The Role Of Public Relations In Google’s New Update
Have you ever typed something into Google only to find yourself frustrated because the results didn’t answer your question? That’s exactly the problem that Google’s latest algorithm update looks to solve. Google just rolled out what it calls its Helpful Content Update. It is an extremely complex change to the way the search engine scans websites so that over-optimized spammy sites don’t show up at the top of search results. Put in simple terms: Google will start prioritizing articles written by actual people that genuinely answer search terms. That means Google’s new update could be useful for public relations.
You could say that public relations is Google’s love language
Public Relations raises awareness and credibility of a company’s products and services. It often does this through earned-media placements – ie: 3rd party endorsements from the press and influencers.
Meanwhile, SEO is all about improving your website to increase its visibility when people search for related terms online. Google decides which websites to put at the top of its search results based on the site’s credibility, which it determines based on a number of factors including how many other websites link to that site as the best source of information.
Do you see the similarities?
3rd party endorsement (in the form of backlinks) is critical for SEO. PR facilitates that need, checking a box on the big SEO algorithm checklist. However, backlinks alone aren’t enough. They have to be quality links on quality sites that are relevant to the query the user is searching. The more trustworthy the site, the bigger the impact a backlink has on SEO.
What makes a quality backlink?
SEO is constantly evolving so the answer to this question is fluid. Once upon a time, buying backlinks for SEO purposes was considered an acceptable practice. That is no longer the case. Not only is buying links ineffective, but links located on websites that are considered low-quality and/or spammy can actually hurt your SEO rankings.
This is where PR comes into play and why I say that it is Google’s love language. Today’s Google algorithm is looking for the best answers to its users’ search queries. 3rd party endorsements from trusted, credible sources will be a big part of that. The more earned-media coverage you get, the higher your own ranking scores!
Example:
Say you own a company that sells gardening tools.
You have a gardening expert who regularly posts gardening tips on your company blog.
Someone Googles “best way to winterize your garden.”
Your expert has posted several articles about winterizing gardens and you sell products that help people winterize their gardens.
Yet, your brand doesn’t come up in the Google search results.
Frustrated, you realize that for whatever reason, your brand is not seen as an expert on this matter.
So, you decide to email the editor of Better Homes & Gardens. That website is a known expert on gardening.
You introduce your brand and ask them about their plans for articles this year on winterizing gardens. You offer to have your gardening expert write an article for them, free of charge. Or, perhaps if they’re already working on an article, you offer your gardening expert as an expert source for their writer to interview. Or, perhaps, you share a piece of exciting industry or company news with them that can add more depth to their article.
They agree to it. And once they publish the article, it includes a backlink to your website. (Ok, yes, this is a really best-case scenario for how a PR pitch can go. I promise it isn’t usually that easy).
You do this over and over again with all kinds of websites that are already seen as authoritative. You publish more and more content on your own blog as well and share it across social media with influencers in the gardening space, with the hopes that more of them will recognize your expertise and talk about you to their audience. Google’s new update looks at this kind of material and starts to realize that you are an expert on this particular topic.
The more mentions (links) you get from credible sources (media outlets), the better your SEO ranking.
Time to EAT!
I know this blog post is getting long, but I’m not offering up a lunch break here! E-A-T is an SEO acronym that stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. There are rumblings in the SEO community as to whether or not it is even a thing. You should still pay attention to it even if it isn’t an actual piece of the algorithm.
In Public Relations, we are always trying to build reputations. It’s what the business is all about. It’s just that now, the internet is our grapevine and we have a lot more items to consider when we create PR strategies.
Here at Orca Communications, we’ll continue to think about the elements in this acronym and how we can build on them when conducting our press outreach. The ultimate goal is to make sure the brands we work with are seen in a positive light.
Back to Google’s New Update
Ultimately, Google is trying to prevent people from becoming misled on the internet. There was a recent survey that said GenZ is moving away from Google as their search engine of choice. Another article claimed Google is dying. Google obviously doesn’t want that. So, they created this update to humanize the search results and to provide more diversity. But brands need to work hard to be seen and heard amongst the noise.
Click here to schedule a PR consultation with the Orca Communications team to learn more about how our national PR campaigns can help your brand.