KEYWORD ANALYSIS BY CARRIE MORGAN

A Modern, Sophisticated Approach
to Improving Conversion

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Five Ways PR Pros Can Help Clients Benefit From Google Panda

Five Ways PR Pros Can Help Clients Benefit From Google PandaYesterday, Google launched its newest Panda (4.0) update, along with an update to their Payday Loan Algorithm (hilarious name!). Two major updates in one week. Yikes. It may take a bit of time for the impact to fully hit, but it’s coming.

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE, if you’re a public relations professional, not a search engine optimization (SEO) specialist?

As content creators, knowing the technical side of SEO isn’t important, but understanding how it intersects with your content is. Clients and employers expect public relations to bolster their reputation and visibility, not hurt it. (click to tweet)

And in this case, what you don’t know CAN hurt you (and your client or employer).

Here are a few things you absolutely must know. None of them are difficult, but they help you stay on top of your game, impress your client/employer and earn that promotion.

1. Diligently watch for duplicate content. 

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Clearing Up The Mystery: Does Google Allow Links in Press Releases?

PHoebe The Cat in the CrockpotIt’s been almost a year since Google revamped its quality guidelines specific to press releases.

Misinformation is everywhere. Many people have taken the guidelines out of context or jumped to the wrong conclusions – even making assumptions based on headlines or partially read articles, then writing posts, updates and tweets that perpetuate the wrong information.

Yikes! Who wants to end up in the hot seat by doing it wrong?

Here’s what you need to know.

1. Can I include links in my press release? 

Absolutely! Just keep them relevant to your press release and use them carefully.

Each hyperlink should add value to the end reader or media in some way. If they are placed with the intention of elaborating on the story you are telling in the release or they provide additional factual information, your links are probably beneficial.

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In Plain English, Please…

SEO: Semantic SearchSemantic search? What the h e double hockey stick is semantic search?

Okay, maybe Tuesday’s post (Is Semantic Search Enough To Help You Rank Well?) was a little too much geek-speak for some of you. Especially if you don’t really follow SEO trends.

But it matters, so here it is again, in plain English this time.

Google is learning to give people search results based on assumptions. “You asked for X, but you probably really meant Y. Plus, Z would really interest you, too… ” In the most simplified terms possible, this is semantic search.

It’s still in early stages, so why should you care? Because it should shift how you are creating content. Context now matters. A lot. Google is starting to rely on your existing content to add context to your new content.

Instead of ranking for one extremely literal keyword or phrase, which has been the focus of SEO in the past – Google wants to help you rank for variations of similar search terms. It impacts both search engine optimization and, especially, the blogging portion of content marketing.

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SEO For PR & Content Marketing: Is Semantic Search Enough To Help You Rank Well?

Out of GasI love last week’s Wired article about semantic search – which is Google’s shift from only recognizing specific keywords and phrases to ranking content for terms relevant to a larger conversation. It’s the difference between ranking for one phrase, versus ranking for multiple phrases that are worded differently but all mean the same thing.

Consumers increasingly expect search engines to understand natural language and perceive the intent behind the words they type in, and search engine algorithms are rising to this challenge. This evolution in search has dramatic implications for marketers, consumers, technology developers and content creators — and it’s still the early days for this rapidly changing environment,” states author Kerstin Recker (@MsKtia).

The changes are both a blessing and a curse, and I have concerns that the dialog happening is very one-sided. Without understanding the bigger picture and realizing the technology is still in its infancy, it is easy to be mislead and complacent that content will rank well organically with no added effort. 

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SEO For PR Pros: How Keyword Research Transforms You Into A Visibility Rock Star

honeybeeI have a beehive in my garden shed. Hundreds of honeybees zoom in and out of a crack in the floorboards all day long, frantically collecting nectar and bringing it back to the hive.

Sadly, instead of producing a beautiful honeycomb of golden deliciousness, the end result of their hard work is something that can’t ever be enjoyed. The honey is tainted from azalea and oleander nectar, which results in toxic, inedible honey.

In a way, this reminds me of many people’s blogging, content marketing and SEO for PR efforts. They put in great effort to write and publish content, only to have it stagnate.  What’s the point if it isn’t seen?

What makes content MOST LIKELY to stagnate? Lack of SEO and social sharing.

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Three Modern SEO Best Practices Every CEO, CMO, and CIO Should Know

Just in case you missed it – we had an article hit MarketingProfs this week on SEO best practices. Hooray! If you are in the c-suite and frustrated with your team’s SEO, the buck may stop with you. Read on to fix the the gap. “Although some aspects of SEO haven’t changed much in the …

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12 Super Simple Guest Blogging Tactics to Supercharge SEO & Grow Your Influence

Synchronized Blogging & SEOIf your content marketing efforts include guest blogging or submitting e-zine articles, taking a few minutes to synchronize your effort with basic SEO tactics can boost visibility and do powerful things for growing your influence.

Try a few (or all) of these ten fast tactics to supercharge your writing, then circle back and let me know how it helped. I can’t wait to hear the details!

Just how important is content marketing?

 

1. Wrap your post or content around ONE targeted keyword. When you include one keyword or phrase in your post title, then repeat it in the first sentence – you automatically include SEO tactics…  even if you and/or the source blogger don’t know the first thing about SEO.  (Learn more about SEO for blogs here.)

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Want to Integrate Content Marketing & SEO Into Your PR? Start Here.

Integrate Content Marketing and SEO into Public RelationsDuring a PRSA Twitter chat recently, I was asked if content marketing and SEO were key to the future of public relations.

My answer? ABSOLUTELY! Public relations isn’t just about breaking news and press releases – it’s about building bridges and relationships between our brand and the public.

Our role is to give clients maximum visibility and these allow us to explode that visibility better and faster. After all, what is more openly public than social media? Sharing thought leadership content?

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How to Transform Your WordPress Blog Into a SEO Machine

WordPress SEO. When my daughter turned two, the only people that showed up to eat birthday cake at the party were immediate family members – mom, dad and her big brother, Adam. Why? Because we didn’t send out invitations or put any effort into getting guests to show up. While this may be perfectly fine …

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Learning SEO For PR? Master These Top 3 Best Practices

Ken McGaffin - SEO For PR Best Practices(No time to read? Listen to the podcast here.)

If helping our clients be more visible is the heartbeat of public relations, then learning to integrate basic SEO skills into the work we are doing is key in keeping that heartbeat strong. SEO for PR is a “must know” skill.

Every senior-level PR and content marketing professional should have a solid understanding of how SEO works and how it applies to their own work.

For the overall agency or company, SEO should be part of the standard writing and proofing processes as content is filtering through production, and included as a basic skill integrated into the continued learning culture of the organization. It should also START the content creation process, not be wrapped in at the end.

If the organization is large enough to have SEO staff, partnering with them can identify a surprising similarity in goals and effort. Starting cross-departmental conversations and working together on joint goals can also make BOTH departments extremely successful.

During the May #PRprochat on Twitter, we were lucky enough to have Ken McGaffin as our guest – former CMO of WordTracker and an expert in SEO.

“The TOP 3 SEO SKILLS that PR pros should have are keyword research, link building and blogger outreach.” ~ Ken McGaffin

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