Local SEO Consulting for Higher Education

Local Search Campaign for a Nationally-Recognized Private University

A highly regarded private university with multiple campuses and schools of study approached me to strengthen its local search visibility and improve lead generation from prospective students.

Despite strong brand awareness, the university’s marketing team was struggling to:

• Improve visibility for individual campus and program listings.

• Consolidate duplicate or inconsistent Google Business Profiles.

• Understand which search terms were most effective in driving inquiries and enrollments.

The Marketing Director and I worked closely to clarify their business goals—which programs needed more traction, which audiences they wanted to recruit, and where prospective students were falling off in the journey from search to inquiry.

I began by conducting a data-driven audit of their Google Analytics and Google Ads accounts to identify both areas of strength and untapped opportunity.

From that analysis, I developed a customized Local Search strategy designed to improve both discovery and conversion.

Key Components:

• Site Architecture & On-Page Optimization: Improved keyword targeting across key programs and location pages.

• Citation Analysis & Cleanup: Corrected NAP inconsistencies and eliminated conflicting local listings.

• Structured Directory Submissions: Added verified listings for multiple campuses to high-authority education-specific directories.

• Google Business Profile Optimization: Refined categories, attributes, and service areas for each location to maximize visibility and engagement.

• Local + Social Media Integration: Identified opportunities to amplify local authority through content and community engagement.

• Ongoing Monitoring: Maintained data consistency and consolidated duplicate listings to protect the university’s local ranking equity.