The Search Marketing Advisor Newsletter Article:
April 2008, Volume 7, Issue 4

Blending PR Into a Competitive Advantage With Search

by Chad Godfrey, Search Marketing Specialist, iProspect

While the world seems to spin faster and faster everyday, I often find that in some ways, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Take business for example; some of its fundamentals have stood the test of time. Public Relations is a perfect example. A proven performer, PR has always provided a great way to connect with an audience and enhance the brand. But given the development of blended search, PR now has something else to offer, namely a competitive advantage through search. Let’s take a look at how.

About a year ago, Google launched Universal Search, the integration of different types of content such as news, images, and video into the general search results. Shortly thereafter, the other major search engines followed suit. Today, such integrated results are commonly referred to as blended search.

The change has important implications for marketers. How so? The search results landscape has changed. Dramatically. Now the Web page has new competition. Today, a general search is just as likely to return one or more of these other forms of content in the results as it is to return a Web page. This spells opportunity for marketers. Quite simply, blended search offers additional ways to stand out amidst the clutter.

But what does blended search have to do with PR? Plenty.

Search marketers can now leverage PR initiatives to claim more page real estate in the general search results. And they would be wise to do so as a recent study demonstrates that users click-on specialized forms of content - news, images, videos - in the general search results nearly twice as much as when it shows up in the vertical categories. Moreover, the same study reveals that news items are the specialized type of content that users prefer most within the general search results.

So how can a marketer capitalize on this trend?

To start, take inventory of your PR assets - press releases, press coverage, speeches, bylined articles, product launches, images, videos, etc. - and optimize them. In the process, identify areas where you are lacking and build those out. But be mindful to make sure that you have the digital rights to these assets. If you don’t, you may need to develop some replacements.

But there’s more to it than that. You also need to monitor the blended search results for your keywords and competition, and analyze the results. But be comprehensive. Don’t limit your efforts to just new products or general brand visibility; be sure to also include combating negative press and harmful user-generated content. Ideally, you want to identify opportunities to both show-up, as well as reduce your vulnerabilities.

Ultimately, you need to develop a diverse and robust portfolio of well-optimized digital assets. Those who do so will be best positioned to capitalize on blended search, and may very well net a competitive advantage. Those who don’t will essentially cede page real estate to their competitors.

The bottom line is that today it is essential to have PR initiatives that accurately and positively reflect on your brand show up in the blended search results. Remember, the more things change the more things stay the same. If your customers and prospects don’t find you, they’ll surely find your competitors. Smart marketers will leverage PR to capitalize on blended search.

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The Search Marketing Advisor Newsletter Article: April 2008, Volume 7, Issue 4

Blending PR Into a Competitive Advantage With Search

The Search Marketing Advisor Newsletter Article:
April 2008, Volume 7, Issue 4