Search Engine Optimization

Introduction

Search has become integrated into the fabric of our society (Battelle, 2009).

There are hundreds of search engines that people use to find Web sites, from Bing to Yahoo and many more. However, none come close to Google in terms of success, usability and relevancy. Microsoft’s Bing is growing fractionally, however Google still has the lion's share of the UK search engine market with a staggering 90.36 per cent (Perrin, 2011) (see Figure 1). The phrase “Google it” is known to pretty much everybody who has used the Internet, and even holds a place inside the Oxford English Dictionary (2011). People have become used to having information at their fingertips and company’s need to take advantage of this surge in Internet use, by implementing search engine optimization (SEO) strategies.

Figure 1:

During July 2009, it was noted over 1 billion searches were being performed each month (Lipsman, 2009), a communicative channel which certainly requires attention from public relations (PR) professionals. However, what are the methods available? How can practitioners increase clientele reputation and ultimately drive Web site traffic? SEO holds the secret.

SEO is the method by which Web sites can gain prominence in the organic listings - the results found on the left of the search results page in major search engines (Phillips and Young, 2009). To be successful, an SEO strategy must have a long-term approach, as it requires patience and investment. Organic search is essentially free – you don’t pay for clicks, but companies will need to invest in other areas (for example website improvements, content and copywriting, link building and PR) to get to the top of the search engines (Econsultancy, 2011).

Battelle (2009) describes Google as a new, technologically mediated economy of conversation between those who are looking for products, services, and information, and those who might provide them. Thus, PR professionals have a responsibility to unite clients with relevant users, ones whom are interested in their content, services or products. SEO practices can achieve this goal when they are implemented correctly.

What can SEO achieve?

- Higher visibility
- Achieve business goals
- Advantage over competitors
- To help people find a site
- Measurable results

First of all, it is important to optimize Web content though the use of keywords. Keywords are essentially words that are searched most frequently by Internet users. Thus, Web site managers and PR professionals need to use keywords in all of their online content, to maximise outreach. Google has a free keyword tool that provides search results for any word necessary along with words associated around the subject matter.

However, link building is arguably the best method of SEO which has the potential to provide astronomical results (McGaffin, 2007). Hence, this is what we will be focusing on. Link building is an external form of SEO which only takes place after content has been optimised.

PR agencies and communications professionals must own the skills to improve client visibility, in a way that is measureable. Thus, link building is ideal because you can track how many external links you have and contrast this figure to Web site activity.

Relationship between link building and PR

Goodall (2009) comprises that “SEO PR is the use of genuine and ethical dialogue-driven PR strategies to improve a brand’s organic search engine rankings”.

Having lots of links to a Web site tells search engines that it is an important site, one that people want to view. Therefore, Google is a form of peer recognition, as it counts the number of sites that links to another, on the assumption that if lots of people link to it, it must have some added value (Phillips and Young, 2009).
Link popularity is the main factor that major search engines use to rank Web sites. This makes link building an integral part of any effective search engine optimization strategy (SEO, 2009) because incoming links will help a Web site to rise in the search engine rankings. However, how does PR relate to SEO and how can it contribute to effective link building?

PR is the practice of shaping and projecting a company’s reputation, largely through the use of positive media coverage.

Link building is the process of building a web site’s ‘reputation’ by getting links from relevant and respected web sites (McGraffin, 2007).

Thus, PR and the online practice of link building are naturally suited. Both demand similar dynamics and when implemented together and with keywords in mind, they can produce excellent results. PR is seen as the practice to generate hundreds if not thousands of quality links, due to its communicative nature. A link must firstly be accepted by a reporter and then secondly by an editor. Who better to get such valuable links than PR professionals?

In conclusion, SEO is an important tool for today’s PR practitioner. The online world is crowded and highly competitive. If people can easily find a Web site using search it enhances reputation and increases usability. It is clear SEO holds the potential to unleash staggering results in terms of Web site activity however 41 per cent of firms are still failing to recognise this, according to Fasthosts (2011). For those PR practitioners who are unfamiliar with the powers of SEO, I recommend they dedicate time for research and even consider a workshop on the subject.

Lastly, I did try searching for my blog in Google but unfortunately couldn't find it. Looks like I better start putting into practice what I have learnt on SEO.