In the rush to populate web copy with keywords the most important thing is sometimes forgotten. The copy needs to well written, lively, interesting and relevant. It is astonishing how often this is forgotten in the charge to upload text that will rank highly in Google.
Engaging content can have a direct impact on search engine rankings and consequently on traffic. Some websites sacrifice the need for good written content because their search engine optimisation advisors have influenced key words and their placement in the text to such an extent that the site no longer informs or entertains.
What this process fails to acknowledge is that the quality of the content is critical to receiving high rankings, because it will affect the number of pages viewed and the stickyness of the site. Crafting words is a core skill for the majority of PR people. We also need to consider how to deliver quality content in all of its other forms – still images, audio and video. Whilst using the agency or in-house digital camera is useful for the old application for important work we will still tend to use a professional photographer. The same should apply for audio and video content.
Words still lie at the heart of all of this. The right words will bring audiences but in the the wrong alignment they will drive them away, perhaps never to return.
This Thursday (7th April) I will be presenting on the “PR Challenges of the Social Web,” at the KMP Digitata & How Do Seminar in Manchester. I will look at how reputations can be affected, how reputations are built and lost and how you can manage your brand’s reputation through the use of PR and social media.
It is time for the British media to end their unholy alliance with the publicist Max Clifford. Max plies his trade by doing deals and peddling untruths, he says so himself and I have witnessed it at first hand. 
This blog is a companion to the book 
Scottish actor Ewan McGregor is the latest victim of 
The BBC has dropped former Carol Thatcher daughter of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher from “The One Show” . The BBC took the action after she apparently used the word “golliwog” to describe a tennis player. The comments were allegedly made during a conversation with fellow presenters after filming for the programme had ended. Carol has appeared on the show as a regular roving reporter for the last three years.
The inauguration of Barack Obabma is a historical defining moment for democracy. The anticipation of the inauguration was described as being like Christmas Eve and was celebrated in every way from commemorative crockery to the new Ben & Jerry’s ‘Yes Pecan’ ice cream flavour.
The rules of engagement for PR people have changed with the arrival of user generated content. If media owners no longer entirely control the content then the principles of PR must change. The Guardian newspaper has been a prime movers in adapting its product on line. The recent attacks in Mumbai proved that at the outset there will always be individuals closer to the action than journalists. The Guardian has made it possible for these individuals to add material and for it to be viewed alongside the work of more conventional journalists. The commentisfree element of the site the newspaper also permits anyone to add their individual views and opinions. The Guardian receives over 10,000 postings a day to their site. This ceding of control by papers means that PR people need to extend their contacts beyond those with journalists. 
PR and the Social Web 