Digital PR has become increasingly crucial in the Internet of Things era and consists of integrating conventional public relations strategies with three digital planks: SEO, social media and content marketing. SEO, or search engine optimization, has myriad practitioners who focus on white hat tactics, black hat tactics or other fancy methods the average, local SME does not want or need. Yet, a competent content writer can collaborate with you or your PR expert to build influence and visibility with sound practices, such as knowing what search engines look for, optimizing for mobile and enhancing meta data.
What the Search Engines Want
Do you need to understand algorithms to understand search engines? Not necessarily, yet integrating four key elements into your SEO program will help promote your site.
- Content: Search engines look for relevant themes, text, titles and descriptions. This means quality writing rather than key word stuffing.
- Authority: Does your site link to authoritative sites, or do others use your site as authoritative content.
- Performance: Search engines love fast loading sites and reward those that enhance their efforts to produce results in milliseconds.
- User Experience: Rankings depend upon ease of navigation, high bounce rates and aesthetics.
Optimizing for Mobile
Cisco predicts that the world will be filled with 50 billion Internet connected devices by 2020. Dubbed the Internet of Things era, many of these gadgets will be mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets that rely on apps to shop, bank, communicate and navigate. To optimize your website for mobile:
- Utilize relevant media content such as video to achieve higher rankings
- Optimize the media content for search engines. If your website uses PDFs or Flash, ensure you have best practices in place for better rankings.
Optimize Social Media Platforms
Keyword SEO strategies extend far beyond a website today. Use consistency in keyword usage across every social media platform or other electronic communication you use including:
- Traditional advertising on radio or TV
Enhance Meta Data
Meta descriptions and title tags still have relevance, although search engines give them less weight. To make better use of these elements:
- Review all meta keywords to ensure that they talk specifically to the content on that page. At the same time, ensure that the format is correct.
- Reassess the meta description to make it as unique as possible while speaking about the specific page. Search engines frown on duplicate meta descriptions and can drive down your rankings.
- Make title tags unique as well. The title functions as a short word ad, so structure it as an enticement to induce the reader to click on your website.
When planning your comprehensive digital PR strategy, keep SEO high on the priority list and do not skip best practices. This will support your overall marketing plan with a strong foundation, which will help you maximize revenue generating opportunities.
While many SEO experts wear either white hats or black hats, Wendy H enjoys wearing her silver sequined Minnie Mouse ears, replete with the gracefully flowing pastel chiffon train attached to the headband, while chasing her four year old through Disneyland.
