Search engine optimization is an ever-changing tool in digital marketing. In some cases, best practices that worked even 5 years ago would get you blacklisted today. There are over 200 metrics that go into Google’s algorithm for ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs)—and we’ll work our magic to find the ones that give you the best results.
Search Engine Optimization: 16 Tips for Better Rankings
Rising Fellow
Time Frame: 1 year (2022 – 2023)
154%
Increase in Organic Search Traffic YOY
42%
Increase in Total Revenue YOY
By making SEO a top priority in the website development process, a(m) helped increase organic visibility for risingfellow.com by over 154% YOY.
Background
Rising Fellow, a leading provider in online actuarial education, specializes in offering comprehensive study guides and online courses that are meticulously designed around the evolving demands of the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) assessments. Their mission is to empower students with the confidence and resources essential for excelling in upper-level CAS exams on their first attempt. By leveraging their hands-on experience as actuaries, they provide materials that have proven to work and significantly enhance the likeliness for passing these difficult exams.
Recognizing the critical importance of improving organic visibility to drive revenue growth, Rising Fellow embarked on a strategic initiative to elevate their search rankings and increase their website traffic. This endeavor involved crafting a comprehensive website strategy aimed at delivering tangible results and effectively augmenting site traffic.
Challenge
Prior to working with a(m), Rising Fellow’s website traffic was steady—but the majority of conversions were coming from direct traffic. And while conversions were also steady, they knew there was an opportunity for growth through increasing the overall awareness of their business. But they didn’t know where to begin.
Accelerate Media knew that the best way to increase brand awareness and capture valuable traffic from the competition was by optimizing the website to rank highly on search engines. The professional actuaries who are their target audience would only trust a reputable source for their CAS exam prep. So our SEO strategy needed to be well-targeted and extremely specific, guiding users to risingfellow.com whenever they searched for relevant terms around upper-level CAS exam study materials.
Our Solution
Website Refresh
Two major issues with the existing site was the poor Core Web Vitals performance and the lack of conversion rate optimization tactics and techniques. Accelerate Media outlined a website strategy that created an informative, user-friendly site and integrated powerful conversion tactics, ultimately leading visitors down effective and seamless paths to purchase—and increased the site’s credibility with search engines.
SEO Research & Implementation
Accelerate Media extensively researched the terms people were using for searching for upper-level actuarial exam preparation materials. We then built dedicated landing pages for the highest-value keywords (e.g., “cas test prep”), each focused on and showing the corresponding product. We created engaging website content around these keywords, simultaneously optimizing the structure and copy for search engines and crafting a solid argument to show that Rising Fellow’s actuary exam prep courses are the right choice for CAS exam candidates.
The Results
154% INCREASE IN ORGANIC TRAFFIC YOY
After the launch of the new website in December 2022, risingfellow.com almost immediately saw an increase in organic traffic, and their SERP visibility began to rise exponentially. Within the first month, they jumped from 8 keywords ranking in the top 3 SERP positions to 18. Today, they have 55 keywords in this coveted position and organic search traffic now accounts for over 50% of their website transactions.
42% INCREASE IN TOTAL REVENUE YOY
By making SEO a key pillar of the website rebuild, and utilizing strategic search engine optimization tactics throughout the development process, a(m) improved our client’s organic exposure and greatly increased the number of interactions onsite. Between 2022 and 2023, Rising Fellow saw an incredible 154% increase in organic traffic; a 24% increase in the number of transactions onsite; and a 42% increase in online revenue. They recouped money they invested in website design and content creation within two months of launch, and are still reaping the benefits today.
SEO Services in Rochester, NY
There are numerous things to keep in mind when optimizing content for search engines. Whether it’s a blog post, a landing page, or your website’s home page, a(m)’s skilled Search Engine Optimization (SEO) team in Rochester, NY can help you achieve first-page rankings. Our search engine optimization services encompass everything from research before copywriting to SERP optimization after the content is published.
Keyword Research
Before we ever get to writing, we spend time uncovering the ideal keywords for you. We research the topic your piece of content is about and investigate which keywords make the most sense to target. We’re on the hunt for a keyword that has good enough search volume to warrant the effort, but is not so competitive that your content will never rank. We’ll also research the search volume for both long tail and short keywords using common semantics—and every other variation we can think of. After that, we take the time to see what your competition is targeting—determining if it’s important to pivot strategies because they already hold the top spot, or choosing a close variation to show up to a different segment of searchers.
SEO Content Optimization
After your target keyword has been expertly selected, we’ll be sure to fully optimize your content. We consider content length, readability, additional semantic keywords, and check for keyword frequency. We’ll even be sure to evaluate links, both internal and external, to help boost your SEO rankings. But, our work doesn’t stop after the content is written. We’ll optimize your SEO title and meta description, elements that play a huge role in your search engine result position. Everything we do will aid Google in finding your content quickly and easily, helping to get it in front of your target audience.