The role of digital PR in SEO and the wider marketing mix in 2026

James Roach discusses the role of digital PR in SEO and the wider marketing mix in 2026, detailing how it can help brands build trust, brand awareness, as well as support SEO and LLM visibility.

Transcript

2. Shit selfie (I’m blaming the camera)
3. 2020 2025 11% 7.7% % of overall company revenue spent on marketing
4. Tactic of SEO
5. 1. Product 2. Price 3. Placement 4. PROMOTION 4 PILLARS OF MARKETING
6. Young JIM ROACH
7. 1. Build Trust 2. Support Brand Building & Awareness 3. Support SEO & AI Visibility ROLE OF DIGITAL PR
8. “Become the that people type in the search bar” trusted brand
9. 1. TRUST
12. Build trust with the 4 C’s Clarity Coherence Credibility Consistency TRUST
13. Think SUBSTANCE not SCALE TRUST
15. BE THE GUIDE Show 1. Empathy 2. Authority
16. BE THE GUIDE UK Employment rights changes 2026 1. Day one rights for sick pay 2. Stricter fire and rehire policies 3. Increased redundancy pay protection
17. EMPATHY James Roach - Head WBanker, JR Bank
18. EMPATHY “For small business owners, the new reforms can feel overwhelming, particularly with the extra cost pressures involved. We’re speaking with SMEs daily and fully understand the impact this is having on them as they try to do right by their employees, whilst keeping the lights on.
19. AUTHORITY “The SMEs that will survive this tricky period will be the ones that can adapt their cash flow accordingly, and we’re proud to be tailoring plans for SMEs to support them with this, Afterall, it’s what we’ve built our reputation on over the last 30 years. Over this time, we’ve found keeping a cool head and seeking expert advice as soon as possible to be the best path forward. James Roach - Head WBanker, JR Bank
20. Structure is not a prison, it’s a framework for freedom. Martha Graham BE THE GUIDE
21. Trust builders 1. Visible CEOs & experts 2. Case studies 3. Water tight methodologies 4. Honest, empathetic, authoritative comms TRUST
23. 2. BRAND BUILDING & AWARENESS
24. A flick of the switch & we could be cooked BRAND Building
25. Clicks to site down 15 - 35% when AI overviews appear Source:https://ahrefs.com/blog/ai-overviews-reduce-clicks/ BRAND Building
27. Branded search converts 2-3 times higher than non branded BRAND Building
28. ABOUT
30. Paid media Shared media Earned media Owned media DIGITAL PR Gini Dietrich BRAND Building PESO Model
31. Owned media DIGITAL PR Whitepapers/Reports Data Campaigns Case Studies Blog content Infographics Podcasts Videos BRAND Building PESO Model
32. Earned media Owned media DIGITAL PR Brand mentions Backlinks Coverage BRAND Building PESO Model
33. Shared media Earned media Owned media DIGITAL PR Organic social Partnerships UGC BRAND Building PESO Model
34. Shared media Earned media Owned media DIGITAL PR Sponsored Content Google Ads Social Ads BRAND Building PESO Model Paid media
35. “Newer brands definitely pay a “TRUST TAX”, because people naturally hesitate to click on something they don't recognise. To fix the underlying credibility issue, I worked with a PR agency to get some high-tier media mentions that we could highlight”.
36. 3. SEO & AI VISIBILITY
37. 1. Citations 2. Authority 3. KW rankings SEO Metrics
38. SEO Metrics Report on shared metrics 1. Traffic 2. Revenue
39. B2B Buyers use AI across the purchasing journey 35% during discovery 43% during consideration 31% during purchase Source: Pivotal Trends and Predictions in B2B Digital Commerce in 2026 Report - Commercetools & Google LLM Visibility
41. 1. Prompt 2. Source Identification 3. Content/Outreach 4. Monitor LLM Visibility
42. 2028 Organic Search traffic down 50% Source: LLM Visibility
43. KEY TAKEAWAYS
44. 1. Build Trust 2. Build Brands & Awareness 3. Keep Supporting SEO and AI KEY Takeaways
46. DRIVE BRANDED SEARCH
47. “Become the that people type in the search bar” trusted brand