By Karla Jo Helms, Chief Evangelist and Anti-PR® Strategist for JOTO PR Disruptors™
Google’s crackdown on AI-generated spam has set the tone for the digital landscape and the way that brands will navigate an ever-changing terrain. It is yet another reminder of the seismic shift that companies must inevitably adapt to. To stay ahead of the curve, brand managers must act quickly and think outside the box as audiences—and the number-one search engine—demand high-quality content amidst an ocean of automated offerings.
In response to the growing issue of low-quality content, the tech Behemoth issued major updates to its algorithm in September 2023 and March 2024, resulting in a 45% reduction in low-quality, unoriginal content in search results. Since last month, websites failing to deliver helpful content or primarily created for ranking purposes are being penalized.
For example, according to Semrush, New York Magazine and GQ saw a 32% and 26% drop in Google Search traffic, respectively. However, not all sites are suffering; Reddit experienced a 126% increase in traffic from Google Search, highlighting an opportunity for brands to update their communication strategies and thrive in this new environment.
This shift underscores the importance of focusing on quality over quantity in content creation. It calls for innovative and disruptive communication strategies, where PR can play a crucial role in facing these changes effectively.
Diversify Content and Strategically Integrate Across Platforms
Google’s ranking systems prioritize original content that embodies E-E-A-T principles: expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. These criteria are meant to ensure that content is not only optimized but genuinely valuable to users.
By consistently delivering quality content that resonates with consumers, brands not only meet Google’s standards but also enhance their digital presence and credibility with their audience. Achieving this level of quality is not an easy task and brands must push the boundaries with interactive tools such as podcasts and webinars, envisioning these formats as extensions of audience engagement.
Beyond content creation itself, firms must strategically position themselves across different platforms. This is where PR plays a pivotal role, amplifying brand messaging across channels and securing placements in reputable publications by crafting narratives that resonate with diverse audiences. The goal of such actions always needs to be to drive engagement and trust. By leveraging PR to navigate media and build influencer relationships, brands extend their digital footprint.
However, in the PR world, we often see campaigns that fail to position more than one or two stories in a six-month period. Excuses like “we need more information” or “PR can’t be measured” have been harming the industry for years now. But it doesn’t have to be that way…
Anti-PR campaigns are built around real market research from a disruptive perspective. This approach allows the identification of the right hot buttons that need to be pushed to have a measurable impact on prospective clients, ultimately improving ROI. No excuses, no smoke and mirrors: PR isn’t the answer; results are.
Disruptive Anti-PR Strategies for SEO-Dependent Businesses
In today’s SEO-centric landscape, innovative advertising strategies are essential for engaging audiences and keeping pace with Google’s evolving algorithm. Traditional methods often fall short, necessitating a shift towards disruptive, Anti-PR approaches that foster genuine connections and enhance SEO performance.
Beyond Automation: The Power of Authenticity
Google’s algorithm increasingly values human creativity and emotional appeal over automated, generic content. This evolution highlights the importance of personalized, disruptive PR campaigns that resonate with audiences on a deeper level. While AI can streamline content production, it is the human touch that creates meaningful engagement and lasting impact.
The Disruptive Advantage: Boosting SEO through Non-Traditional Media Relations
Securing features in high-caliber publications provides more than just elevated brand visibility. These placements generate valuable backlinks, which signal to search engines that the content is authoritative and trustworthy. This, in turn, enhances SEO performance. Disruptive Anti-PR strategies ensure these media placements are strategically aligned to amplify SEO benefits, leveraging the credibility of reputable publications to boost search engine rankings.
Expertise and Relationships: The Key to Successful Placements
Gaining traction in top-tier media is a strategic endeavor that requires seasoned expertise and strong media relationships. Building these relationships and securing impactful placements necessitate time and specialized knowledge. This underscores the value of employing Anti-PR techniques, which utilize crisis management strategies to consistently capture media attention and maintain a positive narrative, ultimately strengthening SEO and brand credibility.
Multi-Channel Impact: Sustaining Long-Term SEO Success
Repurposing campaign content across various platforms—such as webinars, blogs, and eBooks—maximizes audience reach and reinforces brand expertise. This multi-channel approach not only broadens visibility but also ensures sustained long-term SEO success by continuously bolstering the brand’s digital footprint and industry authority.
For businesses heavily reliant on SEO, adopting disruptive Anti-PR strategies offers a significant advantage. By moving beyond traditional tactics and embracing innovative methods that prioritize authenticity and strategic media engagement, businesses can enhance their SEO performance and establish a strong, credible presence in today’s dynamic digital landscape.
Lean Into Data
Don’t underestimate the power of data in shaping your content strategy. Use analytics not just to tailor your content but to expand what you know about what your audience wants. It’s important to constantly test and refine your approach to ensure that your content hits the mark every time. While AI can certainly help generate content at a mass scale, it’s important to add a strong editorial touch to the process.
This is the same concept applied to Anti-PR campaigns for success. Crafting powerful narratives is only possible when the company’s message, the context of the industry, the final audiences, and the opinion leaders related to such a sector are fully understood. It’s something that can only be achieved through proper research and requires continuous monitoring and optimization.
Embracing the Future
Google’s war on spammy content isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it can be an opportunity for those willing to steer the boat, be bold, disruptive, and assert their brand’s position in the digital realm.
By adopting innovative strategies that position your brand as a thought leader, you can navigate Google’s evolving algorithms while increasing visibility and influence among consumers. But to truly stand out in an environment where Google is intensifying its penalties on AI-generated content, leveraging third-party credibility is paramount. Establishing your brand’s authority through reputable platforms solidifies reliability and trust.
By focusing on quality content your brand can emerge as an industry leader. Strategic Anti-PR initiatives play a crucial role here, propelling brands into industry-specific media and forums and challenging the status-quo. These initiatives establish leadership and foster trust through compelling narratives that confront industry issues head-on, aligning with Google’s content priorities for maximum exposure and engagement.
About the Author
Karla Jo Helms is the Chief Evangelist and Anti-PR™ Strategist for JOTO PR Disruptors™. Karla Jo learned firsthand how unforgiving business can be when millions of dollars are on the line—and how the control of public opinion often determines whether one company is happily chosen, or another is brutally rejected. Being an alumnus of crisis management, Karla Jo has worked with litigation attorneys, private investigators, and the media to help restore companies of goodwill back into the good graces of public opinion—Karla Jo operates on the ethic of getting it right the first time, not relying on second chances and doing what it takes to excel. Karla Jo has patterned her agency on the perfect balance of crisis management, entrepreneurial insight, and proven public relations experience. Helms speaks globally on public relations, how the PR industry itself has lost its way and how, in the right hands, corporations can harness the power of Anti-PR to drive markets and impact market perception.
