Last week we spoke to several PR practitioners about search, and the importance of using traditional comms skills was one of the – unsurprising – takeaways.

This week we spoke to those who specialise in SEO to take a snapshot of how they view building online reputation through search, as well as the contentious issue of how both disciplines can work together.

Simon Heyes, head of international media at digital marketing agency Bigmouthmedia, believes that the advent of universal search and real-time results has led many SEO companies to focus more on online reputation management. “A great deal can be learnt from online PR processes and engagement strategies,” he added.

Antony Mayfield, VCP of search and social agency iCrossing, believes that PR and SEO shouldn’t be seen as such separate disciplines, but are actually just two sides of the same challenge. The result of viewing them in this way is that both will yield better results in the long run.

He suggests that, “it boils down to understanding how search – and the Internet as a whole – works technically at the same time as realising that it’s designed by, for and around humans.” This clearly points to two different skill sets, with those working in SEO typically having a grasp of the technicalities and those in PR working to build relationships with the right content.

However, there are always exceptions to the rule. John Straw, founder and CEO of SEO platform Linkdex, says “there are some PR and SEO agencies that will try to straddle both disciplines in an attempt to offer a better service to clients. With a range of expertise from both sides this could work, but there are many problems, including the fact that PR people are often intimidated by the technical side of search and those in SEO may find it hard to develop meaningful relationships.”

Indeed, for those that specialise in one area, it’s often hard to see the bigger picture. Heyes agrees, “although SEO companies are learning more from online PR, I don’t think they know enough about traditional PR processes, which are still important.” This would suggest that instead of one discipline cannibalising another, both clearly have a role to play.

As has been the case many other times when a new part of the marketing mix becomes important to a brand, search and PR disciplines often don’t see eye to eye. And that’s without even factoring social into the mix. It’s encouraging to see those in the industry working towards a joined-up approach, but in this case, there will always be those who disagree.

Images via holoweb.net and whenigrowupcoach.com.

Tags: Antony Mayfield, Bigmouthmedia, iCrossing, integration, John Straw, linkdex, search, SEO, Simon Heyes