Search engine optimization is often seen as a marketing strategy. Businesses use it to guide leads down the sales funnel and broaden their pool of loyal customers. However, SEO can accomplish so much more than helping businesses sell their goods. SEO is also a powerful tool that can help your district connect with the surrounding community.

Keep reading to learn how SEO can improve your school district’s marketing efforts.

Boost visibility among prospective families

A solid SEO strategy can place your district’s website at the top of search results. A highly visible website is crucial for engaging parents with school-aged children. Typically, prospective parents conduct broad online searches to get a feel for which districts are in the area. Your district’s website needs to be optimized for popular search terms so that it ranks high in parents’ search results. The higher it ranks, the more likely they’ll see it.

SEO makes it easier for parents to learn more about your district. If a website is hard to find, it’s safe to say that district is out of the running. When parents search for schools, your district’s website needs to appear front and center. This gives you a greater opportunity to market your district and win over families when it’s time for them to make a final decision.

Help current stakeholders find information

Aside from increasing enrollment, SEO practices can help you provide information for those who are already invested in your district. The district’s website is a valuable resource that can inform stakeholders about upcoming events, important calendar dates and more. Whatever they’re looking for, SEO can make it easy to find.

To make information more accessible, analyze your district’s website trends to see what stakeholders are searching for the most. Then, implement SEO practices to help those web pages appear at the top of search results. Your goal is to provide the answers they’re looking for with as few clicks as possible.  By improving your website’s visibility, stakeholders are more likely to view your district as a reliable source of information.

Having a website is one thing—making it visible to the community is a whole different ball game. A solid SEO strategy can guide current and prospective stakeholders toward your district’s website. Once they find it, there’s a good chance they’ll keep coming back.