EdTrust (The Education Trust): Analytics and SEO Case Study
Project Summary: I enhanced EdTrust’s online visibility by applying SEO best practices, optimizing tools, and promoting data-driven content creation, leading to increased organic traffic and authority in education policy and reform.
Background
The Education Trust (EdTrust), a nonprofit based in Washington, DC, is dedicated to advancing policies that address racial and economic disparities in American education. In summer 2023, I joined as their Web Manager, overseeing web operations and spearheading a comprehensive website redesign. Among my responsibilities was the critical task of improving the organization’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
At the time, EdTrust’s website lacked a foundation for data-driven decision-making. There was no consistent effort to measure or report on site traffic, no clearly defined success metrics, and no structured strategy for improving key performance indicators. This presented an exciting opportunity to implement analytics and SEO best practices, ultimately making EdTrust a more data-informed organization.
Initial Analysis
EdTrust had strong assets to build upon, including high-quality content, a respected reputation in education policy, and robust backlinks. However, I identified several areas for improvement:
Underutilized SEO Capabilities in the CMS
Although the organization used the Yoast SEO plugin, its features had never been leveraged.
Fields for meta keywords, key phrases, and meta summaries were consistently left blank on individual posts.
Limited Awareness of Metadata Importance
There was a lack of understanding about how metadata—keywords, phrases, and summaries—affects discoverability, search engine rankings, and visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs).
No Strategic Use of Keywords in Content
Editorial decisions were not made with SEO in mind, and keyword usage within content was not deliberate or aligned with SEO best practices.
Action Plan
To address these challenges, I developed a comprehensive action plan:
Content Optimization
Fully utilizing the CMS’s SEO features by filling in metadata fields for all posts (keywords, key phrases, and meta summaries).
Staff Education
Training staff on the importance of SEO and best practices for crafting content, including keyword selection and strategic placement.
Editorial Best Practices
Implementing processes for writers and editors to provide keywords and meta summaries when submitting content for publication.
Intentionally incorporating keywords in titles, headings, meta descriptions, and the opening paragraphs.
Keyword Monitoring
Using tools like SEMRush to track performance of key topics and keywords important to EdTrust’s mission, as well as monitoring SERP rankings.
Accessibility Enhancements
Adding descriptive alt text for images to improve accessibility, which also supports SEO.
Website Redesign
Streamlining the site architecture by merging two blogs into one consolidated subdirectory.
Prioritizing mobile-friendly, responsive design. The redesigned site launched in August 2024.
Analytics Reporting
Creating and sharing monthly reports on web traffic, email performance, and social media engagement to provide actionable insights for the Communications team.
Timeline
Fall 2023: Implementation of SEO and analytics practices.
August 2024: Launch of the redesigned website.
March 2025: Continuation of practices as part of ongoing operations.
Results and Impact
The efforts yielded significant improvements in website performance:
Organic Search Traffic
Increased by 49% from September 2023 to February 2025.
Organic Social Traffic
Increased by 133% during the same period.
Post-Redesign SERP Performance
Key blogs ranked #1 on Google SERPs for critical keywords:
"What happens to students with disabilities if the Department of Education is dissolved"
"Why do we need the Department of Education"
Press releases appeared on the first page of SERPs for competitive keyphrases like "Trump administration Title IX Department of Education."
Pre-Redesign SERP Performance
EdTrust content ranked #1 for keywords such as:
"Advocate education equity"
"Affirmative action in higher education"
"Dual enrollment meaning"
First-page rankings achieved for topics like "Black student debt" and "Literacy in the US."
Conclusion
By integrating SEO best practices, optimizing underutilized tools, and fostering a culture of data-driven content creation, EdTrust significantly boosted its online visibility. These improvements not only increased organic traffic but also reinforced EdTrust’s authority in education policy and reform.
With the redesigned website serving as a strong foundation, EdTrust is well-positioned to continue leveraging analytics and SEO to drive its mission forward.
