Rice Glasscock School of Continuing Studies
AI & Organic SEO Proposal
A practical plan to improve AI search visibility, organic search performance, content clarity, and reporting while Glasscock prepares for accessibility improvements, CMS migration, and a new site template.
What’s Inside
Why AI and organic visibility matter now, especially before a major site transition.
What we heard from the recent conversations: accessibility, Storyblok, program clarity, content, and budget timing.
Standard SI AI & Organic SEO plus separate Dashboard, Analytics & Reporting.
AI visibility, AI traffic, organic performance, completed work, and monthly insights.
Setup and monthly options based on the budget provided.
Access, priority pages, Siteimprove export, and kickoff alignment.
The AI Search Opportunity
Prospects are using AI tools and AI-influenced search results to discover, compare, and trust programs. Glasscock has strong offerings; the opportunity is to make those offerings easier for search and AI systems to understand, cite, and recommend.
AI Is Becoming a Primary Student Discovery Channel
The way prospects search is changing. AI visibility now depends on clear entities, structured content, authority signals, and consistent language across the web.
Source: AI Search in Higher Education: How Prospects Search in 2025, UPCEA & Search Influence.
Glasscock’s Opportunity Is Bigger Than “SEO Tasks”
Accessibility cleanup, Drupal-to-Storyblok migration, and a new template are already shaping the timing.
Program pages and registration content are inconsistent, and some copy is written for internal teams rather than prospects.
Saira called out concern that AI search adoption is moving quickly and Glasscock should not be left behind.
Pricing is needed quickly because June budget approval is underway.
Where AI & Organic SEO Fits in the Web Transition
Use Siteimprove findings, CMS access, analytics, and priority pages to identify work SI can safely handle within SEO scope.
Clarify entities, program relationships, page headings, metadata, schema, FAQs, internal links, and prospect-first language.
Track AI visibility, AI traffic, organic rankings, traffic, inquiries, and completed optimization work month by month.
Note: SI can support SEO-overlapping accessibility items such as alt text, page titles, headings, metadata, content structure, and selected implementation issues. This is not positioned as a standalone accessibility compliance engagement.
Signals Glasscock Can Strengthen
Make it easier for AI and search systems to understand each program, who it is for, what outcomes it supports, and how it connects to Rice Glasscock.
Open Rice and related content may create value, but that value is weaker when content sits outside the main Glasscock web presence.
Registration copy and program-team language need to be balanced with clear marketing content for prospective learners.
Fresh articles, videos, LinkedIn content, citations, and internal links can help reinforce topical authority for priority programs.
Scope of Work
The proposed work separates AI & Organic SEO from Dashboard, Analytics & Reporting so each product is clear, measurable, and budgeted appropriately.
Onboarding & Goal Setting
Confirm the goals, stakeholders, access, timelines, and reporting expectations needed to start cleanly.
- Website/CMS access as appropriate
- GA4, GSC, Bing Webmaster Tools, analytics, and reporting access
- Siteimprove export and current web transition context
- Stakeholder introductions
- Day-to-day contacts and reviewers
- Program copy review and approval workflow
- Goals, KPIs, and success criteria
- SMART goal setting
- Reporting frequency and launch milestones
Initial Analysis & Strategy
Initial AI & organic SEO analysis connects entity, content, technical, authority, and baseline visibility work into an actionable three-month plan.
Entity, keyword, and topic research; collaborative prioritization based on goals and potential ROI.
Review priority pages, search results, AI answer patterns, and competitor visibility.
Analyze crawlability, structured data, indexation, site architecture, and internal linking.
Review link profile, citations, organic rankings, and AI visibility for targeted prompts.
Execute Custom AI & Organic SEO Strategy
- Align content with key entities and search intent
- Optimize title tags, headings, and metadata
- Strengthen entity connections through internal linking and structured data
- Differentiate with information gain and subject matter expert insight
- Lean into content freshness
- Write and publish blog content for topical authority
- Secure backlinks and citations
- Optimize directories and industry listings
- Publish digital PR with strategic links/language
- Optimize/create YouTube videos and LinkedIn articles
- Implement schema
- Improve crawlability, speed, and mobile health
- Improve navigation, internal linking, and URL structure
- Address SEO-overlapping accessibility items where appropriate
Dashboard, Analytics & Reporting
Reporting should connect strategy, completed work, visibility, traffic, and lead/funnel signals in language the team can use.
Analytics assessment, GA4, GSC, Bing Webmaster Tools, conversion events, and Looker Studio dashboard setup.
SMART goal attainment, inquiries, keyword rankings, overall and organic traffic, and content performance.
AI traffic, AI visibility, prompt/citation trends, cited pages, and other sites appearing for tracked prompts.
Emailed insights report by the 15th, completed deliverables, and a monthly meeting to review results.
AI Visibility Tracking
Overall presence in AI-powered conversations and visibility across tracked AI platforms.
Presence, position, sentiment, and competitive context for priority prompts.
Pages cited in AI answers and other sites that appear for tracked prompts.
AI Traffic Performance
Which AI tools drive visits to the site and how that changes over time.
Which pages receive AI-referred traffic and how that differs from organic search behavior.
How engaged AI tool visitors are compared with other traffic sources and priority pages.
Investment
Pricing shown below uses the specific budget supplied for Rice Glasscock. The recommended path is the competitive monthly option plus Dashboard, Analytics & Reporting.
AI & Organic SEO
One-time setup for AI & Organic SEO analysis, prioritization, strategy, access alignment, and launch planning.
Dashboard, Analytics & Reporting
One-time setup for analytics assessment, implementation planning, dashboard configuration, AI visibility tracking, and baseline measurement.
Monthly dashboard access, emailed insights report by the 15th, and meeting to review results and discuss optimizations.
AI & Organic SEO + Dashboard
SEO and Dashboard, Analytics & Reporting are shown together so setup and monthly options are easy to compare.
Focus on 1-2 programs at a time
Focus on 2-3 programs at a time
Includes AI Visibility Tracker
Monthly amounts are ongoing monthly options. One-time setup charges are due upon contract signing unless otherwise arranged. For an accelerated start, Rice can add $2,000-$3,000/month for the first three months to push through SiteImprove recommendations.
Payment Terms & Billing Practices
One-time/setup charges are billed upon contract signing.
SEO and Dashboard, Analytics & Reporting monthly charges are billed on the 1st of each month after onboarding or as otherwise arranged.
Third-party providers such as CallRail or Hubspot, if applicable, are billed directly.
Recommended Next Steps
Select the monthly SEO option and execute contract between Rice and Search Influence.
Provide analytics, search console, CMS, and Siteimprove access.
Identify the first set of programs to prioritize based on Rice revenue ad impact as well as seasonality.
Align on timeline, approval workflow, and the first three-month SEO plan.
Future Recommendation
Email nurture can be considered after the core AI & Organic SEO and reporting scope is underway, using program priorities, audience segments, and timing to support the path from inquiry to registration.
Hubspot Marketing Email Nurture
Goal: Move prospects through the funnel toward application and, ultimately, registration.
Email nurture gives prospective students the right message at the right point in the decision cycle, with segmentation and timing shaped by program priorities.
Leverage current campaign data, evaluate against benchmarks, and compare to best practices.
Deliver messages based on the typical decision cycle and learner experience.
Build program-specific and action-based messaging for different audience paths.
Communicate the right information with the appropriate prompt for the next step.
Early Touches Build Confidence and Momentum
Mid-Cycle Messages Address Questions and Fit
Application or Registration Reminders Keep the Path Moving
Prospects often need repeated, well-timed reminders that respect the decision cycle while making the next action clear.
Campaign cadence will be shaped around program seasonality, revenue priority, and known enrollment windows.
Email Campaign Structure Depends on the Audience and Path
Are there reasons to segment prospects? Do different people need different messages, content, or calls to action?
Should the email move someone to start an application, complete an application, register online, or book time with an advisor?
Timing should reflect how long prospects typically take to compare options and decide.
- Audience segmentation
- Complexity of the path
- Decision cycle
Hubspot Email Nurture Process
The process turns campaign goals, audience segments, and decision-cycle timing into emails that can be built, launched, measured, and improved.
- Key messages
- Cadence and timing
- Calls to action
- Audience segments
- Email copy
- Subject lines
- Personalization logic
- Approval workflow
- Email design
- Visual assets
- Template alignment
- Brand consistency
- Hubspot buildout
- Workflow setup
- List logic
- QA testing
- Performance review
- Subject line testing
- Timing adjustments
- Monthly reporting
Hubspot Marketing Email Nurture
Email nurture pricing is shown separately as a future recommendation, with setup based on the number of nurture campaigns and monthly support based on the selected ongoing option.
One-time setup for campaign strategy, content, design, segmentation, implementation, and launch QA.
Thank You
Search Influence looks forward to helping Rice Glasscock strengthen AI visibility, organic search performance, reporting clarity, and future student nurture opportunities.