How do PR, AI and SEO work together?

Following the introduction of Google AI, the SEO landscape is changing. Position zero on the search engine result pages (SERPs) is now always spoken forwith AI overviews always appearing in the top spot.But with social posts becoming searchable and third partymedia mentions holding more PR power than ever, there’s still ample opportunityfor brands and businesses to be seen and heard. 

Ultimately how PR, AI and SEO work together is short question with a lot of letters and even more to talk about.

AI overviews

An elevation of Google snippets, AI overviews collate information from relevant sources to answer a search query at the touch of a button. 

And therein lies the difficulty… 

This one touch, ready-made response means Googlers are no longer having to click into suggested sites on the SERP to get the information they need, resulting in fewer clicks and potentially lower site traffic. 

Whilst this can be frustrating, this does however open up new opportunities as businesses strive to be those cited in the all seen AI overview. 

Top tips for appearing in an AI overview 

1. Be sure to E-E-A-T:This trusty acronym still rings true, even in our brave new AI world, as Google crawls for Experienced, Expert, Authoritative and Trustworthy sites to pull into its overviews. So, share your real life experience, showcase your knowledge with expert speakers, build your site’s authority with backlinks (we’ll come to this a little later) and ensure your site is HTTPS-approved with reliable and transparent sources.
2. Keep search intent front of mind: The ultimate purpose of an AI overview is to give information and answer a question, so create content which also fulfils this intention. Think long-tail keywords, preposition questions like ‘where is the best place to go for lunch in Leeds? or ‘how do I make my social content stand out?’ and signpost content with listicles such as ‘Top tips for appearing in an AI overview’.😉
3. Think about what People Also Asked:The ‘People Also Asked’ section of Google is a great way to tap into these intent focused topics. If you can create a series of pages on your site, featuring one overarching topic and a number of deeper diving pages all beautifully interlinked, expertly written with transparent sources and a conversational yet informative tone of voice, Google and your audience will love you. 

The amplified power of PR 

Gaining earned media coverage and endorsement of your people, products or services through PR has always been valuable but now PR is packing even more of a punch than ever. 

AI language models often pull their info from media mentions, spanning news articles, reports and interviews,research and stats-based stories which have been covered by authoritative media outlets are ripe for the picking when AI is on the hunt for results. So gaining this kind of coverage can boost your visibility across not only Google AI overviews but throughout the AI search landscape.  

Whilst Google remains the market leader, increasing numbers of searchers are turning away from Google for their queries and are instead looking to the likes of ChatGPT for answers and advice. Gaining high profile, relevant media mentions is a savvy way to help your brand become a go-to source for AI language models. 

Better still, if your media mention comes from a highly authoritative website and includes a backlink, that’s great news for bulking up your site authority, helping Google, ChatGPT, etc to trust your site and making it more likely to pull you into its responses. 

SEO on socials 

Following the announcement that from July 10th, Google, Bing and other search engines will be able to crawl and index public content from professional Instagram accounts,content is no longer just about Search Engine Optimisation; now we’re talking Search Everywhere Optimisation. 

Photos, videos, carousels, and reels posted on or after January 1st 2020 will now show up in search results, like any other web page. With this in mind,writingclear, keyword-friendly and intent focused captions will now be a must across social platforms and with higher visibility on the horizon,businesses will need to make sure their brand messages, tone of voice and image remain consistent across platforms.

The PR-AI-SEO approach 

Let it be noted right here, right now, that Aberfield Consultant Chloë Briggs is coining the phrase ‘PR-AI-SEO approach’! 

Adopting this approach means creating holistic content across PR, web andsearchable social which positions your business as an informative authority. It shares valuable information that your audience both wants and needs, answering questions, offering solutions or sharing the latest news updates. 

By being that authoritative voice, whether that’s in a thought leadership piece for media, a website blog or an Instagram reel, you are presenting your business as an expert and building trust not only with Google but more importantly with your audience. 

And it’s not about suddenly tripling the amount of content you’reproducing,it’s about creating a strong piece and really maximizing its potential so it’s working for you from a PR, AI, SEOand also social perspective. The more you do this, the more you’ll find that one channel impacts another, giving your content the momentum it deserves. 

With the PR-AI-SEO approach, consistency is key as no matter where or how audiences find you, you need your brand message, tone of voice and image to be aligned and unquestionably you. 

So yes, I may have given this a fancy new acronym but it’s really nothing new or ground-breaking. In fact, it’s the kind of hard working, high value content we’ve been working with our clients to create long before ChatGPT, CoPilot and Claude ever came along. So, get in touch and see how our PR, AI and SEO insight can bring more positive influence to your comms.