TopRank Digital Marketing News

SEO helps a search engine to do its job more effectively and Public Relations can increase the reach and influence of the brands they promote by optimizing news. Recently the good folks at Vocus interviewed TopRank  Online Marketing’s CEO on the basics of search engine optimization for public relations. The following post comes from the interview with Lee Odden of TopRank by Chris Pilbeam of Vocus.

Search engines aren’t perfect – that’s why people in SEO (Editor: like TopRank Online Marketing) are flourishing. People who write web copy often only consider one audience: customers, or analysts; maybe journalists. You should consider the extra audience of search engines.

At the Vocus User’s Conference in Washington D.C. last week, TopRank Online Marketing CEO Lee Odden gave a presentation on “Optimizing Public Relations for Web Search”. Studies by public relations software companies and Universities as well as informal polls by TopRank’s Online Marketing blog have show that journalists use search to report the news.  The opportunity for companies and media relations professionals to improve the visibility of their brands & clients through search is one that should not be ignored.

As loyalties shift away from traditional media as a preferred communications channel, there will be those who approach this evolution with fear and those who approach it with an embrace.

While many consumers embrace social media channels such as blogs and microcontent as legitimate sources of news and information, public relations professionals are oftentimes fearful to make a similar leap.  Those that brave the new online landscape, however, find they are able to significantly and positively influence the public relations goals of their clients or companies.

TopRank Account Manager & Social Media Pro Adam Singer

At the annual Online Marketing Summit in San Diego, Michael McDonald from WebProNews caught up with TopRank Online Marketing CEO Lee Odden to talk about the impact of search engine optimization and marketing with social media and their effect on public relations. Search and social media are very much about content and facilitating both discovery and relationships. Watch the following video as Odden discusses how SEO and Social Media Marketing can influence public relations outcomes.

Effective communication is the one path towards the bottom-line goals of a marketing or Public Relations (PR) campaign.  To reach these goals, today’s marketing and PR professionals must communicate effectively through digital marketing content, including webpages and online press releases.  This makes a solid foundation of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and social media absolutely vital.

This April 14^th, TopRank® Online Marketing CEO Lee Odden will be leading the SEO Workshop for Communicators, Learn How To Optimize Your Online Messaging and Content For Maximum Return, from PRNews.

This interactive, hands-on leadership training will include topics such as:

On Monday morning 10:15 am at the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina, TopRank Online Marketing CEO Lee Odden will be presenting the Top Ten SEO Tips for Public Relations. The presentation will be held in Marina Ballroom F and will cover the gamut of SEO advice for news optimization. Here’s a video preview:

To read about each of the tips Lee will be presenting and to see a copy of the PowerPoint deck, visit “The Top Search Engine Optimization Tips for Public Relations“.

When the world’s foremost experts on social media, search marketing and online public relations gather to attend an event, the challenge to present compelling and actionable information is clearly on. Dating back to the beginning of this decade, the team at WebMasterWorld have met this challenge again and again with the PubCon series of conferences.

This November will be no different as WebMasterWorld hosts an elite collection of speakers and panelists at PubCon 2009: Social Media, Search, Affiliates in Las Vegas Nevada. Contributing to this event will be TopRank® Online Marketing, who will be represented on three panels by CEO Lee Odden and one by Account Manager Adam Singer.

This fall, public relations professionals of all experience levels will be afforded the opportunity to take their game to a ‘whole new ballpark’, as the Minnesota chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) hosts its 2009 Professional Practices Conference.

Featuring keynotes from Kevin Smith, Executive Director of Public Affairs for the Minnesota Twins, and Mary T. Henige, Director of Social Media, Broadcast, Diversity & Consumer Communications for General Motors, this conference will help professionals step up their game by clearing the lines between online public relations, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and social media tactics.

Companies that include public relations (PR) in their competitive marketing mix constantly search for smarter, more cost-effective ways to move the PR needle.  Today’s marketplace, ripe with opportunities for exposure via Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and social media, calls out to companies willing to play an all new PR game.  But in the rush to win, how many companies will lose by inadvertently playing by the wrong set of rules?

Despite company marketing and PR budgets being in a state of ambiguity, many marketing and Public Relations organizations are focusing on social media, trying to figure out “do’s and don’ts” to improve online reach. At the same time, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of news content is fast becoming an established part of the mix for many marketing and PR programs.

On their own, SEO and social media channels offer attractive opportunities for reaching industry influentials as well as end consumers through push and pull PR.  Together, SEO and social media combine to create a competitive edge that can boost online PR results.