The main goal for most colleges when it comes to higher education marketing is to show up on the first page of results, as close to the top as possible when future students search for “best business school in NC”, or something similar. When it comes to writing blogs to improve SEO, the content should not only be interesting, relative, and engaging, but there are also certain technical elements you should incorporate into every blog in order to increase the page’s search rankings. That’s why Red Shark Digital advertising agency Raleigh NC has put together a few best practice tips that we recommend you follow in order to get the most out of your blogs when it comes to SEO for higher education marketing:

• Focus on 1–2 long-tail keywords that match the intent of your target reader. A good rule of thumb is to focus on one or two long-tail keywords per blog post to avoid keyword stuffing. Long-tail keywords are longer, often question-based keywords that will keep your post focused on the specific goals of your audience. Adding a specific location, like “near Raleigh, NC”, or “ in Eastern NC” to your keyword will help rankings since you are giving more adequate detail. These will help you generate the right type of traffic – visitors who convert.
• Include your 1–2 keywords in specific parts of your post. There are four essential places where you should include your keywords: title tag, headers and body, URL, and meta description.
• Optimize your meta description, and use all the space.  The meta description gives searchers information they need to determine whether or not your content is what they’re looking for and ultimately helps them decide if they’ll click or not. Your meta description should include the long-tail keyword for which you are trying to rank – it will appear bolded to help readers make the connection between the intent of their search term and this result. Utilizing the keyword “best business school in NC” will stand out in your meta description when the searcher goes through the search results, making them more likely to click on your institution’s website.
• Optimize your images with image alt text. To ensure your images benefit your blog’s SEO, you’ll need to ensure you include an image alt text. Image alt text should be descriptive in a helpful way, meaning it should provide the search engine with context to index the image if it’s in a blog article related to a similar topic about higher education. A good idea is to save the picture you plan to use as the associated keyword and include those same keywords in the photo caption so that Google will correlate the keyword, with the search a person performs, to the blog you have written, to improve your rankings on the search results page.
• Use URL structures that help your visitors. The URL should make it easy for your visitors to understand the structure of your website and the content they’re about to see. Search engines appreciate this, as it makes it easier for them to identify exactly what information searchers will access on different parts of your blog or website.
• Link keywords internally and externally when possible. Both internal and external linked keywords help show search engines the validity or relevancy of your content. Keywords with internal links to different pages on your site, older blog posts, and your school’s contact info are recommended to help keep visitors on your website all while surfacing your other relevant and authoritative pages to search engines. External links are when you link to a page that is not on your school’s site and should be used to provide sources used for research or statistics. Just be sure not to use a competitor’s site as an external link!
• Repurpose or update your current content and remove outdated content. This is especially important when it comes to higher education marketing through SEO blogs. Since it takes a lot longer for a completely new piece of content to settle on the search engine results page, updating a piece of older content can reap the benefits fairly immediately in comparison.

Red Shark Digital

If you are interested in learning more about higher education marketing, contact us today! Take your school’s website to the next level by optimizing your blog content with Red Shark Digital advertising agency Raleigh NC!

Red Shark Digital is a superior full-service digital marketing agency that specializes in Web Design, SEO, Branding, and Digital Advertising. With offices across North Carolina including Raleigh, Greenville, and Wilmington, our team of digital marketing specialists are able to create catered solutions for your business needs. Our clients have allowed us to push the boundaries of web and creative design, while building innovative results for their company and their brand. These clients have encompassed multiple industries including higher education, healthcare, and major commercial franchises. Our wide range of clientele has allowed us to craft specialized strategies for businesses of all sizes while conveying our knowledge across a variety of platforms. We always strive to connect brands to customers, learn what we can do for your business today.