The document summarizes an SEO case study for an aviation website. It identified several problems with the original site including excessive use of Flash, poor navigation, lack of information, and overuse of PDFs. The process of optimizing the site included reviewing competitors, brainstorming improvements, reorganizing content and navigation, adding more visuals and quality content, implementing basic SEO techniques, and focusing on social media engagement. The results were improved national page ranks for several aviation-related keyword searches. Ongoing recommendations include adding more content and inbound links to continue improving SEO performance over time.

1. Case Study
AVIATION WEBSITE SEO

2. TRANSFORMATION

3. TRANSFORMATION

4. AVIATION WEB HISTORY

5. THE PROBLEMS
• Flash (.swf)
• Poor Navigation
• Little Info
• Excessive PDF’s
• Nice Photo :)

6. FLASH (.SWF)

7. GET STARTED | DEGREE | PROGRAM | CONTACT
POOR NAVIGATION

8. POOR NAVIGATION

9. LITTLE INFORMATION

10. EXCESSIVE PDF FILES

11. LAST BUT NOT LEAST
Photo of this guy

12. 1. Met with WDS for OmniUpdate training
2. WDS gave us login credentials
3. We called WDS as issues came up
4. When finished, WDS approved of our pages
WEB DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (WDS)

13. THE PROCESS BEGINS

14. THE PROCESS BEGINS

15. • Review & Brainstorming
• Competitors/Peers/Etc.
• Articles & Blogs
• Organization & Structure
• Content Gathering
NOTE: These are not steps. These often overlapped.
WHERE DO WE GO NOW?

16. REVIEW & BRAINSTORM
Global Changes
• Condense the number of pages.
• Front page is confusing and navigation changes
• Disable tabs so they don’t function as buttons
• No clear indication of flow or direction. No emphasis on any
page to guide the viewer’s eye. Create an easy path for
prospective students to follow.
• Gear our home page toward prospective students
• Incorporate SEO for better search results
• Home page should be 90% prospective student and 10%
current
• Create a better brochure that is more friendly and
informative to us
• Highlight social media. Include Pinterest and Linkedin

17. REVIEW & BRAINSTORM
Missing Pages/Sections
• Why students choose UVU Aviation
• Show several statistics using info graphics and
other content
• Tuition comparison
• Have student pull quotes and video interviews
• Department/Group Pages
• Flight Training
• Faculty
• Maintenance/Facilities
• Online
• Student Support

18. REVIEW & BRAINSTORM
Current Pages That Need Changes
• Fleet
• Create videos for each plane
• Tuition
• Show comparison to other schools
• Photo Gallery
• Home Page
• See global changes above
• More friendly brochure request
• Make students the priority
• Introductory flight information
• Use quotes/video from students
• What will it be like section
• Student Degree Path
• Link to Wolverine Track
• Show student degree path

19. REVIEW & BRAINSTORM
Other Notes
• Highlight the Intro flight opportunity
• Blog is stale and not updated. We are not using it in the correct
way. Have regular blog posts.
• Facebook should really be highlighted as it is constantly updated
with new content
• Subscribe to newsletter is awful. This actually shouldn’t exist.
• Lacking clear tuition button or information
• Highlight the wolverine track and course schedules/career track
• Accreditation pages should link to the video
• Create global FAQ’s page

20. Art Institute
Liberty University
University of PhoenixUniversity of Utah
Arizona State University
COMPETITORS

21. COMPETITORS

22. BLOGS & ARTICLES

23. • Quick Fix
• User Experience
• Search Engine Optimization
THE AVIATION PLAN
• Menu Structure
• Quality Content
• Visual Design

24. QUICK FIX

25. QUICK FIX
• No More Flash
• Revised Navigation
• Added Brochure
• Re-organized Content
• Implemented Some SEO

26. ORGANIZATION

27. MENU PLANNING

28. SUB-MENUS

29. HOME PAGE

30. QUALITY CONTENT
• Where do I find content?
• How do I post the content? WDS
• Brochures/Print Collateral
• Faculty & Staff
• Interviews
• Write it yourself and force them to
help edit because it’s so bad.

31. QUALITY CONTENT
WHAT ELSE?

32. VISUAL DESIGN
• Simple Layout
• Emphasize Brochure Request
• More Visuals (Not just planes)
• Unique Buttons
• Use UVU colors
• Add Social Media buttons
• Clean Sub-Menu Design

33. • Choose Keywords
• Meta Tag Information
• File Names
• Alt text
• Build Network of Links
SPECIFIC SEO EFFORTS
WHAT DID WE FOCUS ON?
• Social Media
• Quality Content
• Reduce PDF’s
• Organize Navigation

34. CHOOSE YOUR KEYWORDS WISELY
= FREE
TOOLS
= SEARCH
ENGINE

40. Keyword Avg. Searches Suggested Bid
learn to fly 74,000 $2.19
learn 2 fly 14,800 $1.84
how to fly 12,100 $1.68
flight school 9,900 $3.82
pilot training 8,100 $1.80
online degree 6,600 $26.43
aviation high school 5,400 $2.97
pilot license 5,400 $2.73
aviation management 4,400 $2.76
pilot school 4,400 $3.28
flight training 2,900 $4.04
flight lessons 1,600 $2.31
aviation school 1,600 $4.83
private pilot 1,000 $1.80
aviation degree 880 $9.87
aviation online 170 NA
online flight school 170 $4.71
aviation program 90 $3.93

41. Keyword Avg. Searches Suggested Bid
learn to fly 74,000 $2.19
learn 2 fly 14,800 $1.84
how to fly 12,100 $1.68
flight school 9,900 $3.82
pilot training 8,100 $1.80
online degree 6,600 $26.43
aviation high school 5,400 $2.97
pilot license 5,400 $2.73
aviation management 4,400 $2.76
pilot school 4,400 $3.28
flight training 2,900 $4.04
flight lessons 1,600 $2.31
aviation school 1,600 $4.83
private pilot 1,000 $1.80
aviation degree 880 $9.87
aviation online 170 NA
online flight school 170 $4.71
aviation program 90 $3.93

42. KEYWORDS

43. KEYWORDS

44. KEYWORDS

45. KEYWORDS

46. FILE NAMING TECHNIQUES

47. USE ALT TEXT
Flight school twinstar
airplane
<img alt="flight
schooltwinstar airplane"
src="/aviation/images/local.jp
g"></img>

48. BUILD NETWORK OF LINKS
WEBSITE
WEBSITE
WEBSITE
WEBSITE
WEBSITE
WEBSITE
WEBSITE
WEBSITE

49. SOCIAL MEDIA

50. QUALITY CONTENT
• Update Content Regularly
• No Broken Links
• No Old Events
• Think Like a Student
• Reduce PDF’s

51. ORGANIZE NAVIGATION
Make pages easy to find.
If they’re easy for a human,
they’re also easy for a robot.

52. ORGANIZE NAVIGATION

53. ORGANIZE NAVIGATION

54. WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
SEO programmers are constantly trying to
improve their search engine by weeding out the
gimmicks people used to use to get searched.

55. WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
It’s good to research all of the latest tips for
enhancing SEO, but ultimately, the more you
focus on providing a good user experience with
regularly updated quality content, the better
your site will do on searches in the future.

56. WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
SEO is always changing...
...so do what makes sense.
“If you build it, they will come.”

63. Aviation science……….…...…….#1
Utah aviation……….……….….…#1
Aviation online program……...….#1
Aviation online degree………..….#1
Aviation online……….….…….….#5
Aviation degree…….………….…#5
NATIONAL PAGE RANKS

64. •Add Content/Text to Home Page
•Improve Keywords
•Improve Descriptions
•Get More Inbound Links
•Update & Revise Content
•Incorporate Blog in Site
•Submit Videos to Non-YouTube Sites
WHAT NOW?

65. FINAL THOUGHTS
Your site won’t be perfect right away
Don’t worry about the critics
(Critics don’t want you to succeed because it makes
them feel bad for not having tried.)