Now that Google started to “Supercharge” search with generative AI, how should marketers respond? In a digital world where algorithms reign supreme, search engine optimization (SEO) has been the North Star guiding brands to online visibility’s zenith. Today, we stand on the precipice of a seismic shift as Google and Bing, the juggernauts of search, integrate generative artificial intelligence (AI) into their frameworks.
This integration carries significant implications for SEO and digital marketing. Brands now have to aim higher in search rankings, as positions 7 to 10 gradually lose their efficacy. The same goes for paid positions from 3 to 7 in pay-per-click campaigns. As a result, the competition intensifies for the top spots, driving up the bidding costs for Google and Bing.
The question that arises is whether the dawn of AI could spell the dusk of SEO. However, like many disruptive technologies, AI is reshaping, not replacing, SEO. Brands now require a shift in strategy, and one effective adaptation is leveraging HARO (Help A Reporter Out) PR brand mentions and link building.
Sitetrail’s Solution: HARO PR Brand Mentions and Link Building
Suggested: Read about the Sitetrail HARO PR / Link Building Project
At Sitetrail, we have embraced this shift and developed a strategy that combines online PR with SEO strategies, leveraging HARO-style link building to enhance your brand’s reputation and online visibility.
The strategy involves stimulating positive conversations about your brand from other businesses and accruing backlinks to your website, thereby strengthening your brand’s credibility and amplifying your domain authority.
HARO link building, known as “Helping Out A Reporter,” was introduced by a renowned PR platform that quickly realized the limitations of press releases. At Sitetrail, we further refined this approach to expedite the link building process.
How Sitetrail Optimizes HARO Link Building
Our strategy differentiates from conventional HARO link building by focusing on a blend of brand mentions and executive quotes, instead of solely on executive quotes. This distinction is crucial because executive quotes alone reflect “what a business says about themselves,” whereas brand mentions from third-party companies and news platforms are much more potent endorsements.
Picture this: your business excels in customer service, and writers at S&P500 companies applaud you on their website, or imagine being a web development agency recognized by the worlds 5 biggest domain registrars? These brand mentions, even when coming from writers on these platforms rather than the management, form strong perceived endorsements due to the principle of inferred association in psychology. Furthermore, the link equity you gain each time a brand mention links to your business is hard for any competitor to replicate, providing a longer-lasting result.
Sitetrail’s Enhanced HARO Outreach Solution
Unlike traditional HARO link building strategies, Sitetrail’s refined method accelerates the process and provides a more comprehensive approach. We don’t limit ourselves to securing executive quotes; instead, we aim for a combination of brand mentions and executive quotes. These brand mentions from third-party companies and news platforms significantly enhance the credibility and perceived value of your brand.
How It Works
Sitetrail’s HARO PR and Link Building solution operates on the mutually beneficial relationship between businesses and content creators. These creators, including journalists, reporters, and bloggers, are continually searching for expert perspectives and captivating stories across various topics.
By supplying them with insightful quotes or knowledge, businesses make a positive impression and establish themselves as dependable sources. In return, these content creators reciprocate by linking back to the businesses’ websites, thus, improving their online visibility and SEO ranking.
At Sitetrail, we have a dedicated outreach professional liaise with other businesses and news platforms every month to secure brand mentions for your business. The scale and pace are entirely determined by your needs and resources.
Innovation Over Pay-Per-Click: Mastering Search Engine Real Estate
Indeed, Google stands to gain financially from the recent repositioning of top results, with higher bidding costs for these prime slots. This scenario might lead some businesses to consider Google’s Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising as a viable alternative. However, this shift is not necessarily a call to surrender to PPC. Instead, it presents an opportunity for businesses to innovate and explore new ways of acquiring more “search engine real estate.”
Innovating in SEO strategies and tactics can be a more sustainable and cost-effective way to maintain visibility in search engine results. With the dawn of generative AI in search engines, businesses should pivot their strategies to gain more online visibility, rather than rely solely on paid advertisements. This is where Sitetrail’s refined HARO PR and Link Building strategy becomes crucial.
By nurturing relationships with journalists and influencers, creating high-quality content, and securing organic backlinks, businesses can expand their search engine real estate, improve their domain authority, and ultimately, rise to the top of the search results. It’s not about succumbing to Google PPC; it’s about innovating to create an online presence that’s so powerful and wide-reaching that it naturally commands more search engine real estate.
Will SEO Become Obsolete? The Rise of Link Building with PR Value
As we traverse the path of AI-infused search engines, a question surfaces in the minds of many businesses – will SEO become obsolete? The response to that question is somewhat nuanced.
SEO, in its traditional form, is evolving rather than fading away. The days of executing SEO purely for links, without considering their PR value, are numbered. Old strategies that prioritized quantity over quality, employing aggressive, repetitive tactics to build a massive volume of backlinks without considering their relevance or credibility, no longer yield the desired results.
In the landscape of generative AI search results, the quality of the link is as important as its existence. Links earned from high authority websites and those that offer real PR value have become the gold standard in SEO. Brands are realizing that link building strategies should be combined with PR to truly maximize their SEO efforts.
This new breed of SEO strategies seeks to acquire more “SEO real estate” by focusing on generating high-quality content, establishing relationships with influencers and journalists, and earning backlinks that hold genuine PR value. These tactics help build a strong online reputation, amplify a brand’s visibility, and ultimately, boost its search rankings.
So, while it’s true that the landscape is shifting, SEO is not yet obsolete. It’s simply transforming, pushing businesses towards more holistic strategies that synergize SEO and PR. In this regard, Sitetrail’s approach to HARO PR and Link Building emerges as a beacon, guiding brands through the evolution of SEO in the era of generative AI search results. I am not saying this will be the only game in town, but that it is probably a good bet if you have not yet changed tactics.
A Dual Powerhouse: SEO and PR
Sitetrail’s HARO PR and Link Building strategy serve as a dual powerhouse in the realms of SEO and PR. As a white-hat SEO method, HARO link outreach follows ethical guidelines and revolves around building authentic relationships with journalists, reporters, and bloggers. This strategy results in high-quality backlinks from reputable sources that boost your SEO performance by increasing your website’s domain authority.
Moreover, HARO link outreach serves as an excellent public relations strategy. As you provide authoritative quotes or information, you position your brand as an industry thought leader. Each mention or backlink from a high-authority publication elevates your brand’s visibility, credibility, and trustworthiness.
Is it worth pointing out that trying to fake this will come at a high price tag: If you think that a position 7 is bad, which is true with generative search, remember that completely disappearing due to link spam is even worse. So keep the white hats on at all times.
