UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School - Finalist Presentation
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Search Influence
Finalist Presentation · April 2026 · Confidential
UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
AI Search Visibility
Strategy & Approach
Prepared for the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School by Search Influence
Presented by
Paula French & Will Scott
Search Influence
Contact
pfrench@searchinfluence.com
504-208-3900
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Search Influence
How Students Find You Now
AI visitors convert 4–6× higher
60%+
of Google searches end without a click
SparkToro / SimilarWeb
61%
drop in organic CTR when an AI Overview appears
Seer Interactive
4–6×
AI-referred visitors convert at 4–6× the rate of organic search visitors
BrightEdge
The new enrollment math

Organic search traffic is shrinking as AI handles more queries directly. The visitors who do reach your site via AI referral convert at dramatically higher rates. Fewer visits, higher intent.

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Search Influence
Live Finding
You Should Be the Answer. AI Isn’t Saying So
We ran actual queries about Kenan-Flagler’s programs. Here’s what we found.
Query
“What’s the best part-time MBA for working professionals in North Carolina?”
What AI sees

UNC Charlotte, Wake Forest Online, and national programs like Indiana Kelley and USC Marshall dominate the answer set

What KF has (and should be the answer)

Evening and Weekend Executive MBA programs that fit this audience exactly

Query
“Best MBA for career changers in the Southeast with strong outcomes?”
What AI sees

Duke Fuqua and Emory Goizueta are consistently surfaced; Kenan-Flagler rarely appears

What KF has (and should be the answer)

P&Q “Top MBA to Watch 2026” ranking and strong career outcomes data that AI can’t find

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Search Influence
What We’d Do · Page Today vs. What AI Needs to See
Full-Time MBA
Header
today

“The skills for real-world success.”

Could be any program at any school. AI has no idea what page it’s on.

What we’d write

“UNC Kenan-Flagler Full-Time MBA: STEM-Designated for Career Changers and Tech Leaders”

One sentence names the program, the differentiator, and the audience. AI knows exactly what it’s reading.

STEM Designation
today

The program is labeled STEM-designated in the first sentence, but there is no section explaining what the designation means or who benefits from it. AI can cite the label but can’t answer follow-up questions about it.

What we’d build

A dedicated section explaining what STEM designation means and who it benefits -- written as extractable fact, not marketing copy, so AI can cite it when students ask.

Career Outcomes
today

No salary data, placement rates, or top employers on the program page. Career outcomes live on a separate subpage AI must navigate to separately -- and often doesn’t.

What we’d build

Salary data, placement rates, and top hiring companies in crawlable HTML -- the format AI pulls when answering “best MBA for career outcomes in the Southeast.”

4A
Search Influence
What We’d Do · Page Today vs. What AI Needs to See
Charlotte Executive MBA
Audience Framing
today

Industry data exists (36% financial services) but lives in a buried list. The page describes the audience as “working professionals” and “experienced peers.” No sentence names finance leaders as the primary audience.

What we’d write

“The Charlotte Executive MBA is built for finance, banking, and corporate leaders in the Southeast’s second-largest financial hub.”

A semantic triple AI can extract and cite when answering finance-specific program queries.

Decision-Stage Content
today

No FAQ section. No “who is this for” content. No answers to the questions prospective students actually ask AI: “How long is the Charlotte Executive MBA?” “What companies hire Charlotte Executive MBA graduates?”

What we’d build

FAQ content targeting the questions students ask AI at the decision stage -- structured so AI can pull and cite the answers directly from this page.

Comparison Content
today

No comparison to Wake Forest, Queens University, or other Charlotte-area executive programs. Prospective students ask these questions. The page has no answers for AI to cite.

What we’d build

Competitive comparison content structured so AI can answer “Charlotte Executive MBA vs Wake Forest.” The school that answers it wins the query.

4B
Search Influence
Competitive Timing
The Window Is Now
Southeast MBA AI Visibility
Duke FuquaStrong
UVA DardenStrong
Emory GoizuetaModerate
Wake ForestWeak
NC State PooleWeak
First-mover advantage

Duke and UVA benefit from brand authority built over decades. AI surfaces them by default. Structured AI visibility work hasn’t happened at any of these schools yet. Kenan-Flagler can move first.

40%
more AI inclusions for MECA&D in 6 months
Search Influence client success
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Search Influence
Search Influence Client Results
The playbook works
Maine College of Art & Design
Launching new online programs in a competitive market
53
new enrollments, exceeding goal of 30 by 65%
+40%
more AI inclusions in 6 months
+3,894%
growth in keywords ranking
+171%
website sessions

“Our online programs exceeded enrollment targets by 65% in less than a year.”

Heather Holland, Associate Dean of Online Learning

LSU Online
Building topical authority for program pages
+67%
AI traffic growth in 6 months following first optimizations
+9%
organic sessions year over year
Top AI-referred pages
Program pages lead AI referral traffic, not just informational content. AI visitors arrive at conversion pages.
Also cited in AI for:
Best careers for remote work Online business degrees Online engineering degrees
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Search Influence
After You Say Yes
Timeline & Approach
Week 1
Onboarding

Goals confirmed. Assets and access gathered. Communication and reporting cadence established.

You’ll know exactly who’s doing what from day one.

Weeks 6–8
Audit + Strategy

AI & Organic SEO Audit delivered at Week 6: findings, gaps, and competitive snapshot.

Strategy & roadmap with prioritized timeline delivered at Week 8. Analytics setup begins.

Months 3–12
Execution + Reporting

AI SEO executed against the strategy. Looker dashboard live with AI visibility + organic data.

Monthly analysis, reporting, and discussion. Adjust as data comes in.

The scope

The audit covers all three programs: MBA, MAC, and MSM. Performance baseline, content & entity alignment, technical review, and authority signals. The strategy builds from what the data shows.

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Search Influence
Your Team
The Team You’d Work With
JT
Jess Toben

Account Manager

Primary contact. 14 years digital marketing. LSU Online and Ultimate Medical Academy.

CA
Cory Agular

SEO Strategist

10 years SEO strategy. Tulane SoPA, MECA&D, Tufts University College.

WS
Will Scott

CEO & AI SEO Expert

Nationally recognized AI SEO expert. SMX Masterclass teacher on GEO. 25+ years online.

AZ
Alison Zeringue

Director of Account Management

Oversees Jess. 15 years white-glove client service. Tulane SoPA, MECA&D, LSU Online, Harvard Law.

WBENC Certified Women Business Enterprise
Women-Owned Business

Certified WBENC. Women represent 75% of leadership and 81% of our team.

UPCEA Platinum Partner
UPCEA Platinum Partner

Co-author research studies and provide education to university members.

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