Keyword research as a starting point for storytelling — Lainey Graham // Clemson University

Lainey Graham, Senior Digital Editor and SEO Manager at Clemson University, delves into keyword research for storytelling. Rarely does SEO sit within the storytelling team, but at Clemson University, this alignment empowers diverse functions with support and education. This unique setup ensures that every storytelling initiative commences with keyword research, effectively uniting the institution's message with the specific demands of the intended audience. Today, Lainey discusses keyword research as a starting point for storytelling.
About the speaker

Lainey Graham

Clemson University

 - Clemson University

Lainey is an expert from Clemson University

Show Notes

  • 02:07
    Using keyword research for storytelling
    Keyword research informs Clemson Universitys storytelling initiatives, helping to blend institutional messages with audience interests. Ultimately, this process ensures that both viewpoints are included in the content, ensuring value for both parties.
  • 05:11
    Challenges of implementing keyword research across a university website
    Educating the numerous contributors to Clemsons expansive site on the value of keyword research is challenging. Equally difficult is providing resources for independent keyword research and teaching them to implement it in their creative and web writing processes.
  • 06:46
    Effective strategies for educating stakeholders on keyword research
    Listen to the goals of stakeholders and demonstrate how incorporating keyword research can help them accomplish those objectives. Furthermore, visualizing the impact of keyword research on performance aids in conveying its value to stakeholders.
  • 09:41
    Visualizing the impact of keyword research
    Google Search Console provides graphs showcasing keyword trends and traffic upticks of increased interest in specific keywords. Additionally, heat maps are instrumental in visualizing engagement and performance of content blocks influenced by keyword research.
  • 12:46
    Navigating and communicating impending search changes
    SEO typically initiates communication about forthcoming search changes. In addition to enabling preparation for changes, this approach justifies the teams pursuit of stronger tools.
  • 15:17
    The SEO role within a storytelling team
    Being part of a storytelling team as an SEO offers the advantage of supporting various functions and educating multiple in organic settings during collaborative projects. The main challenge is not being within the web team, but establishing relationships makes it easier.
  • 18:05
    Performance metrics for a university website
    In addition to applications, the primary KPIs include site traffic and site health. Additionally, strategic emphasis is placed on monitoring ranking improvements for branded and growth keywords aligned with the university's intended areas of expansion.

Quotes

  • "Whenever we have a storytelling initiative, I'm always doing keyword research to marry what we want to say to what are people curious about related to what we need to say, to provide immediate value for both audiences." - Lainey Graham

  • "When educating stakeholders on keyword research, the first step should always be finding out what their goals are. Then, you can demonstrate how to incorporate keyword research to accomplish those goals." - Lainey Graham

  • "The benefit of SEO being in a storytelling team is that Im in a support role for many different functions. So, I can educate across many teams in small organic settings as we work on projects together." - Lainey Graham

About the speaker

Lainey Graham

Clemson University

 - Clemson University

Lainey is an expert from Clemson University

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