How Public Relations Helps Your Business Show Up on Google, ChatGPT, and Beyond

By Bob Bradley - Inspired by his book 'Public Relations for Small Business'

Public relations is one of those business terms people hear constantly but rarely fully understand. You’ve probably seen another business owner celebrating a media feature, a podcast interview, or a mention in a magazine and thought, “How did they pull that off?” Maybe someone has even told you, “What your business really needs is PR,” without explaining what that actually means.

The truth is, public relations, or PR, is not some mysterious industry reserved for celebrities and giant corporations. At its core, PR is about shaping how the public perceives your business, brand, or personal story. It is the ongoing effort of building credibility, earning attention, and creating conversations that position you in a positive and memorable way.

For businesses, PR is often the bridge between being “just another company” and becoming a recognized, trusted brand people talk about.

What Is Public Relations?

Public relations is the strategic communication process used to build and maintain a favorable public image. In simpler terms, PR is how businesses intentionally tell their story to the world.

That story can be communicated through:

• Media coverage

• Online blogs and publications

• Podcasts

• Television and radio

• Social media

• Events

• Interviews

• Partnerships

• Community involvement

  
  

While marketing and advertising focus heavily on paid promotion, PR focuses on earned attention and credibility. When a journalist, podcast host, influencer, or publication talks about your business because they find your story valuable or interesting, that is earned media. And earned media carries a level of trust that paid ads often cannot replicate.

People naturally pay attention when others are talking positively about a brand.

PR is the new SEO

For years, businesses obsessed over SEO and trying to rank on Google through keywords and backlinks alone. While SEO still matters, the internet has evolved dramatically.

Today, credibility and authority are becoming just as important as technical optimization.

When your business is featured in reputable media outlets, blogs, podcasts, magazines, and news publications, it creates digital validation across the internet. Those mentions help strengthen your online presence in several ways:

• Improving branded Google search results

• Increasing trust signals for search engines

• Building backlinks and authority

• Helping AI platforms understand your business

• Increasing discoverability in ChatGPT and AI-driven search tools

• Creating long term digital footprints that continue surfacing online

  
  

This is one of the biggest shifts happening in modern marketing right now. Businesses are no longer just competing for Google rankings. They are competing for visibility across AI generated answers, voice search, recommendation engines, and intelligent search platforms.

When someone searches your business name or industry, media coverage acts like proof of legitimacy.

If your business appears in respected publications, interviews, and articles, it signals authority not only to potential customers, but also to Google, ChatGPT, and emerging AI systems that pull information from trusted online sources.

This is exactly why PR is becoming one of the most valuable long term marketing investments a business can make.

Why PR Matters for Businesses

Every business already has a public reputation, whether they actively manage it or not. PR helps shape that reputation intentionally instead of leaving it to chance.

Think about some of the brands you admire. Chances are you have seen them featured in articles, discussed online, highlighted on podcasts, or shared across social media. That visibility builds familiarity, and familiarity builds trust.

Strong PR can help businesses:

• Build credibility

• Increase brand awareness

• Attract customers

• Strengthen partnerships

• Position themselves as industry experts

• Create buzz around products or launches

• Improve public perception

  
  

In today’s crowded digital world, simply offering a great product or service is often not enough. Businesses also need attention, storytelling, and visibility.

PR Is More Than “Getting Famous”

One of the biggest misconceptions about PR is that it only exists for celebrities or massive companies trying to land national television appearances. In reality, PR works at every level.

A local bakery getting featured in a community magazine is PR.

A startup founder appearing on a podcast is PR.

A restaurant being highlighted by food bloggers is PR.

A tattoo artist gaining recognition through online publications is PR.

Public relations is really about creating momentum and staying part of the conversation in your industry or community.

What Makes a Story Newsworthy?

Many entrepreneurs believe everything happening inside their business is exciting enough for the media to cover. While passion is important, PR requires stepping back and asking a more important question:

“Why would the public care?”

The strongest PR stories usually include something unique, timely, emotional, educational, or inspiring. Journalists and media outlets are constantly looking for stories their audience will connect with.

Sometimes the real story is not simply “we launched a business.” It may be:

• The personal journey behind the company

• A problem the business is solving

• An unusual product or service

• Community impact

• Industry innovation

• A compelling founder story

• A creative event or campaign

  
  

The details are often what make the difference.

Relationships Are Everything in PR

PR is also heavily built on communication and relationships. Successful public relations professionals understand how to connect with media, journalists, influencers, and audiences in a respectful and authentic way.

Some business owners thrive networking at events. Others prefer email outreach or social media communication. There is no single perfect approach.

What matters most is consistency, professionalism, and understanding the audience you are trying to reach.

Media professionals receive countless pitches every day. Businesses that stand out are usually the ones that communicate clearly, respect people’s time, and present a story that genuinely offers value.

Can Businesses Handle Their Own PR?

Absolutely.

While many companies hire publicists or agencies, business owners can also learn the fundamentals of PR themselves. Understanding how to communicate your story, build relationships, and create consistent messaging can go a long way.

The key is having a strategy.

PR is not about randomly sending emails to reporters or posting endlessly on social media. It is about creating thoughtful messaging that aligns with how you want your business to be perceived.

Every interview, article, social media post, and public interaction contributes to your brand image.

Trust, Perception, and Storytelling

Public relations is ultimately about trust, perception, and storytelling. It is the art of helping people understand who you are, what you stand for, and why your business matters.

In a world flooded with constant information and endless competition, PR helps businesses rise above the noise. It creates visibility, builds authority, and helps transform companies from unknown brands into respected names people remember.

Whether you are a startup founder, small business owner, creative entrepreneur, or established company, understanding PR can become one of the most valuable tools in growing your business and shaping your reputation for the long term.