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Higher Education Marketing Education and News
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Search Influence Joins the 2026 UPCEA Annual Conference in New Orleans
The 2026 UPCEA Annual Conference, taking place April 15–17 in New Orleans, will bring together leaders across online and professional education to discuss the future of higher education strategy, technology, and student engagement. Search Influence will participate in this year’s event through speaking sessions, thought leadership, and in-person conversations with …
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UPCEA Guest Article: Explaining AI SEO ROI to University Leadership
Prospective students are doing more homework before they ever reach your website. Many start by asking AI tools to explain programs, compare schools, and surface credible options. Those responses shape which institutions feel trustworthy, which ones make the shortlist, and which never get considered at all. By the time a …
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The Hidden Cost of “Good Enough” SEO in the Age of AI
Key Insights Traditional SEO still matters. Technical health, keyword research, authority signals, and high-quality content remain the foundation of search visibility in the age of AI. AI search changes how visibility is earned. Ranking in traditional search results is no longer enough. Institutions must also earn citations in AI summaries, …
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Will Scott Named to UPCEA Board of Directors as Corporate Partner Representative
Search Influence is proud to announce that CEO and Co-Founder Will Scott has been named to the UPCEA Board of Directors as Corporate Partner Representative for a one-year term (2026–2027). His appointment reflects his leadership in higher education digital marketing and Search Influence’s longstanding collaboration with UPCEA, the leading association …
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[WEBINAR] Make Your Existing Marketing Work Harder for AI Search Visibility
AI search is changing how prospective students discover programs. But building an entirely new marketing strategy from scratch isn’t realistic for most higher education teams. Budgets are tight, staff capacity is limited, and priorities compete for attention. That’s why we partnered with UPCEA for this spring’s live webinar: Make Your …
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Will Scott Shares Higher Education AI Search Research in Search Engine Land Article
Search behavior has evolved. Most SEO strategies haven’t. AI Overviews appear before organic listings. LLM answers shape early trust. Citations determine which brands make it onto a user’s shortlist at all. New AI search research makes that shift impossible to ignore. In a recent article published in Search Engine Land, …
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How to Conquer the Biggest Higher Ed Marketing Challenges in 2026
Key Insights Student Search Behavior Is Changing, and Marketing Must Follow: Shifting demographics, alternative education pathways, and AI-driven search are changing how prospective students discover and evaluate institutions. Universities must align their strategies with search behavior that now spans AI tools, social platforms, and traditional search engines. AI Search and …
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AI SEO for Higher Education: How to Get Your Institution Recommended by ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Search
Half of prospective students now use AI search tools weekly to research programs. If your institution isn’t showing up in ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, or Google AI Overviews, you’re invisible to half your audience. In 2026, success is measured by AI citations and brand mentions within generative summaries, not just clicks. …
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Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation Partners With Search Influence for AI SEO Audit
Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation has engaged Search Influence to conduct a comprehensive AI SEO audit. This audit will focus on how the program’s academic content is represented across AI-driven and traditional search environments. As generative search tools and AI-powered summaries continue to influence how people discover and evaluate …
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30+ AI Search in Higher Education Stats [2026]
Higher education discovery is becoming increasingly more distributed, more automated, and more competitive. Students now rely on a mix of AI tools, traditional search engines, and social platforms as they evaluate programs. Institutional strategies, however, do not always reflect how these new search elements work together. Below, we’ve compiled over …
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