I’ve felt a bit of a backlash from PR pros about SEO lately. Mihaela of Everything PR weighed in about how PRWeb is selling out for emphasizing the SEO value of press releases over the news value. I totally walked into this and didn’t do my homework first. My book probably didn’t receive the warmest welcome as it is promoting the idea of using press releases as an SEO tool. It was gracious of Mihaela not to use it as a case in point.
I can certainly understand the sentiment – look at this post “Losing my Shirt and My Mind at the SEO Table.” Matthew Greenberg concludes that for all of the work and effort, SEO is just a crap shoot. I’ve seen more of this complaint on Twitter and in conversations and I think I get it.
I’m not a purist and I come at this from an internet marketing perspective. I think in some (not all) cases it’s possible to tell a good story AND deliver SEO value. If I must choose, I’d choose the story or news any time.
Is there room for both?
With every press release I write I take an angle depending on my primary goal. If it’s media attention I try to tie it into what’s happening now or the news angle. These are the stories I would pitch to specific bloggers or journalists.
If it’s SEO than I focus on headlines that are catchy but use my keywords. i wouldn’t pitch it to media. I’m pitching to a search engine and ultimately directly to potential customers or clients. Sometimes I can have a newsworthy story that accomplishes both, which is ideal. As an internet marketer I want to reach people through search engines.
I take another angle if my press release is for branding (establishing leadership or expertise within an industry). That is what PRWeb was doing when they sent out a press release about their ranking in the press releases category of TopSEOs.com Whether getting a top rank by the organization has much value or not is debatable but PR folks often give the advice to publicize awards or accolades you receive.
What I believe is happening is a blurring between two groups with very distinct backgrounds and goals. Whereas journalists were expected to be invisible and get the story, they’re now asked to promote their own work and learn an entirely different set of skills. Obviously that is frustrating – and insiders like Mihaela and George know that more than anyone.
To me, the problem is press release distribution sites that let in blatant ads with no news angle. Some of my clients want me to write these types of press releases and I have a tough time. I try everything I can to help them find the news value and sometimes you just can’t (and still sleep at night). Those are what free press release sites are for. Often they can’t hire editors to review content so anything goes. The news has little value to anyone because they are ads.
PRWeb is a platform for news with SEO components and social media elements. If you want straight news I believe there are better platforms (PR Newswire, BusinessWire, etc).
Is SEO ruining the PR industry? Or is there room for both? What do you think?
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3 Responses to “Is SEO Ruining PR?”
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November 9th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Ultimately, it’s all about content. No one is going to buy your product because your SEO is better than the next company’s. Write your press release for content. After you’re done, make sure it has keywords in all the right places and move on.
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November 11th, 2009 at 7:11 am
It’s an interesting topic for certain. PRWeb also weighed in on Mihaela’s post in the comments section. In addition, Jiyan Wei, PRWeb’s director of product management published this article here which might be of interest:
How many back links can I get for $200?
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November 11th, 2009 at 7:56 am
I think there are definitely two types of online releases out there – the optimized release and the news release. If the two can happily mesh, you’re golden. The challenge is always answering the question – what makes it news? I too have been asked to write “ad” copy in a release, and struggled with it. Even if the free services pick it up, who’s reading it? People are smarter than that.
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