10 Yetis Insight Blog - 7 Tips For Smashing PR For SEO

Hey y'all. So Scott may have left us already, but he left this gem of an insight blog for you helping you understand PR for SEO and the benefits... enjoy!

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is increasingly become part and parcel of every day public relations, with the average PR professional required to at least have an understanding of what’s what in the often scary world of SEO.

Here at 10 Yetis, though, we like to think that we have a particular expertise for SEO when it comes to public relations campaigns. Almost all of our campaigns are SEO driven and we get a number of clients coming to use for these SEO expertise. We’re kind of a big deal in the PR for SEO world, okay?

If you have no idea where to start or what the hell I am talking about, then have no fear the Yetis are here. This post will take you through 7 easy steps for smashing PR for SEO.

• Links, Links, Links

Plain and simple, the bread and butter of PR for SEO is links. Links from high domain authority sites are highly beneficial for your site’s SEO. With any piece of coverage you secure, you should always go back to the journalist for a link.

Think it’s cheeky? Well, you don’t ask you don’t get –plain and simple.

• Domain Authority

Don’t worry, we’re not going to get all tech savvy on you here, but you need to know what domain authority is when considering a PR for SEO campaign.

Domain Authority is a score ranking given to a site in order to determine how authoritative the site is. It’s easy, the higher the number the better rank the site is. Big sites like Buzzfeed, the Daily Mail and the Guardian all have high domain authorities (DAs) that are close to 100 (the highest possible). Meanwhile, your average joe blog will probably have a very low DA (often 1-5), so avoid them. Always target the high domain authority sites.

• Quality over Quantity

On that note, quality over quantity is always important when it comes to PR for SEO. Yes, saying you have 30 links this month is great, but when they are all from a site with a DA of 5 or less, then it’s not too great.

10 links on sites with a DA of 50 or above is more beneficial than 30 links on DAs of 5 or less. It is important to target the high domain authority sites as part of your campaign to ensure quality links.

• Think Link-bait

Link bait has gathered a bit of a bad reputation, with a number of sites doing so to entice audience members into their site. That said, link bait ideas are vital for PR for SEO campaigns to gather more links and interest.

Link bait isn’t always a bad thing, kids.

• Think Outside The Box

With that in mind, think outside the box when planning your PR campaigns. Press Releases are great and are the standard form of communication within our industry, but if you can think outside the box then it can often be more effective.

When I say think outside the box, I mean stunts, videos or microsites, amongst others. An example of this being effective for us is our campaign for Confused.com, who we worked on a Safe Driving Spotify playlist and a drunk driver stunt & video. It was the most successful campaign Confused.com have ever had in terms of coverage and inbound links.

• Build Online Contacts

I think that it is really important to build online contacts when executing an Online PR campaign as it enables you to approach them directly with anything you feel may be of interest. As a team, we have all built our own list of contacts that we are able to have discussions with. We’re then able to go to them directly on Twitter or over the phone with an idea or a story and they are much more receptive.

As a result, we’ve even had journalists come to use with ideas for our clients, which has resulted in high authority links back to our clients’ sites.

• Influencers

These days, it’s not all about the journalist. Influencer outreach, I’m talking bloggers and social media figures, can play a big part in gaining traction for your site.

Links are great, but there’s no competition for high levels of traffic, which is what a number of influencers can bring to your site. There’s also a lot of journalists that are influenced by social media influencers and as a result will often cover what they deem shareable.