How We Increased FNU’s Online Visibility and Organic Traffic
The Business
Florida National University (FNU) has been part of Miami’s educational landscape since 1982. What started as Florida National College eventually grew into a fully accredited university in 2012—a—nursing, home for nurses, business professionals, and forensic scientists who wanted practical, career-focused education close to home.
But by the spring of 2013, even with decades of credibility and strong academic programs, FNU was struggling to be seen online. The university had the programs people were searching for — nursing, criminal justice, business, law—but prospective students couldn’t find them. Competing institutions with stronger online visibility were showing up first on Google, and FNU’s message was getting lost in the noise.
In April 2013, FNU reached out to Optimum7 for help. They didn’t just want traffic; they wanted connection—the kind that translates into real inquiries and, eventually, students walking through their doors. They needed a partner who could help them tell their story in the digital world with the same energy and purpose that lived inside their classrooms.
That’s where the collaboration began—with a shared belief that education should be discoverable, that every future nurse, scientist, and business leader should be able to find their next step with a single search.
The Objective
When Florida National University came to Optimum7 in April 2013, it wasn’t just about marketing or search rankings. It was about being seen again. The school had spent decades building real, hands-on programs for nurses, business professionals, and forensic scientists—but the internet wasn’t showing that story to the people who needed it most.
They weren’t getting found. That was the simplest and hardest truth. A great university, right in the heart of Miami, with all the right credentials and programs, was being outranked by bigger names and louder competitors. Students who could’ve thrived there were ending up somewhere else.
So the goal became personal: make FNU visible to the right people. Help them find it. Show what makes this university different—the practical degrees, the smaller class sizes, and the sense of community.
To do that, we had to rebuild how FNU communicated online. Every article, every landing page, every ad—it all needed to do one thing: connect a searching student with the opportunity that was already waiting for them.
The Strategy
SEO & Content Marketing
Content Creation
When FNU partnered with Optimum7, one of the first steps was to build a steady rhythm of meaningful content. Every article we wrote had a purpose—to answer a real question that prospective students were already asking. Over the course of a year, the university’s WordPress site grew by roughly 96 new articles, published monthly and centered around specific academic programs like nursing, criminal justice, and business administration.
We didn’t just fill pages with keywords. We created informative, conversational pieces that helped people understand what each program offered and what kind of career it could lead to. Alongside these program articles, we also produced press releases—about ten each month—to strengthen FNU’s visibility across local and national education platforms.
This consistent, high-quality publishing schedule gave FNU something powerful: momentum. The site began ranking for a growing range of academic search terms, connecting the university with students who were actively exploring their options.
Technical SEO
Behind every strong digital presence, there’s a clean, healthy website holding it all together. One of the first problems we ran into was a mess of broken links and outdated pages—quiet little traps that were driving potential students away without anyone noticing. It’s amazing how fast trust can vanish with one 404 error. We couldn’t let that keep happening.
So, we got to work. Every deleted or relocated page was given a 301 redirect, making sure no click ended in a dead end. Our developers went deep into the source code, tightening things up, shrinking image sizes, and trimming what didn’t need to be there. Small things, really—but together, they changed how the site felt.
Once the dust settled, everything moved smoother. The site loaded in a blink, Google started paying attention, and students could finally browse without friction. It wasn’t just faster—it was alive again. Search engines could crawl with ease, and people could explore without losing trust. That balance—between performance and experience—was exactly what we were after.
Onsite Optimization
Once the foundation was stable, we focused on guiding students through the site in a more natural, intentional way. We created a content structure that spoke to people at every stage of their decision-making—from early research to final application.
That meant crafting both top-of-the-funnel and middle-to-bottom-of-the-funnel pieces, tailored to different levels of curiosity and intent. As a result, FNU’s Keyword Universe (KU) — the total number of keywords the site ranked for—grew dramatically, from 549 keywords in 2015 to 6,550 in 2020.
Even more impressive, over 2,000 of those keywords ranked on the first and second pages of Google search results. That kind of visibility doesn’t just happen from optimization — it happens when content begins to genuinely answer what people are searching for.
Facebook Advertising
Facebook wasn’t just an ad platform for FNU—it became a way to talk to people directly. Real people scrolling late at night, wondering if it was too late to go back to school or how to finally finish the degree they’d started years ago.
We used Facebook to meet them where they already were. Over time, it became one of the strongest channels for bringing in new students—not just for undergraduate or graduate programs, but also for continuing education certificates and specialized classes.
One campaign stood out. We built it around FNU’s English as a Second Language (ESL) program—a course that means a lot to the Miami community. The message was simple: learn English, open new doors, and start something new. Within weeks, it began pulling in leads at just $4 each.
But the number wasn’t the story. The real win was seeing those leads turn into conversations—people filling out forms, asking for class schedules, calling admissions to ask if they could start next semester. That’s when it felt real.
We weren’t just driving traffic. We were helping people take the first small, brave step toward an education they’d been putting off for years.
Custom Programming and ADA Compliance
Dynamic Calls to Action (CTAs)
When we started refining FNU’s website, one problem kept surfacing — students were finding information, but not direction. They could read about programs for minutes and still wonder what to do next. The site spoke at them, not to them.
So we rebuilt that experience. Instead of static “Apply Now” buttons scattered everywhere, we developed dynamic CTAs that changed based on a visitor’s behavior. Someone reading about nursing would see a soft prompt— “Talk to an Advisor” or “Get Program Details.” A student exploring the Criminal Justice program might get “Download Course Info.”
It sounds small, but it shifted how the site felt. It started anticipating intent. Visitors didn’t have to think about the next step—the page quietly showed them where to go. That human touch in digital form turned passive readers into active prospects, and it did it naturally.
ADA-Compliant Design
Accessibility wasn’t a box to check—it was a value to uphold. FNU serves a diverse student community, and making the site usable for everyone mattered deeply. Our developers and designers built the site to meet ADA compliance standards, paying attention to color contrast, font clarity, keyboard navigation, and screen-reader compatibility.
The result wasn’t just a compliant website—it was a welcoming one. Every student, regardless of ability, could navigate, read, and interact with ease. In higher education, that level of inclusion isn’t a feature—it’s part of the mission.
Dynamic Lead Generation Program Pages
Each degree FNU offered deserved its own digital home. To track how prospective students engaged, we built individual program pages with custom tracking and forms tied to specific academic paths.
These pages helped the marketing team see which programs were gaining attention and which needed more visibility. It also made things easier for students—fewer clicks, fewer distractions, just a simple way to express interest.
Over time, those pages became windows into real behavior: which programs drew the most curiosity, what time of year interest peaked, and what kind of information people searched for before reaching out. It gave FNU the one thing every university needs—clarity about its audience.
Results
1,093% Increase in Ranking Keywords
Over the years, FNU’s presence in search didn’t just rise—it caught fire. Back in 2015, the university showed up for only 549 keywords. By 2020, that number had exploded to 6,550, marking a 1,093% increase in visibility.
It wasn’t luck. It was hundreds of program pages written one by one, months of quiet backend fixes, and the kind of steady work that rarely gets noticed—until suddenly, everything does. Each new ranking became a small bridge: one more student finding a degree they didn’t even know existed.
400% Increase in Organic Leads
Visibility is only half the story. It has to reach someone who actually cares—and it did. As the rankings climbed, so did real engagement. FNU saw organic leads multiply by 400%. Forms started filling, brochures were downloaded, and inboxes began to fill with genuine questions about admissions.
These weren’t random clicks or bots. They were future nurses, law students, and business majors—real people who stumbled upon FNU and paused long enough to think, “Maybe this is where I start.”
750% Increase in Organic Traffic
Then came the wave. The site breathed differently—faster pages, cleaner code, content that finally had room to stretch. Organic traffic surged by 750%, and this time, the numbers meant something. People weren’t just landing and leaving. They stayed longer. They read. They came back.
You could feel it even before you tried to measure it—that subtle hum of connection. The site no longer felt like a pile of static pages; it felt alive. There was warmth in it, movement, something unmistakably human. It stopped being a website and started feeling like a doorway—the kind that pulls you in without trying. The university’s front door, open wide, waiting for whoever was ready to step through.
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