Why PR May be the Secret to SEO

A recent report about the future of search highlights the growing trend for searchers to expect the answer they want right on the search results page. That means searchers are not looking a website link - they want instant gratification from the search engine.

The gist of the report is that over the last few years the number of people who actually click a result and visit a website as a result of a search is dwindling. Not so much on desktops, but there’s been quite a steep drop on mobile devices. And since Google’s overall search numbers show a huge growth in mobile searches, this is important information.

Google has long said it’s an answer engine, rather than a search engine. And the study shows that mobile searchers definitely expect to find what they’re looking for when they search.

PR and the Future of Search

If searchers are going to find what they’re looking for on the search result page (SERP) you had better rethink how you write your meta tags for the pages on your website. That's the content people see when they search – for the brand and the generic keywords related to your brand.

You need a great writer with very smart SEO knowledge to craft the copy for those search results – and where better to find a great writer who knows how to position your brand or organization and write effective messaging than in your PR team?

What’s that you say – your PR team doesn’t know how to write meta tags? They don’t understand how to improve the search result content? Then I’d advise that they learn how to do this sooner, rather than later.

It's way easier to teach experienced PR writers SEO tactics than it is to teach programmers or SEO people to write good brad copy.

SEO writing is another digital skill that will soon be regarded as a core PR skill.