How can publicly listed companies use their existing brand and PR strengths to improve SEO?

Publicly listed companies can incorporate existing brand awareness, media relationships, and PR exposure into SEO: use opportunities for brand representatives to provide expert quotes, seek citations and backlinks from credible media outlets, and involve the SEO team in listing-related information and media coverage. The point is not to create a separate set of techniques specifically for listed companies, but to make existing exposure support search visibility as well. However, the idea that a listed company’s online footprint helps search engines identify it as an entity remains the source author’s hypothesis; listed status should not be treated as a guarantee of rankings.

A brand’s online footprint is a possible starting point, not a ranking privilege

In a 2025 article, Ahrefs author Mateusz Makosiewicz notes that publicly listed companies often appear in financial news, investor websites, and press releases. He hypothesizes that these external mentions may make it easier for Google to associate a company with particular topics or services, creating what he calls an “entity SEO” advantage.

The article uses Kelly as an example: at the time, it ranked for queries related to temporary staffing services without using the complete search phrase. The author uses this case to illustrate how entity understanding might go beyond exact keyword matching. It does not prove that listed status or media exposure caused those rankings, nor does it mean businesses can omit relevant content. The roles of website context, user behavior, and external citations are also speculative in that article.

Turn PR results into usable link assets

Compared with speculation about how search engines understand companies, backlinks generated by PR offer a more concrete starting point. The article notes that media coverage, press releases, awards, and relationships with journalists often generate links from credible websites, which can help search rankings and website traffic. Existing assets can be a priority:

• Expert quotes from brand representatives: Providing information to journalists is one way to build links. The author believes a well-known brand’s reputation may increase the chances of its information being selected, but this does not mean every quote provided will earn a link.
• Newsrooms and media coverage: The source uses links earned by SoundHound’s newsroom as an example, reminding companies not to assess their newsrooms solely from the perspective of general visitors: journalists are also important users.
• Exposure through awards and lists: Being selected may itself generate further link opportunities, making it worth including in joint SEO and PR efforts rather than treating it solely as a one-off publicity achievement.

During the transition to a public listing, do not overlook changes in company information and stock-related searches

In a separate 2022 article, Michal Pecánek notes that when a company goes public, its legal entity information, website, and external profiles may be updated, while new stock-related information and search demand also emerge. The author believes these changes may send mixed entity signals to Google, so SEO and PR teams should work together to use media coverage to help strengthen recognition of the company as an entity.

This advice applies to the transition to a public listing, not to a recurring problem faced by every listed company. The changes in Coinbase’s Knowledge Graph confidence score discussed in the article were also a case specific to that time and cannot guarantee results today. A more measured approach is to integrate brand and PR assets into existing SEO work rather than expect listed status to automatically generate search traffic.