One year later, Google’s Penguin update is helping public relations

As Google continues penalizing websites that use manipulative tactics to artificially boost their search rankings, PR pros should be jumping for joy.

After all, the whole point of the year-old Penguin algorithm update is to reward websites that are producing valuable content on a regular basis by making them easier to find.

And that’s what we do for a living, right? Not so fast.

Ideally, the public relations industry should benefit from Google’s push for quality content. Instead of turning to manipulative search engine optimization (SEO) tactics to drive Web traffic, more businesses will turn to PR and marketing agencies for well-written website copy, blog posts, and other forms of content marketing. That’s the logical next step for companies that have been relying on keyword stuffing or spam link schemes to build their Web presence.

To benefit from this situation, public relations firms must know how search works and make sure they’re not unwittingly contributing to the problem and getting their clients bumped down in results in the process. This SEO stuff isn’t just for Web geeks; it’s incumbent upon PR pros to understand the evolving search ecosystem.