Five Things Every PR Agency Website Should Include

Have you visited the website of a PR agency lately? Some show off compelling content and design, while others leave much to be desired. Today, besides word-of-mouth referrals, an agency’s website among one of its top three new business drivers. What are five things every agency website should include? Click through to find out. 1) Current Clients – Many agencies will provide a long list of current and past clients all mixed together. It makes them look bigger and enables them to highlight a large brand like a Microsoft or Walmart, even though they may not have worked with either of those blue chip brands in a decade. Prospects checking out your website want to know who you are working with now, not who you worked with ten years ago. First, current clients are a key factor of the success of the agency. Second, prospects want to know if there is a current conflict that would prevent them from working with your agency. Break out current and past clients under separate lists. 2) Clean Design Layout Heavy on Social Feeds – How awful is it when we hear agency execs preaching the business case for social media and then when you visit their website, the design is cluttered, stale, and has no social elements? Practice what you preach. Edelman Digital is one of the best at this. When you visit their website, you almost feel as if you’re visiting a news site, and (hopefully) you want to dig in to the content as much as you want to read about the firm and their services. 3) Fresh and compelling content (including video) -- This point plays off number two, but it’s pretty amazing how many agencies have out-of-date websites and no video content. Again, it’s crucial that if you’re preaching the business case for social and Web video, that you include these elements on your own site. You may not want to go as far as the Barbarian Group (not a "PR" agency) in terms of social elements on your homepage, but certainly when you hit their homepage, a first impression is that the agency is engaged and practicing what they preach. 4) Case Studies --What have you done for your clients lately? Keep it brief, but let your audience know. Video is big here too. 5) Think Beyond Press Hits -- And while we’re on the topic of case studies, it’s crucial to focus on results that go beyond just press coverage. Focus on business results or reputation management. Show your audience that your agency is made up of true business consultants, not just media relations people. Of course, if you want to be just a media relations shop, stick with what you do, and know. Of course, you could also just scrap all of this, and go with the minimalist website, which is inspired in some ways by the exclusive Hollywood talent agencies that just list basic contact info on their homepage, and nothing else. However, very few agencies can pull that off. What other elements do you think are essential to a solid agency website? Let us know in the comments.

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Five Things Every PR Agency Website Should Include

Joe Ciarallo

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Joe Ciarallo