It’s no secret that both SEO and PR are vital components to achieving online visibility and enhancing a brand’s performance. However, Buzzstream’s Digital PR 2026 report revealed just over half (53.4%) of digital PR teams collaborate closely with their SEO counterparts.
To delve deeper into this crucial relationship, we spoke with James Reisner-Watkins, Head of Digital PR at digital marketing and PR agency, Tank. In our discussion, Reisner-Watkins delivers valuable insights into how the worlds of SEO and PR have merged, revealing practical strategies for marketing teams to adopt a more cohesive approach. We also explored the importance of brand authority in AI-driven search and tips beyond traditional link-building efforts.
Evolving responsibilities of SEO and PR
Traditionally, SEO is a key part of digital or performance marketing, focusing on technical aspects such as analytics and conversions. In contrast, PR is generally associated with brand management and communications, prioritising awareness, reputation and relationships.
Reisner-Watkins highlights that challenges arise because both SEO and PR ultimately aim for the same goal: authority and visibility. SEO identifies where authority is needed, while PR works to build that authority. Natural overlaps between the two are also most evident in content strategy, relevance signals and expert positioning.
What Tank is seeing evolve now is a convergence between the two. Search engines are increasingly rewarding expertise, credibility and real-world brand signals, all of which are directly influenced by PR. Additionally, PR teams are under growing pressure to demonstrate their commercial impact, which is where SEO metrics can provide valuable insights. Consequently, progressive marketing teams are starting to view SEO and PR not as separate disciplines, but as interconnected levers that drive the same growth engine.
How to achieve a strong partnership between digital PR and SEO
While little collaboration between SEO and PR in a work setting can often stem from separate reporting structures and KPIs, Reisner-Watkins believes there could be significant costs to this disconnect, such as:
- SEO strategies could produce content that lacks external authority signals
- PR efforts may generate coverage that does not align with priority search themes
- Opportunities to run digital PR campaigns to address ranking gaps may be overlooked.
Instead, Tank would suggest that the most effective campaigns ensure keyword opportunities, link gap analysis and authority building are incorporated from the very start. Specifically, beginning with a clear commercial search objective before building a media story around it. Changing the question from “What story can we tell?” to “What search themes are commercially important to us this quarter and how can PR build authority around them?”
Practical steps to include in a collaborative campaign:
- Have a shared planning session around commercial search priorities
- Develop campaign ideas based on keyword data and link gap analysis
- Establish mutual KPIs that include rankings, referring domains and organic growth
- Include PR input on how to make content genuinely engaging and shareable
- Incorporate SEO insights on anchor text strategy and target URLs
- Create joint reporting dashboards; an aligned roadmap can transform how both teams operate.
In addition, it is advised that, instead of focusing on isolated metrics, shared KPIs should be integrated into comprehensive performance indicators. These may include:
- Growth in referring domains to priority pages
- Improvements in rankings for targeted keyword clusters
- Share of voice in both media and search
Additionally, they should account for organic traffic growth to pages supported by campaigns, as well as the assisted revenue generated from organic search. A clear correlation among these metrics should achieve effective KPI activation.
Case study: the organic impact of digital PR
Commenting on how PR activity can have a measurable impact on organic search performance, Reisner-Watkins recalls Tank’s project for Access PeopleHR (The Access Group), centred on their Annual Leave Report, which continues to generate significant media coverage and backlinks today.
The main objective of the project was not just to gain coverage but also to drive commercial growth through organic search. The team was tasked with increasing organic traffic by 60%, securing over 50 referring domains, improving rankings for high-intent keywords like “HR software”, while also narrowing the gap with larger competitors.
To execute the campaign, they utilised proprietary data from over 2,000 SMEs. Collaborating with the data team, they analysed hundreds of thousands of anonymised data points to identify trends in annual leave taken, changes in entitlements by industry, and the most popular days for taking time off. This insight was crafted into a search-optimised, on-site report designed to attract authoritative links and bolster priority commercial pages through internal linking.
The results were significant and measurable, including:
- A 73% increase in organic traffic
- 82 backlinks from 68 referring domains, surpassing the target of 50 domains
- A year-on-year increase of 93.5% in organic clicks
- A 51% quarterly rise in non-paid visitors.
Additionally, this report demonstrated significant topical authority, establishing it as a reliable source for both organic and AI-driven search.
The impact of AI-driven search on brand authority
As algorithms become more adept at assessing trustworthiness, AI-driven search is increasing the importance of brand authority. Reisner-Watkins explains that media coverage now goes beyond generating referral traffic or links. It’s also about reinforcing brand entities and providing verifiable external validation. For instance, thought leadership in reputable publications can directly influence how AI systems interpret brand credibility.
Although we are moving beyond an emphasis solely on links toward broader signals of authority and credibility, Tank’s position is that links still hold value and we’re transitioning toward a blended model of currencies, which, in addition to links, includes:
- Brand mentions
- Entity associations
- Consistent topical authority
- Real-world expertise signals
It’s worth emphasising that PR is essential in these areas and is among the disciplines best positioned to achieve widespread third-party validation. Brands that succeed will be those discussed in the right contexts, rather than just mentioned or linked to.
Recognising growth opportunities in your digital marketing team
In summary, SEO focuses on identifying search demand and content gaps, while PR develops news and link-worthy assets to meet that demand and gain validation. Although SEO should still track rankings and PR should evaluate the quality of coverage, Tank believes that both should be held accountable for their impact on organic growth.
For marketing teams that operate PR and SEO as separate entities, Reisner-Watkins recommends shifting their focus to authority. If PR is not delivering the desired ranking results and SEO is not enhancing brand credibility, there may be growth opportunities that are being overlooked. By integrating these teams and asking, “How can we become the most trusted source in our category for both media and search?” organisations could unlock significant potential.
We would like to thank James Reisner-Watkins for sharing his valuable insights and practical tips for effective collaboration between digital PR and SEO. To learn more about Tank, please continue reading below. At Distinct, we partner with digital marketing specialists and leaders who can help transform your strategy. Get in touch with us to discuss your needs.
About Tank
Tank is a digital marketing and PR agency with more than a decade of experience helping brands turn data, insight and expertise into measurable organic growth. We sit at the intersection of search and storytelling combining technical SEO understanding with media-first thinking.
Our expertise lies in building authority. That means earning high-quality coverage and links through data-led campaigns, reactive insight and thought leadership that genuinely adds value to journalists and audiences. We partner closely with businesses across B2B and B2C sectors, often embedding with internal teams to ensure PR activity directly supports commercial search goals – not just brand visibility. At our core, we focus on outcomes: stronger rankings, increased organic traffic, and demonstrable impact on revenue.
