What Implied Links Mean For PR

In March of this year, Google announced that it received a patent for a new algorithm called Panda. This new step for Google also brought with it major news for the PR industry. 

The Panda algorithm introduced a new piece to the SEO puzzle called Implied Links. Simply put, an implied link is any relevant mention of a brand or product that does not include a physical hyperlink to a form of that brand or product's web presence. Put even more simply, Google is validating that earned mentions PR works to get carry weight, and that they are valuable in boosting that brands search engine rank.

Implied links will be able to take form in many realms --mentions in discussion boards, media pick ups, or blog posts just to name a few. Google of course has many hard line standards that explain what makes an implied link legitimate and relevant.

Now that Google is validating earned media as carry legitimate weight in how SEO ranks are calculated, PR professionals are at a huge advantage in terms of measurement. Adding numbers to PR work can be difficult at times, especially when placing a dollar value on certain PR tactics. Now, implied links will allow a new medium which can be measured and show the true value of PR campaigns.

Using Google Analytic is a great way to track and measure what implied links are doing for your brand. Track how much traffic your client is receiving from organic Google searches. Record if spikes in those numbers correlate with an increase of earned media mentions. We have always known that PR has true monetary value, and now we have even greater numbers to back it up.

To read more on the Panda Algorithm and Implied Links, check out this article by PR Daily and this one by Shift Communications.

(Image source: via)

4 Free Tools For Better Content Creation

Content managers work hard to produce fresh, original and engaging content. Drafting blog posts, tweets or crafting the perfect press release, PR professional must use all their resources to create the best possible content. Luckily, living in the digital age, most of these resources are available with a simple click, and are free to use.

Between coming up with ideas and monitoring results, content management is no easy feat. To help ease the job a little, try using these 4 free online resources:

1. Hemingway
Hemingway is a free online app that helps point out the strengths and weaknesses in your writing. Simply paste any chuck of writing into the app and get an analysis highlighting run on sentences, weak adverbs and get a grade for the overall piece. Aim for a grade of less than 10 to ensure clear and concise writing. This is a great tool not just for proofreading, but also to better your writing - which ultimately leads to creating better content.

2. Readability
Use this easy to install bookmarking tool to determine how much time it takes to read a piece of content. Many times, our content is well developed, but requires too much time of the reader. This tool will help you keep track of that, and stick to a content length best suited for your audiences. This handy tool will also allow you to save articles that you find online, and tell you how much time it will take you to read them. If it is especially long, the app will send the piece to your Kindle device to read later.

3. Blog Topic Generator
Perfect for the content manager in charge of creating blog posts, this generator helps produce quality content ideas in under a minute. Simply enter a few keywords that relate to your client or topics of interest, and let the tool work its magic.

4. Open Site Explorer
Having your content shared across the web helps to increase awareness of your topic and develop relationships within your audience. This tool shows you a compact list of all of the websites currently linking to your content. Use this tool to see the types of content best enjoyed and shared by others, and produce more of that! A simple way to see what your audience best likes is to see what they are willing to share within their networks.

Do you use any online tools to better your content creation? Feel free to share them in the comments!

Classes Missing From Your Fall Semester Schedule

A new semester is quickly approaching. That means it’s time for some of us to knock the pool water out of our ears and get back to business. Others of you may have stayed in professional PR mode during the summer. Regardless of which camp you belong to, everyone can always take the time to brush up on a few skills before heading back to our classrooms and offices. 

About a week ago PR Daily wrote on the “7 Underrated Skills Every PR Newbie Needs.” Some of those skills stood out to me because they are not just underrated, they are not taught. Here are three of those skills that you may not learn in a classroom but you should definitely invest the time in learning for yourself:

• Basic HTML knowledge: All of the coding may seem pretty intimidating, but it’s good information to have in your back pocket. If the images for your internship company’s website (or your own) aren’t showing up, you can be the intern to step up and solve the problem! A great resource to learn more about HTML can be found at http://www.codecademy.com/.
• Video editing: This is another, seemingly, daunting task. Vine and Instagram video have brought out the inner videographer in us all, but knowing your way around iMovie or Final Cut Pro is much different. Having a basic editing skill set is another trait that can really set you apart. You can practice by recording and editing short 30 second clips and work your way up from there.
• SEO: Search engine optimization is extremely helpful whether you have your own personal blog or simply contribute to someone else’s. Understanding the best keywords to use in headings and titles can be the difference between 10 and 1,000 page views. For a helpful break down of SEO basics, check out http://moz.com/learn/seo. 

If these are skills that you aren’t learning in a classroom setting, take the time to teach yourself! You may not use them everyday, but they will definitely serve you well in the long run.

Are there new skills that you have been meaning to learn more about? We would love to hear them!

Nice Blog You’ve Got There! Now What?

Whether for personal interest or because of the many posts urging PR pros to create a company blog, you finally made one and it looks great! Brace yourself if you thought finding motivation to create the blog was difficult because the worst has yet to come: generating content. Yikes! The actual blogging part, believe it or not, requires hard work and a little compassion. To grab readers, your content must be consistent, creative and compelling.

You’ve found the motivation, so here are some tips to help find some inspiration:


Use your network: Imagine those outrageous questions from family members about your job. What is SEO? PR pros use spin and practice propaganda, right? Be patient for a moment and realize these are legitimate questions. People outside the communications field have similar questions and you have a golden opportunity to answer them on your blog.


Comments: Check if anyone has commented on your blog entries. If a reader took the time to give feedback, he or she probably enjoyed the entry. Check for patterns. Are readers commenting on blog entries pertaining to certain themes or subjects? If so, consider it relevant! Perhaps others have an interest in similar posts.

Consider your own queries: Perhaps you have a theory or a hunch and you’d like some evidence to make a case. Engage with your publics on social media by presenting a few questions. Later, you can blog about the results.


Google & Google Analytics: It seems a little basic, but you’d be surprised. Search some themes you’d like to cover or even try typing, “What should I blog about?” You can’t expect your blog topic to be staring you in the face, either. Read between the lines, thinking critically, and let the creative juices flow. Use Google Analytics to see which search questions direct people to your blog. If a blog entry previously demonstrated success, see how you might make a follow-up entry or a type of sequel.

Lastly, PRowl Public Relations staff members work collectively to produce daily blog entries and if you see a chance for collaboration, we say go with it! Think about who might be available for an interview or to feature as a guest blogger. Use the suggestions above for inspiration and sprinkle in some entries from your colleagues and watch those blog hits sky rocket!

 Do you have any other recommendations for generating compelling blog content? Let us know!

  This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Frank Kunkle.

Getting Social with your Google Search

Always trying to generate the most relevant search results for users, Google is becoming a more social site. With the introduction of Google+, they have been able to incorporate your personal connections into your search results. Below I have outlined some of Google's recent updates:

• When you are logged into Google+, Personal Results are included in your search. Personal Results are indicated by a blue person icon on the left side of the website. People and pages in your Google+ circles are likely to show up in these results. To switch to non-personalized results, select the globe icon on the right side of the screen, near your login.
• If you are trying to get yourself, or your business page noticed, have a presence on Related People and Pages. Google recommends to show up in these results, your full profile must be filled out and post about favorite topics. These posts will help you gain credibility and show up higher in search results.
  
• Again on the business/company pages, it is imperative to have relevant, high-quality content on your page, so that viewers will +1 you. When posting, use words that pertain to your industry or expertise.

What do you think of Google's social approach?

To read more about Google Social Search and marketing yourself/company click here.

Four Quick Ways to Maximize Blog Exposure

Do you write for a blog with a dwindling readership? If so, it may be time to reevaluate how your blog is operated and promoted. In honor of PRowl Public Relations recent ranking in a list of the Top 50 Blogs for the PR Major, here are some tips on how to increase blog exposure adopted from SEO Godfather.com and personal experience:

• Link with social media accounts: What better way to increase a blog’s exposure than to promote it to different audiences? Use your social media accounts to promote and generate buzz about your blog to maximize exposure.

• Use keywords: Many blogging websites (such as this one) allow you to add keywords to your blogs. These keywords help with navigation and SEO.

• Generate consistent content: As with most social media, a blog is nothing without consistent content. Be sure to focus on quality of content too, you don’t want to alienate users with irrelevant or poorly-written posts.

• Make RSS feeds available: Allowing your readers to subscribe to an RSS feed of your blog is a great way to maximize exposure. Make sure your RSS feed button is prominently displayed on your blog to encourage subscriptions.

These four simple tips will help you boost your blog's readership and exposure levels. What do you do to maximize your blog’s exposure?

Right, Wrong, and Risky Words with SEO

We all know that Google takes the cake for being the top search engine, but did you know that websites get about 90 percent of their search engine traffic from Google searches?  Statistics like these should play a major factor in how you might go about writing your next press release.  

My professor for my New Writing and Media Relations class spoke about a great starting point for utilizing Search Engine Optimization, or SEO. First you must evaluate your good words, risky words, and just plain old bad words to use in a press release. He started by having us write a statement for a client. He then directed us to a site called Wordle, which allows you to plug in a group of words to create a visual representation of how often a word or group of words is used.  The key was to see which words were prominent, if your bad or risky world were small in comparison to the good words you should be highlighting. By seeing which words appear most often, you can tweek and change your press release as it relates to which words you want to appear most.  

By having a visual representation you can understand how Google views your content. When you use your good words more often, they become key words which will be associated with your Google results in searches. Essentially when your content has a correlation with a word or set of words it is factored into Google’s algorithms which helps users search best find their results. 

If you want to think about how you want your client to be viewed or associated, this should help you evaluate your good, bad, and risky words.  By recognizing these words using Wordle, you can then emphasize key words to highlight the most important content in your press release resulting in successful SEO.