Getting good search engine rankings these days depends upon publishing content that becomes popular in social circles. Content has always been King, but now it’s also the Queen, the Princes and the Princesses also. Here’s a great case study you can use to learn more about content marketing today.
A blog post on search engine authority SEOMoz titled “How I Got a Link from the Wall Street Journal” offers some real instruction for PR pros on linking content – and public relations outputs – with measurable, top-line business results.
It’s worth noting that the author of the post – and the content marketing campaign discussed – is Larry Kim, the founder and CTO ofWordstream, a search marketing firm. (There’s another link for you, Larry – I know you’re counting.) In short, he is a data-driven quant, C-suite denizen and SEO guru. And within his case study is some very important guidance for public relations pros.
Think strategically (and holistically) about online pickup.
The first lesson to be derived from Larry’s post is this: PR should think more deliberately about the value to be had for the organizations we’re promoting in the online mentions and “pick up” we generate — and not just in terms of PR outcomes. In this day and age, the content we publish digitally can provide a variety of benefits to an organization. The content, for example, can be mapped your customers’ buying process by your marketing team, and re-purposed. And the content can generate potent search engine visibility – if you manage the language and linking correctly. Optimizing press releases and other content can certainly help, however, it’s important to think beyond one granular message, and think instead in terms of how messages can improve web site search rank and provide content that aids potential customers as they make buying decisions.
Defining SEO benefits
What do I mean by “good link” and “significant SEO benefits”? Search engine optimization is the art and science of fine tuning a web site’s content (among other things) so it shows up on the first page of search results for specific, targeted keywords and phrases.
A “good link” is one that includes one of those target terms, and links back to related pages on your web site. Here’s how Larry defined his objective of garnering a “good link” from the WSJ.
“Real, editorial links from the WSJ. But not just any link. Ideally, links in an article that:
- In some way mentioned WordStream (my company) so that we could get a bit of media exposure out of this effort
- Links to both our homepage and contained to a deep page on our site with relevant anchor text.“
Now, as we all know, the sort of placement Larry in talking about – real, editorial placement – is right in PR’s wheelhouse. How many of us are working with our web marketing teams and thinking about search terms and deep links when we’re developing our PR campaigns and planning our tactics? Anecdotally, from the many conversations I’ve had with PR teams over the years, I’m going to venture to guess that the answer to that question is “Not many.”
A good link from a high-profile, high-authority news site – whether it’s the Wall St. Journal or an important niche publication – can provide lift in search rankings for your web site, which is a proven driver of business results, as well as fuel for social conversations. The content we publish, and the results it generates across the enterprise – is all connected.
Read more at: http://blog.prnewswire.com/tag/content-syndication/
