I was recently asked by a friend in the PR sector to come and speak with their PR team about SEO for PR. In the process of gathering information and recalling my own experience with assisting clients to make their PR efforts SEO friendly, I thought I would share the parallels between SEO and public relations because, quite honestly, SEO and PR go hand in hand.

There are two core elements that every search marketer can use to help make their clients PR efforts a worthwhile online strategy.

Optimization can help shape three key areas:

1. News Room
   • Have an archive of press releases with an abstract for each
   • Distribution via RSS or email opt in
   • Event listings for company, along with a list of awards & associations
   • Company FAQ sheet
2. Press Releases (including articles & whitepapers)
   • Determine core keywords or phrases that describe the service or product offering described the release
   • Research keywords for relevancy using an outside vendor or a keyword suggestion tool ( Google AdWords Keyword Suggestion Tool or SEO Book Keyword Suggestion Tool are two of my favorite freebies)
   • Keywords in the body of the press release should fall between 2-5% of the total body copy
   • Anchor text links, META description, tracking URL
3. Other content released by the client (videos, images, maps, books, etc.)
   • Alt text for videos, images & maps
   • Tracking URLs
   • META description if applicable

Basically, if it can be searched on, it needs to be optimized.

Online reputation management – old school vs Web 2.0

Old school PR often times has a different approach to dealing with reputation management, which can really burn a clients profile. Web 2.0 provides a platform for all to speak & for all to be heard. Simply ignoring ugly press or fluffing things up a bit to makes things seem better than there are don’t work well in this space. Users want and appreciate honesty & transparency.

Problem: Bad press is dominating the first page results for a client.

Solution: Quickly compose a keyword loaded press release & submit to the major online wires as well as post it in the clients news room section of their website. As the press release starts to saturate the wires, it’ll knock the bad press out of the top results.

Problem: Should a client allow comments on their blog? What if someone leaves a scathing message?

Solution: YES allow comments. The purpose of a blog or forum is to encourage & help facilitate communication among your audience. Disallowing comments makes it a stagnant one way conversation. Respond to all comments – good and bad. People will appreciate your candor and will hopefully have more respect for you in the long run.

When you integrate SEO into PR, everyone wins.

As 2007 wraps up and 2008 approaches, there appears to be a significant shift in how marketers are planning to target and reach their consumers – Amplify included.

According to a recent article by Sam Law and Julian Stone, traditional methods of online advertising, such as paid campaigns, banner ads, AdWords & newsletters are losing effectiveness. Consumers have become immune to flashy banners & glaze over text ads. They don’t want to be talked AT. No, no, no…

The online consumer wants and demands much more. They demand transparency and authenticity. They want to engage with others online, to have an experience they can share with their friends, family & co-workers.

A marketer’s ability to capture their audience using Web 2.0 tactics will be the driving force for success or failure in 2008. Some of these include:

• Blogs
• Forums
• Articles
• Bookmarking

The goal in using these vehicles is to create content & interact with consumers in a way that’s meaningful to them.

As we move into 2008, it’ll be interesting to see how social media evolves. My prediction is that online marketing will become a 80/20 relationship, where the consumer is the driving force and long term strategy will be key in developing, growing and maintaining these vehicles.

Last week, in part II of the Power of the Almighty Blog, I questioned whether or not the power of one voice could stand up against a large company with endless resources…

With the growing popularity of social media & the focus shifting from appealing to the masses to focusing on the “individual” – you and I now have a voice that can’t be stifled. It’s no longer about strength in numbers. It’s about empowering the individual & making authentic connections with others who have similar interests, values & beliefs. Social media has changed the rules of engagement and it’s forced a lot of bullies off their soapbox. Online reputation is critical. It can quickly leverage a brand’s image. Or it has the power to send it down in flames – all with a few blog posts, forum discussions & emails.

Within 24 hours of my initial post, I received a handful of comments and links to other blogs that carry some weight in the financial services sector. The day following my post, I sent a “dissatisfied customer” email to a select group of board members associated with this financial institution. (I must say, this company doesn’t make customer service an easy thing to seek out. But with a little digging using my search skillz, I was able to track down the contact information.) 48 hours later, my account had been rectified. Fast turn around!

Word spreads fast with these fabulous vehicles called blogs. I’m willing to bet some big wigs got word of my grumblings & saw the beginnings of a domino effect. And rather than ignore it, hoping it would just go away, they did the smart thing – acknowledged the situation and took the necessary steps to fix it.

You can’t underestimate the power of a blog.

In part I of this series, I discussed three tactics marketers can use to leverage a successful social media campaign.

1) Create a blog that supplements the client’s service or product offering

2) Join relevant communities & participate

3) Bookmarking

Question is, does a blog have the power to affect change, create a sense of urgency or a call to action? I decided to put the power of the blog to the test…

About a month ago, I had a very negative experience with an online merchant (more like fraudulent) and reported the incident to my bank. I followed the bank’s “company procedures” for reporting & filing disputes and followed up with them (as instructed) a couple of days later. To make a long story short (I’ll spare you the “war o’ words”), they claimed to have no record of my dispute and I was now responsible for over $300 worth of fees the bank had imposed on my account. I was taken for a ride by the merchant & now my bank wanted to do the same?

How can I get my voice heard and get some traction against this giant corporation? I’m one person, one voice up against a large company with endless resources…

Next week I’ll reveal the conclusion in Part III of the Power of the Almighty Blog! Guaranteed to raise some eyebrows…

Social media marketing encompasses a wide range of tactics, but which ones really work? Well, it depends on a few things. You have to identify the needs and niche of the client. Having a clear understanding of these things will allow you as the social media guru to market them in places that will allow for the greatest success, versus trying to “spam” them in every outlet available.

At Amplify Interactive, we’ve identified 3 avenues to explore when a client is looking to engage in SMM:

1) Create a blog that supplements the client’s service or product offering & acts as a valuable resource for visitors.

2) Identify relevant communities to join. Create a user profile & actively engage in discussions with members.

3) Bookmarking (or as Ben says: “bookmarketing“). It’s like trick-or-treating on Halloween. You’re in search of the best candy (articles, websites, etc.), using your favorite bucket (del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, ect.) to store it, so you can share it!

In my opinion, a blog offers the greatest SMM leverage. It consolidates and integrates so much of what social media has to offer and at the same time becomes an additional asset for the client.

That being said, social media marketing is powered by user-generated content & spread by word-of-mouth. In theory, this all sounds great. When put to the test, does a blog have the power to affect change, create a sense of urgency or a call to action?

Can a blog post really get the attention of the “big wigs”? I decided put this theory to the test with a recent “unsatisfactory customer service experience” I had with a large financial institution (will remain anonymous).

In this three part series, I’ll share the trials & tribulations of my “experience” and the final outcome. You just might be surprised…(I sure was!)

In Part 1 of this series, I covered some legal issues confronting the pay per click (PPC) search engine marketing. This installment looks at social media & personalization.

With the surge of social media & personalization how do we address issues surrounding a searcher’s personal profile & their search data? Access to online profiles has allowed marketers to make assumptions about a user’s preferences, allowing for predictive, highly targeted advertising. Growing popularity of social communities and bookmarking tools has raised questions about what’s ethical when it comes to using social media profiles to get the inside scoop on a user’s online activity.

Let’s take this a step further. I’m a firm believer that it’s not always about the end result; the process and the tools used to get there are equally as important. I recently stumbled upon (no pun intended) an opportunity to “practice what I preach.”

So I’m trying out FriendFeed, a new tool (still in beta) that allows you to consolidate and track all of your online activity based on the services you use (ex: Facebook, del.icio.us, Flickr, YouTube, Digg, StumbleUpon, etc.) with a single RSS feed. Here’s the kicker: as a member, you can subscribe to other member’s feeds and track their online activity. Think about this for a minute. All of your online activity is publicly tracked & available to any subscribing member. Friend or stalker?

On the one hand, it does allow for consolidation & efficiency. Be cautious though – nothing is left to hide. It all comes down to moral judgment or as we say in the advertising world – “truth in advertising”. The more powerful the tools, the more effective they are at serving good or ill intentions.

What are some of the biggest legal issues search marketers face in PPC advertising? Early on, using someone else’s trademark in your meta tags was considered trademark infringement. Fortunately, standardized policies have been created to help eliminate the “he said, she said” battles. But we still have PPC click fraud, copyright infringement and trademark usage in PPC advertising to contend with. Plus most search engines have their own internal PPC trademark policy.

Two questions surrounding this issue were recently addressed in an article “Search and the Law: Attorney Clarke Douglas Walton”.

“1) Whether the use of a keyword to trigger a PPC advertisement may be trademark infringement in certain circumstances; and 2) whether that particular company’s trademark is used in the advertising text – when is it infringement and when is it fair use?”

There’s a lot of gray area, with more subjective views rather than clearly defined policies. Bidding on a trademark as you would a keyword doesn’t constitute as trademark infringement. In the US and Canada, you can bid on trademarks as keywords to trigger ads, but you can’t incorporate the trademark into the advertising text. International policies get a bit more restrictive and complex.

With the surge of social media & personalization how do we address issues surrounding a searcher’s personal profile & their search data?

In part two: a candid look at the positive & negatives challenges that lie ahead for marketers looking to use a searcher’s profile or data.

The competition is getting fierce among search engines. Last week Nielsen//NetRatings revealed how the top engines performed in two key areas for the months of June & July 2007:

1. Overall increased visitor retention
2. Visitors are using 2 and 3 engines to perform searches in three major categories: search, career development & multi-category travel

Google ranked #1 over Yahoo and MSN for visitor retention, proving that it’s the preferred engine for search. “MSN had the highest audience overlap, with 84 percent of its unique visitors also going to Google Search, Yahoo! Search, or both.”

What will it take for Yahoo or MSN to improve retention? Innovation is key.

How do you choose where & how to focus your “social” energy? New tools and applications are released or updated nearly every week. And just when you think you’ve mastered one arena, a new one crops up. So many resources, so little time. How do you make the most of your networking efforts?

It comes down to quality versus quantity. Here’s a short list of things to consider when trying to build “street cred”.

• Profiles: Can’t stress how important this is! This is an easy, free way of promoting yourself. Think of it as a free yellow pages listing.

• Make yourself known: You want to show an authentic interest in your target contact – not stalk them. Take the time to vote or rate their content before making unsolicited contact.

• Use IM: Another great tool. An instant connection that can take you from just being an avatar on someone’s screen to being a real live human being!

• Be real: If you’re going to contact someone about a possible link, consider commenting an article they submitted. Taking the time to show a genuine interest in the person you’re trying to contact goes a long way.

• Scratch my back & I’ll scratch yours: Consider submitting their article and giving them a little PR. But remember, your reputation is associated with theirs now – quality, quality, quality.

Online reputation and brand awareness is critical for success in today’s virtual market. Two things have be in place for a brand to have success online: current touchpoints and hitting the ‘sweet spot’ with the consumer.

Touchpoints are the vehicles brands use to communicate their message to its target audience. Traditionally these vehicles have been direct mail, signage, brochures, news releases, etc. In recent years, websites, blogs and online communities have come to replace the traditional outlets. Many advertisers are struggling to figure out how to successfully capture their audience through virtual advertising – the new world of advertising. ‘A discipline in which the professional is ostensibly replaced by the amateur; where the established media buyer is replaced with the consumer; and where provocation, like shock, surprise, and hilarity, are essential ingredients for capturing the attention of consumers who have an insouciant disinterest in the amount of money spent on an ad, but an active predilection for sensation.’

Touchpoints are the vehicles for creating brand awareness, but its a moot point if the brand doesn’t hit the ‘sweet spot’ with the consumer. The sweet spot is the emotional connection the consumer makes with the brand. Its the story that leaves a lasting impression so it occupies a space in the mind of the consumer.

Participating in online communities, such as MySpace, YouTube, LinkedIn to name a few, and using viral, word-of-mouth tactics to engage the end users is something all marketers should consider implementing into their marketing mix. Creating authentic, meaningful content using current advertising vehicles is the only way to stay in the game.