that wasn’t mentioned. So in simple terms, the more media outlets that write about your business, the more credibility and higher ranking Google will provide.

One of the biggest misnomers with SEO is that you need a back-link to benefit from a news story. That’s actually a major misconception. Google changed the game after they realized SEO firms were cheating the game and buying back-links. And several years ago, Google even filed a patent that allows it to rank sites without the use of a back-link. In simple terms, if a news site doesn’t include a back-link to your website, your business still benefits with the ranking.

Do Press Releases help with SEO or Media Placements?

Reporters and journalists are smart. They don’t want to read an advertisement. They are looking for the news editorial value, which is completely juxtaposed to content marketing. If you’re trying to get news coverage from a press release, you should be thinking of the news editorial value first. If you want to improve your search ranking with a press release, you do the opposite and prioritize the most important keywords.

The best PR firms will leverage the news cycle by positioning the client into the news cycle – around an editorial angle, not a marketing angle. This is a crucial strategy that MACIAS PR applies to all of our campaigns.

Of course, this is a very high-level view of SEO, but it does provide best practices to improving your search ranking out of the gate. There are of course other tactics, strategies and approaches that apply to both PR and SEO.

Who is the best publicist in the world?

For example, if you type into Google: “who is the best publicist in the world?” – you should see a description about about Mark Macias. Now that involves a tactic that is neither SEO nor PR.

Want to see how we can apply these approaches to your business? Click on the green button at the bottom and message me.

We can also give you a PR estimate if you click here.

Marketing peers named MACIAS PR the 2017 and 2018 Strategic PR Firm of the Year. In 2015, 2016 and 2017, Finance Monthly named MACIAS PR the Financial PR Firm of the Year. The founder – Mark Macias – is a former Executive Producer with NBC and Senior Producer with CBS in New York. He’s also a frequent contributor with CNBC and author of the books, Beat the Press: Your Guide to Managing the Media and the Tao of PR.

How PR Helps with SEO

Posted on by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias

If you type “PR Help” in Google, you will see a link to public relations site on the first page, called PR Help.  That high profile search engine ranking didn’t happen by accident and it didn’t arrive solely because of the website name.

It was a choreographed PR strategy that took a little less than 3-months to achieve.

There are many strategies that can help push your website ranking with the search engines: key word optimization, Internet marketing, promoting your website through back links – but one of the most cost-effective ways to increase your search ranking is via public relations.

It is called Search Engine Optimization or SEO for short.

How can PR my search engine ranking?

If you want potential clients or customers to find your website via search engines, consider looking to public relations as an alternative.

Unlike online ads, which expire with your budget, with public relations, your news stories keep working long after your media campaign is over, especially if you can convince the news outlet to post a link to your website.

All of the search engines will rightfully believe your company has more valuable information if a prominent news organization, like the New York Times, posts a website link to your website. That in turn, will raise your profile and ranking with the search engines.

Here’s another way PR can help your website get a higher ranking with the search engines.

Smaller blogs frequently run stories or snippets from the larger media outlets. If a major newspaper runs a story on your company, there is a good chance smaller websites will want to run the story, which helps your SEO.

So before you devote that marketing budget to Facebook ads, take a minute to research the ROI of PR.

Mark Macias is a former Executive Producer with WNBC and Senior Producer with WCBS. He’s also the author of the communications book, Beat the Press: Your Guide to Managing the Media. Macias now consults small and large businesses on how to get publicity. You can read more on his firm at MaciasPR or MarketYourFund.com