Heated opening panel debate at Brighton SEO
In the past (and present) the question has often been; do PR professionals really understand SEO (search engine optimisation)? Well, today at the excellent Brighton SEO conference the question seems to have been turned on its head: do SEOs understand PR?
The conclusion, inevitably, is that if they don’t and they want to thrive then SEO professionals had better understand PR pretty quickly. I’ve always banged the drum that SEO and PR are inextricably linked and that PRs need to get a handle on SEO and content marketing strategies as part of a holistic online PR approach. Today’s meeting of minds seemed to demonstrate that SEO pros too now need to expand their expertise beyond pure words and algorithms, if they haven’t already.
SEO “needs to grow up”
The opening panel debate at Brighton SEO brought out some seriously hostile exchanges between the panel and the floor, but a consistent theme at least, as proposed by Rishi Lakhani, was that SEO as an industry “needs to grow up”.
Digital marketing consultant Nichola Stott of The Media Flow also suggested that “PR wants to steal our [the SEO industry’s] lunch”, citing that there is a huge need for SEO skills within PR – of which there is no doubt, but can one survive without the other?
PRs are getting to grips with SEO to differing degrees. Some are almost as good as SEO-specific agencies in their own right while some are yet to even start, and the latter will suffer in the long-term as a result. Are SEOs getting to grips with PR?
Stott and Lakhani agreed that SEO will have to evolve into the wider marketing mix. Those full service agencies that can combine public relations with solid, optimised and relevant content marketing strategies will be the ones that win through. SEO and/or PR in isolation is no longer enough.
Thanks again to Kelvin Newman for organising another great Brighton SEO.
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Thanks for sharing. Search engine optimization is indeed one of the most crucial areas in Internet marketing, it is a perfect bridge between technology and business….
Can I take credit for the Will X eat Y’s lunch meme? (June 25th, 2008)
http://blog.escherman.com/2008/06/25/why-search-marketing-is-eating-prs-lunch/
I too have been banging on for years about SEO and PR working more closely together. Things are getting better, but probably not as fast they ought. Still, if your report above is anything to go by then good to see the SEO community grasping the significance of PR and marketing generally.
SEO has been a key concern for technology-conscious PR firms for years, I just think that it’s gone mainstream in more recent years. PR people will nod and say “yes, we understand SEO”, but then you’d need to point to their website or their clients’ websites to look for the proof in the pudding. I have another post on this to follow in the next couple of weeks…
I agree – I think we’re going to see a continuing trend for convergance between the SEO and PR industries. Any self-respecting PR firm will have to start offering online services as well as ‘traditional’ off-line marketing (i.e. writing press releases, schmoozing with journalists – getting stuff in the papers). SEO’s are increasingly waking up to the fact that Google is rewarding good quality, original content (and that users will share good quality content, generating loads of links), so they need to learn to write!
Incidentally – not sure if I’m allowed to post links here but we’ve put a video of the highlights of this debate on our blog here – along with some more of my thoughts:
http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/brightonseo-video-is-seo-doomed-debate/
Thanks, Colin. I’ll check the video out. If you were there during Leapfrogg’s speech I was the guy that quizzed the speaker on her view that link building agencies could easily rival PR firms – there’s a world of difference, skillsets and responsibilities involved there which I’m taking up with her on a separate post.
Cheers again for your comments.
No problem Chris, look forward to reading your response. I’ve also got video of that presentation which I may well be posting up soon so I’ll keep an eye out for your question. We’re uploading all of the videos from BrightonSEO here:
http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=15D3783102333D24