Unlocking Higher Ed SEO: Insights From Alison Zeringue’s UPCEA Blog

July 14th, 2023 by Collin Guedon

higher ed seo

Search Influence’s Director of Account Management Alison Zeringue wrote a blog post for our trusted partners at the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) titled “Paid Search & SEO in Higher Ed: Are Our Search Marketing Priorities Right?

Summarizing Alison Zeringue’s UPCEA Blog

In her blog post, the digital marketing veteran shares her expertise on higher education SEO and the findings of Search Influence and UPCEA’s three-part Higher Education SEO Research Study.

“As an SEO marketer for more than 12 years, I’ve seen the broader marketing world’s knowledge of SEO grow over time, but there remains a gap in knowledge in many industries, including higher education. Our research study results confirmed this.”

Alison points to one of the leading indicators of this knowledge gap: While 91% of higher education marketing survey respondents integrate paid search into their SEO strategy, only 27% implement keyword optimization and link building.

She believes this disparity between SEO prioritization and paid search reveals the fundamental issue in higher ed SEO: Higher education marketers need education on:

  • how paid search and SEO differ
  • how they are connected
  • which tactics they should implement to support both.

Throughout the blog, Alison explains how higher ed marketers can begin investing in SEO to bridge this gap and bolster their higher education digital marketing strategy.

The Search Influence UPCEA Partnership

In 2022, Search Influence and UPCEA partnered to create a comprehensive research study that looks at higher ed marketing leaders’ perspectives on SEO and evaluates the SEO readiness of professional, continuing, and online education (PCO) units.

The study revealed good news for higher education marketers — they have an underutilized tactic that can significantly impact their recruitment ecosystem.

Access our SEO research study here to learn more.

Maximize Your Search Marketing Gains With Search Influence

The team at Search Influence has years of experience helping higher ed institutions reach their full SEO and paid search potential.

Contact us to see all the high-level digital marketing services we offer.