So, if you’ve gotten this far on our website, you’ve definitely heard why we think public relations and WebPRpro in particular are such good ideas. But please don’t just take our word for it. We’d like to encourage you to do some research into the power of PR and search marketing, but if you don’t feel like scouring Google, we’re pleased to present you with some other experts’ opinions for your viewing pleasure.

• Al Ries, author, ‘The Origin of Brands’ – “Virtually all of the new brands recently created have been PR successes, not advertising successes. To name a few: The Body Shop, Starbucks, Red Bull, Amazon.com, Yahoo!, eBay, Palm, PlayStation and BlackBerry. Anita Roddick built The Body Shop into a major worldwide brand without any advertising.”

• “If the 20th Century was known as the century of advertising ... thanks to the Web, the 21st Century is shaping up to be the century of public relations. Public relations has become more relevant than advertising in the 21st Century.”  – Fleishman-Hillard President and CEO Dave Senay

• “Advertising lacks credibility. The crucial ingredient in brand building is credibility, an ingredient that only PR can supply.” – Al Ries, Author

• Howard Schacter, Chief Partnership officer at Steve & Barry’s, a retail clothing store that recently decided to use PR rather than advertising, and chose Sarah Jessica Parker as its spokesperson:
“The primary communications tool that we use to get the word out is public relations . . . the all-PR approach is cheaper than buying ads, and it's more effective.” – Marketplace, American Public Media, “I’ll wear what she’s wearing” July 12, 2007

• Several elements make search marketing essential for companies looking to survive or even thrive in this down economy. Search gives marketers what they need—measurable and actionable results.
January 2009 Emarketer.com

• The most important types of websites for the republication of press releases are news portals such as Google News or Yahoo News.
2008 ROI of Online Press Releases report Society for New Communications Research

• The criterion for PR practitioners and marketing pros when evaluating the success of their online press releases is –

the number of times it’s republished on websites (79.6%),
the number of times the release is viewed online (76.8%), an article based on the release (75.4%),
the media interview requests (74.2%)
2008 ROI of Online Press Releases report Society for New Communications Research

• According to marketers and PR practitioners surveyed, the top opportunities for online press releases are –

the possibility to engage in search engine optimization - SEO (34.1 percent)
the ability to reach both consumers directly and the media (31.5 percent).
2008 ROI of Online Press Releases report Society for New Communications Research

• In selecting sites on which to shop, one-third used a search engine or just surfed around to find the best online store.
January 2008 Nielsen Global Online Survey on Internet shopping habits

• “Without promotion something terrible happens... Nothing!” – P.T. Barnum