MSR Communications Report on How PR Coverage Impacts SEO Wins LACP Vision Award

Study shows that boosting social shares may be an effective SEO tactic

social marketing, Digital Marketing, Media category

MSR Communications, an independent digital/social marketing, and public relations firm in San Francisco today announced it has received the Silver Vision Award from the League of American Communication Professionals (LACP) in the Media category for its Trend Report: How Readership, Timing, and Social Shares Affect SEO and Earned Media Value.

Applying predictive analytics to media data

The goal of the report was to identify patterns that predict and influence the impact earned media can have, as well as incorporate these findings into daily practice and maximize the value of these placements. MSR analyzed performance measurement metrics on more than 400 articles, including readership, social shares, and SEO impact to answer the following questions:

What is the effect of timing on social shares?

What is the effect of readership size on social shares?

Does the number of social shares that an article receives influence its SEO impact?

MSR’s research found:

Most enterprise tech articles are shared infrequently–65 percent of all articles received less than 8 social shares

Days of the week may not matter

The influence of readership size on social shares is relatively small. We saw an increase of less than one social share per every additional 10,000 readers that a publication has

Social shares in very high volumes may boost an article’s SEO impact–an additional 100 social shares could boost the MOZ score by 3 to 7 points

“In PR, like all industries, we make a lot of decisions based on ‘conventional wisdom’ which may or may not hold true,” said report author Michael Burke, Account Director, MSR Communications. “With access to comprehensive media data and analytical tools, we can now analyze trends to not only describe what’s happened in the past, but also to predict what is likely to happen in the near future, and refine our practices.”

Established in 2001, the LACP created a forum for professionals in the communications industry to discuss highly successful PR tactics and strategies, as well as recognize those who possess impeccable communication skills.

MSR’s report was up against a tough competition with nearly 1,000 other companies, from various countries, submitting their own findings. Earning a total score of 97/100, MSR’s report had perfect scores in five categories.

The win comes just in time for the celebration of the company’s 20th Anniversary. “As the surge of SEO begins to shape the future of PR and digital marketing communications, this win showcases MSR’s expertise in leveraging data to identifying the important trends affecting the industry,” said Mary Shank Rockman, MSR Principal, and CEO.