About the Client
Our client is a higher education institution specializing in professional development, certificates, and online graduate programs. While they possessed strong local brand recognition, they were underperforming in organic search and struggled to reach prospective students. Over the course of a 6-month campaign, ScaledOn’s SEO and Content Strategy team worked to optimize their continuing education subdomain and expand their digital visibility.
The Challenge: SEO and Website Challenges Limiting Enrollment Growth and Hurting Organic Performance
Weak Organic Visibility
The platform lacked visibility for high-value search terms that prospective students were actively using.
Technical Barriers to Growth
Slow page load times and crawl errors prevented search engines from properly indexing the site’s content.
Thin Content
Most pages lacked the depth needed to rank competitively or satisfy the needs of prospective students.
Poor Mobile Experience
High bounce rates and low conversion rates on mobile devices resulted in a significant loss of potential leads.
The Strategy:
We developed a comprehensive, multi-layered SEO strategy to systematically address technical barriers, content gaps, and search visibility.
✅ Technical SEO Foundation
We audited and resolved technical issues to ensure search engines could effectively crawl and index the site.
✅ Keyword Research & Content Strategy
We identified high-intent search terms to build a content plan targeting underserved student queries.
✅ Content Depth & Quality Expansion
We expanded key program pages into comprehensive resources that provide genuine value and demonstrate expertise.
✅ Mobile-First Optimization
We optimized the mobile experience with faster load times and touch-friendly navigation for smartphone users.
✅ Local & SERP Feature Targeting
We targeted local search visibility and specialized SERP features to capture more prominent search positions.
Implementation: What We Adjusted
Our six-month campaign followed a strategic plan, with targeted pivots based on early performance data.
What Went Well
Technical fixes delivered fast wins — Resolving crawl errors and improving page speed significantly increased indexed pages within two months.
Content expansion drove engagement — Comprehensive pages successfully increased visitor dwell time and reduced bounce rates.
Schema markup unlocked SERP features — Structured data implementation helped secure featured snippets and increased visibility in search results.
What We Adjusted
Shifted keyword focus — We reallocated content efforts toward long-tail keywords after data showed they were converting better than broader terms.
Accelerated mobile optimization — We prioritized mobile UX improvements earlier than planned to accommodate faster-than-expected growth in mobile traffic.
Expanded local SEO scope — Strong initial results led us to expand our local targeting to include neighboring regions and capture additional traffic.
Traffic & Keyword Performance
Organic traffic now represents 44% of all site visits, with referring domains up 24% and long-tail keyword searches for professional certifications up 85%.
Technical SEO Impact
The institution’s technical infrastructure was completely rebuilt, resulting in a 33% increase in page speed, a 90% drop in crawl errors, and a jump to 95% structured data implementation.
Baseline State
- Basic CMS implementation
- Limited structured data
- Slower page load times
Post-Optimization State
- Comprehensive JSON-LD schema
- Enhanced mobile-first responsive design
- Optimized Core Web Vitals
| Metric | Baseline State | Optimized State | % Improvement |
| Page Speed Score | Moderate | High | +25.8% |
| Mobile Usability | Moderate | High | +10.6% |
| Crawl Errors | High | Low | -90.6% |
| Indexed Pages | Moderate | High | +42.4% |
| Schema Implementation | Low | High | +533% |
| Internal Links | Moderate | High | +173.6% |
Content & SERP Performance
Content depth tripled, with pages exceeding 1,000 words up 458% and average time on page up 101%. Bounce rate dropped 23.5%.
Baseline
- Average page word count: Baseline
- Pages with >1,000 words: Baseline
- Average time on page: Baseline
- Bounce rate: Baseline
Post-Optimization
- Average page word count: +177%
- Pages with >1,000 words: +458%
- Average time on page: +101%
- Bounce rate: -23.5%
SERP Feature Visibility
Strategic schema implementation secured prominent search result features previously absent.
Baseline
Featured Snippets: 0
People Also Ask: 2
Knowledge Panel: No
Site Links: 2-4
Rich Results: None
Post-Optimization
Featured Snippets: 7
People Also Ask: 18
Knowledge Panel: Yes
Site Links: 6-8
Rich Results: Course schema visible
Competitive & Local Performance
The institution outpaced every regional competitor with a 38.1% increase in Organic Visibility Score and nearly doubled its share of voice (+75%).
| Institution | Baseline | Post-Optimization | Change |
| The Institution | – | – | +38.1% |
| Competitor A | – | – | -5.5% |
| Competitor B | – | – | +6.3% |
| Competitor C | – | – | -3.3% |
Local SEO Impact
The institution dominated local search, growing “near me” visibility from 18% to 42% and securing 8 local pack placements.
Baseline
- Institution: 18% near me
- Competitor A: Regional medical leader
- Competitor B: Strong in-state
- Competitor C: Leading regional online
Post-Optimization
- Institution: 42% near me, 8 local pack placements
- Competitor A: Maintained dominance
- Competitor B: Expanded microcredentials
- Competitor C: 35% health education searches
Mobile SEO & Conversions
Mobile-first optimization and higher-intent organic traffic combined to drive significant gains in both engagement and conversions.
Baseline
- Mobile traffic share: 55%
- Mobile bounce rate: 72%
- Mobile conversion rate: 1.8%
- Mobile-first index: Partial
Post-Optimization
- Mobile traffic share: 60% (+9.1%)
- Mobile bounce rate: 58% (-19.4%)
- Mobile conversion rate: 3.1% (+72.2%)
- Mobile-first index: Full
Conversion Impact
Monthly organic conversions surged 69% and conversion rates jumped 61.9%, with paid acquisition spend down 40%.
Results & Algorithm Resilience
Algorithm Resilience
The institution grew through every major algorithm update while the industry averaged -12% to -18% traffic losses.
| Update | Date | Industry Average Impact | Client Impact |
| Helpful Content Update | September | -12% traffic | +3% traffic |
| Core Update | November | -8% traffic | +7% traffic |
| March Core Update | March | -15% traffic | +2% traffic |
| AI Overviews Expansion | June | -18% visibility | -4% visibility |
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