Guest post by Manchester PR Rob Baker of Artisan Marketing Communications

Honestly. Is there a better bang for your big theory than well applied online marketing? When ROI comes calling what better option than online search marketing in the pursuit of new clients?

It’s sound thinking. Thinking that defines the traditional SEO agency approach to ranking and online profile.

These days though – is the cloak and dagger world of old school SEO really geared up to deliver what Google wants? To properly represent your business online? Ask any business owner who’s taken a kicking from a Penguin or a Panda recently and through their tears they’ll likely whimper… ‘no.’ ‘If only my site had been build on quality copy and content’, they might say. ‘If only I’d earned my rankings with legitimate links from other trusted sites.’

The Power of PR

So what about PR? Where does that fit in? And isn’t Public Relations something that’s done offline? By big companies? With big budgets?

PR is often seen as complementary, a useful add-on – something that cannot be analysed.

Not so. It’s very much part of the online world and more than ever PR is an essential component of your online marketing mix.

Traditional PR – print and broadcast media – ROCKS.

Why You Should Use PR As Part Of Your Online Marketing.

Inbound Links

Offline coverage goes online. Every magazine and newspaper has an online presence and any coverage you pick up off line will be transferred online. The result? High quality inbound links form multiple trusted sources that boost your rankings. Links worth anywhere from £100 (trade press) up to a £1,000 in a national. Links that most SEO agencies spend a great deal of time, energy and your money trying to replicate the benefits of.

A national such as the Daily Mail has over 4 million readers.  The Sunday Times has an excellent business section and the BBC is profile money just cannot buy, both figuratively and in hard fact.

At a time when Google is changing its algorithms (see the carnage caused by the Penguin update) to ensure rankings are not manipulated, doesn’t it make sense to build your online profile on a rock solid link strategy? On high value links from newspapers, magazines, blogs, portals, company websites and association websites?

PR can deliver them.

Valuable, Measurable Profile

PR can be judged on the advertising equivalent it gains in coverage.

So for example, a half page in a national daily such as the Guardian could be worth as much as £15,000. A page in the Manchester Evening News £10,000 – you get the idea.

And this coverage is measurable.  It can also be assessed on the newspapers, nationals and trade magazine pieces of coverage that appear.  In its own right good for generating enquiries and brilliant for raising profile and reputation.

Integrated Online Marketing

The online world is changing. Online marketing is integrating. No one discipline is enough. PR as a link building technique, along with copywriting, content strategy, web development, social media and aspects of traditional SEO plays a mission critical role in building your business online.

Notes

Links

www.artsanmc.co.uk

Image borrowed with thanks from Susan Renee