How PR optimises your SEO position

The factors that determine your SEO position

In the pie chart above, you can see which factors Google uses to determine your SEO position. I explain the three most important factors below, so you know what you should pay particular attention to for a high SEO ranking.

Consistent relevance

First, the biggest blue area of 25 per cent stands out: consistent publications of high-quality content. In other words: stay relevant to your target audience for a long time and consistently.

Keywords in meta tags

The second point, with a value of 21 per cent, is keywords in meta title tags. This factor is an extension of the previous one. Based on your titles, subtitles and headings, Google determines what you write about. And thus for which topics your website is relevant. So ask yourself again: does your content match what you want to be found on Google?

Backlinks

Finally, we see point three, backlinks: referrals to your website by other websites. At 16 per cent, this factor also has a lot of influence on the SEO rating of your website. While the first two points are more the expertise of my copywriter colleagues, my PR colleagues and I focus more on this third factor. Here's what I'd like to explain to you.

Gain authority with good backlinks

As I explained above, good backlinks have a lot of impact on your website's authority. But what defines a good backlink? Below I mention two characteristics, namely relevance and domain authority.

1. Good backlinks are relevant

The first characteristic of a good backlink is relevance. If a magazine aimed at cyclists includes your consultancy firm's URL in an article, it will have considerably less effect than if leading management, accountancy, and entrepreneurship journals do so. This is because in the latter case, Google - based on the overlap between your own content and that of the medium - recognises you as a knowledge authority within these fields.

2. Good backlinks have authority

Besides relevance, the so-called domain authority of the other website plays a big role. "What is domain authority?", I hear you ask. This is a measure of a website's authority based on its backlink profile, on a scale of zero to one hundred. The higher the number, the stronger and more authoritative the website is. Dutch national media like the Telegraaf, NRC, Volkskrant and the FD all score above eighty, so a backlink on the web pages of these dailies has a strong effect on your website's online authority.

How to get backlinks from relevant media?

Now only one thing remains: to make sure your website is listed on relevant websites with a high domain authority. But how? You can't just call up a national newspaper and ask them to include your URL in an article. Obviously, you have to give something in return. This is where PR comes in. By using research PR, you deliver interesting results, incorporated in a catchy press release. As the source of the research, the medium mentions your organisation's name.

Place in-depth information on your website

And if you do it right, it will not stop there. Because you have explanatory research results and infographics on your website, the journalist sees the added value of your website and puts the URL in the article. Through PR, you provide the news, and the news provides you with a backlink. Need help with this? No problem, we have years of experience with this and are happy to help you on your way.