<New Silk Road Study Abroad Program> × <Customer Inbound Data Marketing>: Enabling your brand’s professionalism to dominate search engines.
New Silk Road Study Abroad (hereinafter referred to as New Silk Road) is deeply rooted in the global education market. Its parent group is IAE GLOBAL, one of the largest and most well-known groups in the global study abroad education industry, with branches in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, Japan, and India. Therefore, New Silk Road possesses comprehensive research on global education systems and travel information for various countries; providing services such as language learning, high school, and college applications to clients in popular markets like the US, Canada, UK, New Zealand, and Australia, as well as emerging markets like the Netherlands and Ireland.
The overseas study education industry is highly competitive, and New Silk Road has observed the importance of cultivating reputation and traffic for business expansion . Compared with traditional marketing methods, it hopes to collect a large number of effective lists and increase the conversion rate through new marketing methods.
Therefore, we partnered with IBA (Inbound Marketing ) to establish a dedicated SEO accumulation channel to facilitate long-term brand visibility management.
Image source: New Silk Road Study Abroad Program
<Inbound Customer Data Marketing> SEO Search Engine Optimization: Expand digital visibility on the New Silk Road and significantly increase organic traffic.
New Silk Road already has an operational brand website; Inbound Customers will conduct a website health check and establish a column for sharing study abroad and travel topics, as well as manage SEO content marketing . The goal is to enable New Silk Road to build long-term, stable growth in Google organic search traffic and broadly reach consumers with conversion potential.
Further Reading: A Comprehensive Guide to SEO (Search Engine Optimization), From Concepts to Complete Practice
Step 1: Analyze the popularity of the keyword “study abroad” and create high-search-volume SEO content.
After analyzing search trends for study abroad and travel topics , the customer acquisition marketing consultants summarized hundreds of popular keywords that are combinations of “countries and regions, colleges and universities and language schools, and overseas living issues .”
Jike observes the study abroad trends each quarter, plans monthly SEO content for different stages of the New Silk Road column’s development, and provides guidance on generating the content and adding keywords that can improve search performance.
Step 2: Provide SEO tailored to different audience profiles and their specific needs.
Jike categorizes potential consumers into three types: SEE, THINK, and DO , and plans corresponding SEO content accordingly. This expands New Silk Road’s reach in Google search engines, ensuring that each type of potential consumer will see the “New Silk Road Study Abroad” brand when they search daily, triggering our planned keyword content.
The following are consumer planning methods for three types: SEE, THINK, and DO:
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SEE：People who are considering going abroad and are extensively gathering information on general directions.
This represents the largest potential consumer group , and we are in the stage of “spreading out and attracting a large number of internet users to learn about the New Silk Road”. The SEO content mainly provides a wide range of information about going abroad, such as “studying in the United States” and “the benefits of changing jobs or pursuing further education overseas”, so that consumers can understand that there are many options for studying abroad and the possibilities for future development, thus stimulating their desire to go abroad .
For example: How to find a job after graduation? The three most popular career categories in the United States.
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THINK：This type of consumer has plans to study abroad and is making targeted comparisons of different schools, departments, locations, and programs.
For these consumers, the customer acquisition plan includes “in-depth content that explores and compares different issues.” This provides consumers with a basis for making personal plans, such as “rankings of major art schools in the United States,” which helps them make decisions more quickly. As consumers read the articles, they also develop trust in the brand’s information, further increase their trust in the brand, and proactively seek information , leading to customer conversion.
▽For example: University of South Australia—Let business executives be your personal mentors
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DO：Consumers who have a complete study abroad or overseas travel plan and are currently working on implementing it.
These consumers already have their own ideas, and New Silk Road’s content needs to help them implement their plans in order to attract consumers to cooperate with New Silk Road ; therefore, customer acquisition planning includes “tool-type keywords” and related content, such as “Canadian visa application process” and “how to rent a house in New York”.
In addition to writing SEO articles for the three different objectives mentioned above, Jike also monitors the traffic changes brought by various channels on the website each month, including organic search traffic, social media, and keyword advertising recommendations, and integrates industry trends to determine what new keywords and content to launch each quarter, as well as how to optimize existing content so that it can continue to bring in organic traffic.
The pandemic is a prime example of “changing industry trends.” In response, Jike ( a platform for online education) has created content highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of “remote study abroad ,” such as “How to obtain an online degree overseas?” and “The impact of entry restrictions in various countries?” They’ve also added a “Student Testimonials” section to their website . Overall, these materials aim to reassure consumers that they can still obtain a degree from their desired school through the brand’s services.
▼Analysis of keyword effectiveness for customer acquisition, serving as a reference for future SEO planning.
Brand growth! The New Silk Road team is constantly improving, independently producing content that people love.
After collaborating with Jike for some time, New Silk Road’s own marketing team has also focused on improving its content capabilities. They are now able to independently analyze keywords and consumer intent, and produce highly engaging SEO content, including in-depth educational articles, country travel guides, and summary packages.
The grown New Silk Road team can work more closely with frontline consultants to immediately reflect the pain points identified by consultants during student consultations, launch relevant SEO content, solve consumer problems, and strengthen consumer loyalty.
▼New Silk Road uses student feedback obtained from frontline consultants to produce SEO content, effectively answering students’ questions and winning consumer trust!
(Image source: Common Myths and Myths About UK Master’s Degrees You Can’t Miss )
(Image source: New Silk Road Facebook )
Customer acquisition data marketing optimizes the user experience and strengthens a brand’s ability to retain customers.
Besides focusing on SEO, we observed the website’s user behavior (consumer footprint) and found that the official website’s ability to drive conversions was not high enough, which was due to the following factors:
- The way to contact study abroad consultants is not intuitive enough for consumers.
- The website’s promotional materials and brand copywriting are not attractive enough to consumers.
- The number of people browsing websites on mobile phones exceeds that of computer users, so the mobile interface should be optimized.
- Due to the impact of the pandemic, consumers have no intention of traveling abroad.
After website traffic stabilizes, the next step is to focus on detailed optimization; specifically, on the “consultant inquiry form” and “visitor experience,” ensuring that the traffic attracted by SEO can be successfully converted into the services that New Silk Road can provide.
Develop user-friendly features to allow consumers to seamlessly enter the consultation phase.
- Adding a ” one-click consultation form ” button allows potential customers to contact study abroad consultants anytime while browsing the website, driving website conversions and improving the effectiveness of collecting business leads.
- The LINE functionality was built from scratch to align with consumer browsing habits . Consumers browsing on their mobile phones can immediately consult with advisors via LINE, and are encouraged to join the New Silk Road LINE community to receive personalized advertising messages, thus optimizing the customer experience.
Advertising strategy: Fast-paced A/B testing to accurately capture consumer intent.
- Based on the peak study abroad seasons in various countries (such as the start of the school year, festivals, and the latest exhibitions), develop GDN advertising, social media, and LINE advertising strategies.
- Classified advertising audience : Based on the goal of going abroad, the desired destination, the situations that will be encountered while traveling abroad, etc., conduct various short-term advertising placement tests.
- Real-time tracking of ad performance: including click-through rate, cost per click, and engagement rate; analysis and optimization of ad content, delivery methods, and the topicality generated by push notifications; maximizing ad effectiveness . Inbound traffic also observes consumer interaction with ads, analyzing website and ad linking methods, potential feature enhancements, etc., making website adjustments to improve the user experience .
Data-driven marketing strategies, consumer insights, and a professional customer acquisition team working with clients to create results.
The first step of the consumer journey has already begun when people are still searching for information on study abroad and travel agency services.
Brands need to think about how to seize the initiative and present their most attractive advantages to consumers during the “search phase,” gaining consumer trust through professionalism and ensuring smooth marketing communication in the future.
This is why Inbound Customer Data Marketing focused on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for this collaboration. Consumers engage in a seamless dialogue with New Silk Road during their own search process, experiencing less of a “forced sales pitch” feeling. What truly leaves a lasting impression is the attention to detail in New Silk Road’s services.
Results of the collaboration:
- Since Jike and New Silk Road began their collaboration in 2019, both their website traffic and Google search rankings have seen significant growth. By 2022, website traffic had more than quadrupled.
- Jike has been collaborating with New Silk Road for three years, and the SEO keywords they’ve worked on related to studying abroad have reached the first page of Google search results for over 1,500 keywords.
- The conversion rate of inquiry forms on the official website has increased more than fourfold and continues to grow.
▼New Silk Road SEO Column Traffic and Exposure Results
▼After each article is published, Jike will conduct long-term tracking and optimization to maintain stable traffic.
Image source: Jike Data Marketing
Further Reading:
SEO Case Study! Growth Strategies of a Philippine Study Abroad Company
; ZOCHA Digital Car Rental: The Right SEO Marketing, Unlocking the Traffic Code! Creating a Win-Win Situation for Rental and Use
