Trust is the new SEO keyword – and PR is the best way to rank

You’ve secured your juicy backlinks and flooded the website with keywords.

Then overnight, Google’s latest algorithm update suddenly tanks your website’s traffic – sending your business into a digital tailspin.

For decades, SEO has been a cruel mistress for millions of businesses.

However, it is changing at a jaw-dropping speed.

No longer is SEO chiefly going to be about gobbling up junk backlinks, or keyword stuffing.

It will be about something far more human and real – trust.

AI is reshaping the world faster than you can ask ChatGTP to turn you into a funny doll.

Perhaps the biggest change in the near-term will be how we use AI for search.

Recent research revealed that 71.5 per cent of us are now using it as a search engine – around one in seven of us do so daily.

That figure is only going to surge; We are really embracing AI, probably quicker than most imagined given society’s understandable reservations (I mean, we’ve all seen Terminator 2).

It took two months for ChatGTP to amass 100m downloads. For context, it took TikTok nine months – and Instagram two-and-a-half years.

And as AI rapidly reshapes how people search for information, we’re entering a new age of digital discovery. And this is where PR – good quality PR at that – is going to play a priceless role in growing business.

You see, AI doesn’t really care about how many cheap links you’ve bought to boost that blog you wrote. It cares about quality.

And it cares, more than anything, about authority.

Brand trust. Voice. Credibility.

These will all matter a lot in the years to come. If you want your brand, or product, to rank on AI platforms, then seek quality – not quantity – in where your brand or product is being covered.

Quick ChatGTP and Google Gemini searches on topics linked to our clients at Harvey & Hugo shows they are already ranking.

Not because there are 50 backlinks to them, but because they’ve secured legitimate, top-tier publications on their behalf.

The I. The Sun. Daily Express. The Northern Echo. BBC  – all trusted, credible and high authority publications our clients have been covered in.

And in this day and age, they hold far more weight than 50 random ‘do follow’ links from obscure domains.

As such, if your brand isn’t seen as credible by the bots – if you’re not being cited in authoritative places – you’re invisible.

And your voice isn’t being heard.

That’s why, for 16 years, we’ve helped clients ensure they aren’t silent – and that their message gets heard clearly by those who need to hear it.

Unlike a lot of PR firms, whose approach is ‘spray and pray’ your story in the hope it secures volume coverage, our approach has long been to put your story where it will really connect.

And we believe good PR is more than just coverage. It is about building meaningful relationships, long-term brand value – and enhancing your authority.

This new SEO landscape? It feeds perfectly into that.

Does that mean backlinks and keywords are old hat? Not quite. There’s still value, but they are becoming the supporting cast.

The lead role now belongs to trust. And trust isn’t something you can fake.

It is earned by consistently showing up. By being featured in the most respected publications, and by becoming someone journalists proactively want to quote.

But crucially, it’s about consistency. Credibility. Being part of the conversation – and not just when it’s convenient.

Because just like humans, AI learns to trust what it hears often, and from credible voices. The more you’re quoted, the more you’re sourced, the more you’re cited on credible platforms… the more the bots begin to believe you.

And once that happens? The real SEO magic kicks in. Your brand starts appearing in the answers – and going forward, that will be like topping Google’s rankings.

So, what does this mean for businesses?

It means you can’t afford to rely on quick SEO wins anymore. You need to think long-term. You need to build your brand like a reputation – not like a spreadsheet.

And if you’re not sure how to do that? Then pass it to the PR professionals.

At Harvey & Hugo, we don’t just shout about your success – we turn you into a source. A trusted voice. One that AI, journalists and customers all recognise and respect.

Because in the future of search, the most powerful backlink isn’t a hyperlink.

It is being the answer.