28 Feb 2022 Business Insights

What’s More Important for Travel Brands: PR or Organic Ranking?

Choosing the right marketing plan as a travel brand can prove tricky. It’s an ultra-competitive landscape, so you need to ensure that your content pops in order to stand out from the crowd. PR coverage and organic rankings on Google are two ways to get one step ahead with your marketing efforts. But which one should you choose? In this guide, we’re exploring both PR and organic ranking to see which one provides travel brands with the best chance of success.

Pros and cons of PR 📣

Having a PR team on your side can be helpful to get your travel brand the correct type of exposure. But it’s not all plain sailing, which is why we’ve listed some of the pros and cons of working with a PR agency.

Pros

  • Influence – audiences are more likely to trust a message coming from an objective source than if it comes straight from your brand
  • Reach – featuring in several publications will increase your reach, and a good story can get picked up by several news outlets
  • Authenticity – Similar to influence, people will see you as an authentic brand if you’re popping up in different types of magazines, papers and websites
  • Cost-effective – compared to traditional advertising, PR is a cost-effective way to feature in a range of publications and get your name out there – especially if it’s done in-house.

Cons

  • No direct control – you can’t choose how your travel brand is portrayed in the media, which means you relinquish some control once your PR coverage is out there among the press
  • Results not guaranteed – good PR takes time and money, and even then there is no guarantee of success. On some occasions, PR can result in a poor return on investment
  • Results – it can be difficult to measure the effectiveness of PR. Media mentions and public stories are one thing, but understanding the direct impact they’ve had on your business is harder to gauge.

Pros and cons of organic ranking  ✏️

Ranking organically for content is highly satisfying for any company, and it can have a far-reaching impact on your business – with website visits increasing exponentially. But just like PR, there are both pros and cons to focusing on an organic ranking strategy.

Pros

  • Cost-efficient – Compared to third-party PR, trying to rank organically should be more cost-effective. It doesn’t cost anything to create content in-house, and even if you outsource the work, a content creator will likely be more affordable than a PR agency
  • Beats competition – ranking well on Google not only gives your agency more visibility; it also pushes the competition further down the page, which is a great way to gain a competitive edge over other travel brands
  • Near constant promotion – the internet is always on, which means the keywords you rank for are visible 24/7. That’s great exposure and gives you an around-the-clock presence on Google and other search engines
  • Variety – there are plenty of ways to rank on search engines, meaning you have options when it comes to getting content featured. From written content to videos and featured snippets, variety is the spice of life when it comes to keyword ranking.

Cons

  • It requires time and patience – A good PR win gives you instant exposure, but organic ranking may need six months’ worth (or longer) of content before you see results. Once they rank on the page, they’ll likely stay there for a while. But getting to the first page of a search engine requires time and patience
  • Unknown updates – when we say “rank on search engines”, what we really mean is Google. It’s the big hitter and the one everyone wants to feature on, but it’s also the hardest to rank on. Google will continually update its algorithm and how search ranking works, and you’ll need to keep up with trends to stay ahead of the curve
  • Fluctuating results – travel is timeless, so you’re already coming from a good position when it comes to keeping your content relevant on Google. However, search behaviours change sporadically, which means your ranking could fluctuate depending on what people are searching for when they go online.

How PR and organic ranking can help each other 🤝

So, which one should you choose: PR or organic ranking? Ideally, you will implement a little bit of both, as they can help each other. PR articles often provide backlinks, which allows Google to authenticate your brand.

High-ranking content can give you a competitive edge when working with a PR agency, as there’s a good chance you will already be familiar in the industry. Doing a hybrid of both instead of going all-in on just one. It could help you gain exposure in the press while ranking for important keywords.

Hot off the press and straight onto Google

Your marketing strategy should cover several different areas, which is why a hybrid PR and content approach should be the preferred method. By splitting your budget on both (instead of focusing solely on one avenue), you can combine efforts to create a resourceful strategy that helps you feature in the press and rank on search engines to increase reach, build trust and boost revenue.