Search engine optimization, setting aside the purely technical aspects, can be compared to relationships. Rankings in search engine results stem from the relationships between various entities online. And behind each of these entities—whether it’s a website, an article, or something similar—there is a person.
Relationships are one of the most powerful ways to climb in rankings, especially for those working with search engine optimization for a single site, a blog, or similar. Not because relationships themselves are measured by search engines, but because of the traces relationships leave on the internet.
A mention or a link is at the core of Google’s algorithm, and each such mention signals that a certain page is important. Today, there is also work being done to ensure that only positive mentions lead to positive results, at least in the U.S. Having a good relationship with the people behind online entities can therefore prove to be extremely valuable.
PR, or other forms of communication, is therefore of great value to search engine optimization. Not directly in itself, but as a method to reach the right people and influence them in the right way. PR (online) has sometimes therefore been called the new search engine optimization. But I wouldn’t quite say that—rather, I would say that PR is the secret lover of search engine optimization.
Magnus Bråth
Consultant & Adviser
Magnus is one of the world's most prominent search marketing specialists and primarily works with management and strategy at his agency Brath AB.