Is Online PR and SEO the Same Creature?

Here in our Birmingham PR dept we work very closely with the in-house Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) team.
We both make a living from online marketing, we both liaise with other editors, we both write realms of content and then we both promote this content.
Because SEO is a comparatively new entity and our Birmingham PR dept has slowly moved into the online market, it has become much harder to distinguish a difference between the two trades. And during conversations our Birmingham PR and SEO professionals have wondered that despite their different work titles; are they actually doing the same job.
Points of Difference between PR and SEO 
Although there are similarities between our Birmingham PR and SEO teams; there are also enough differences to ensure the two teams in our agency remain separate. In many cases, one team cannot do the job asked of by the other. A few examples are listed below:
Data Analytics – Our SEO team spends a lion’s share of their time analysing data and tracking the keywords that they have identified as important for their specific campaigns. This is a task that our Birmingham PR team makes a point of avoiding. The SEO dept focuses on search engine statistics and keyword research. They are always on the lookout for new ways to enhance the optimisation of their websites.
Offline Communication – Our Birmingham PR professionals are more likely to communicate offline, which is something that is rarely done by the SEO team. PR requires outgoing individuals who can think on their feet. Face to face communication is a major requirement in our PR department.
Creating Content – The way that our Birmingham PR department and SEO team create their content is also very different. Although both roles require content to be written that engages their readers, the SEO team have to write a large number of pieces that are on average 500 words long. The PR dept on the other hand write much longer articles but less frequently.
The difference might not seem that much; but they are important differences between the two trades. The three points raised above take up a large proportion of each working day for both our Birmingham PR team and SEO dept. And, because of this, they actually complement each other very nicely within our agency.
Why our Birmingham PR and SEO Departments Work Well Together
Despite the differences raised so far between the two dept’s concerning marketing, there is still some overlap when comparing the different roles. Below I have listed areas where our Birmingham PR and SEO departments perfectly complement one another:
Firstly, the two departments have their own specific contacts and relationships. Our Birmingham PR team have much more authoritative relationships in the media industry, enabling them to work with the SEO dept to gain back-links from otherwise unattainable sources. In return our Search Engine Optimisation team can advise Public Relations on which keywords to focus on and best practices to employ when writing content for online publications. 
Secondly, both the Birmingham PR and SEO departments are responsible for producing content that will appear on our agency website as well as our client’s. The PR team will produce high quality copy that captures the public’s imagination that portrays a theme or subject whilst the SEO professionals will write a large volume of content that is used for link building and keyword optimisation.
Finally, our Birmingham PR department will be advised how their content is performing in terms of ‘click through rate’ and ‘return on investment’ by the data analysis from the SEO team. This will enable the PR team to identify avenues that can be exploited to further their marketing goals. Similarly PR can keep SEO up to date with the latest fads and trends to help them write relevant and up to date content.