PR Training

Top 10 SEO Tips for Public Relations Practitioners

While marketing has been using principles of search engine optimization, predominantly to build traffic for sales, optimizing news content is the same process, but for a different outcome. Odden’s packed presentation featured 10 ways that public relations professionals can begin optimizing content TODAY.

Message from Lee Odden of Top Rank Online Marketing to practitioners at the PRSA 2009 International Conference: steal keywords from the marketing team and use them in your press releases, news rooms, blogs and other content properties you develop. 

While marketing has been using principles of search engine optimization, predominantly to build traffic for sales, optimizing news content is the same process, but for a different outcome. Odden’s packed presentation featured 10 ways that public relations professionals can begin optimizing content TODAY.

The most obvious advice: use links liberally in content you are pushing live, as links are responsible for well over 50 percent of SEO. They “electrify the content in search,” according to Odden. He suggests embedding [links] them in releases, using keywords to link to text, and making things worth being linked in the first place. 

Odden practices what he preaches and offered additional resources in a related blog post he composed for the Conference this past weekend, which offers 25 link-building tactics to improve search engine rankings

In a Conference filled with overlapping advice about all things social media, Odden’s presentation stands out as one in which participants had practical items to take back home and use immediately.

For coverage of the PRSA 2009 International Conference: Delivering Value, visit our Conference blog or follow the conversation on Twitter at hashtag #prsa09.

For coverage of the PRSA 2009 International Conference: Delivering Value, visit our Conference blog or follow the conversation on Twitter at hashtag #prsa09.

About the author

Fran Stephenson

2 Comments

  • While I agree with everything you said, the problem I find with many of the online press release distribution services is that they either don’t allow links in the body of the press releases or they charge you per link which really adds up. Any suggestions regarding quality press release distribution services, either low cost or no cost? Thanks -gene

  • I’ve been using PRWeb.com for 9 years and they’ve been the pioneer of optimized press releases. My SEO agency now does consulting for PRWeb and have the unique mutual client relationship with them.

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