Consumers are turning to the internet to stay informed about what matters most to them, seek answers, delve into ideas, and make purchases. Furthermore, they are utilizing various platforms and devices to seek out their interests anytime, anywhere. As a result, it has become crucial to optimize brand discovery across all touchpoints.

«Did you know?»

• 30.6% of Internet users worldwide state that they discover new products and services through search. (Data Reportal).
• 68% of online experiences start with a search engine. (BridgthEdge).
• 60% of marketers claim that inbound strategies (SEO, blog content, etc.) are their top source of high-quality leads. (HubSpot).

What does this mean for our brand? It’s straightforward. Customers are using various platforms and devices to search for what interests them anytime and anywhere. If our brand isn’t found by current or potential customers in a specific channel and at a certain moment, I assure you there will be other brands waiting to seize that opportunity and connect with them. Hence, it is crucial to maximize the discoverability of our brands across all touchpoints.

What is discoverability marketing?

The term «discoverability» is gaining prominence in the field of marketing. What does it refer to? From a marketing perspective, discoverability is the practice of facilitating customers or potential customers in finding valuable and authoritative content from our brand when they are seeking solutions to their needs. This discovery marks the initial phase of the consumer journey, the moment when consumers come into contact with our brand. If they like what they find, they will explore further. That’s why understanding this first step and the various ways consumers arrive there (touchpoints) is important for leveraging our brand and its value proposition.

The Role of Public Relations in Discovery

Traditionally, PR focused on raising awareness. The idea was to transform an announcement into newsworthy information that could be positively published to a wide audience. This mutually beneficial practice provided visibility for companies. In this digital era, PR has been optimized to contribute more directly to business performance. In this regard, PR plays a significant role in integrated communication strategies and the brand discovery process, strategically positioning our brand to be discovered by current and potential customers at the right moment and in the right place through the right content. To achieve success, content discovery is essential, which is accomplished through PR strategies built and executed with SEO at the forefront, extending the value of the content.

5 Essential SEO Strategies to Optimize Content and Media Coverage:

Keyword research based on search intent:

This process helps understand the search intent and demand of buyers, as well as identify the words and phrases they are using throughout their buying journey to find content that addresses their questions and is relevant to our brand.

Content development and pitching based on a thematic cluster:

The selected keywords will now be integrated into a thematic cluster. This strategic way of organizing content improves the potential customer’s browsing experience, making it easier for them to find the answers or solutions they are looking for. To ensure the success of this optimization phase, it’s important to achieve media coverage on sites that include the keywords. A thematic cluster also helps PR professionals find different angles to create compelling pitches for the media.

SEO optimization of content:

With the selected keywords and the thematic cluster structure defined for the brand, we can optimize multimedia content, from press releases and articles to social media posts. This SEO optimization includes using and incorporating keywords throughout the written content structure (titles, subtitles, and paragraphs), as well as in Meta descriptions, alt tags (for images), among others. Optimization also involves incorporating links within the content based on the brand’s thematic cluster structure to drive web traffic and guide potential customers through different content phases until directing them to make a purchase. This optimization ensures higher rankings in search results, guaranteeing maximum visibility, discoverability, and interactions through earned, owned, and contributed content.

Building quality backlinks:

Backlinks or incoming links to our brand’s website are an important ranking factor for search engines. PR can capitalize on owned and earned content to develop a backlink strategy. The best way to utilize this tool and generate web traffic is to create high-quality backlinks. To achieve this, it is necessary to gain placements on third-party sites with high domain authority, good quality, and contextual relevance, featuring relevant content for our niche or market that includes the backlinks.

Measurement and adjustments:

Measuring results through different analysis and research tools is key to optimized PR strategies and plans with SEO. Exploring the results in these tools and observing trends helps gain a better understanding of the entire landscape, enabling us to capitalize on what works best and correct what is underperforming.

When these strategies are executed correctly, optimized PR adds immense value and extends the lifespan of content, ensuring:

• Improved position of the brand’s website in search results.
• Increased visibility of all earned, owned, and contributed content.
• Boost in high-quality web traffic.
• Establishment of brand experience, authority, and increased trust.
• Development of new content and campaign strategies based on real-time performance data.
• Reach to users at all stages of the purchase funnel.

Brand discovery is the first step in captivating our potential customers and accompanying them throughout the buying journey. Understanding their needs and challenges is essential to achieve that discovery and help them find answers, explore new ideas, and acquire your products through the benefits of optimized public relations strategies.

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