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October 29, 2008
SEO covered at PRSA International Conference in Detroit
I've just returned from the PRSA International Conference in Detroit, Michigan. The Public Relations Society of America is the world's largest organization for public relations professionals.
But there were a number of sessions on the agenda about search engine optimization. On Saturday, Oct. 25, Lee Odden taught a half-day workshop on "Optimizing Content for Optimum Search Results: Search Engine Optimization of News." Lee, as most of us in the search industry know, is the CEO of TopRank Online Marketing.
Bill Wagner, the CMO of Vocus, talked about "Uncovering the Potential of PR to Drive Sales." Lee Odden, Rob Key, the founder and CEO of Converseon, and David Bradfield, senior vice president and partner of FH Digital, discussed "The Changed PR Landscape: What Works, What Doesn't." And Laura Sturaitis, senior vice president of media and product services for Business Wire, and I spoke about "What's the ROI on Your Press Release?"
In other words, SEO and PR people are starting to "reach across the aisle" to build some pretty interesting alliances.
In February, I interviewed Lee Odden at SES London 2008, about news search engine optimization and related topics. And in December, Lee and Sally Falkow, the President of PRESSfeed, will be speaking about "SEO Through Blogs and Feeds" at SES Chicago 2008.
Lee Odden, TopRank Online Marketing, at SES London 2008
As Frank Watson noted earlier this morning, Lee and Jay Byrne, President of v-Fluence Interactive Public Relations, are holding a free PRWeb webinar entitled, "Use PR To Drive Better Search Results," today at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.
And PRSA has asked me to teach a teleseminar on "The Secrets of Search Engine Optimization" on Thursday, Nov. 6, at 3 p.m. Eastern.
What's all this mean to search engine marketers? Get the folks over in public relations to check out this topic. They may have missed it at the PRSA International Conference. But it is a subject that they'll want to understand as they prepare for 2009.
And getting your PR specialists on the same page with your SEO specialists could give you the best bang for your buck in a global recession. Consider this tip a "recession special" you won't want to pass up.
One last note: I hadn't been back to Detroit in a long, long time. Wow, is the Renaissance Center impressive. And the Detroit Riverwalk. And the GM Next Showroom. Now, I remember Detroit as Motor City and Motown. But it has experienced a renaissance while I wasn't looking. Cool. Very cool.
Posted by Greg Jarboe on October 29, 2008 8:41 AM
Comments
Lee Odden October 29, 2008 10:45 AM
Ah! You caught me. I was standing on my toes for the photo, but standing normally during the video interview. Rats! I hate when that happens.
Greg Jarboe October 29, 2008 11:34 AM
Height isn't everything!
Matt McGowan October 29, 2008 11:55 AM
I think it's great the the PR crowd will start viewing their results more like marketers & SEO pros. Almost everything we do is ROI driven, but when I talk to PR people they usually don't get the concept that their actions produce direct revenue too.
Bill McIntosh November 2, 2008 12:52 AM
Bill, four years ago when I started talking about this topic at SES and PubCon, I agree that PR people usually didn't get the concept. But four years later, I'm encouraged to see more PR people starting to view their results like marketers and SEO pros. Maybe the recession will trigger faster adoption of ROI metrics for public relations. Who knows? But PR people often do what the CMO or marketing VP tells them to do. So, I don't blame PR for being late to the dance. Marketing executives need to demand more actions that produce direct revenue -- even from their PR people.
Greg Jarboe November 3, 2008 9:13 AM
Do you ever issue online seminars too?
Jack@Strategic online marketing December 20, 2009 6:33 PM
Thanks for the event coverage Greg. I wish we could have bumped into each other.
I would highly encourage marketers and PR professionals alike, to check out Greg's upcoming webinar with the PRSA on "Secrets of Search Engine Optimization".
Note to readers, look how "tall" Greg is in the top photo compared to the video. Hmmmmm. I guess PR can make you taller! :)