
American Public Education Organic Growth Opportunities
1. Readiness Assessment
1. Readiness Assessment
2. Competitive Analysis
2. Competitive Analysis
3. Opportunity Kickstarters
3. Opportunity Kickstarters
4. Appendix
4. Appendix
Readiness Assessment
Current Performance
- You’re getting ~1k monthly organic visits from ~300 ranking keywords, with traffic valued at ~$7k in equivalent ad spend.
- Visibility is heavily brand-led: top keywords include “american public education”, “american public education inc”, “american public university system”, and “apei stock” (investor intent).
- Most organic traffic concentrates on a few pages: the homepage drives ~80% of visits, followed by /overview/ (~8%) and stock quote / investor FAQs pages (~6% / ~3%); your backlink profile is moderate with Authority Score 30 supported by ~5k backlinks from ~1k referring domains.
Growth Opportunity
- A key competitor (strategiceducation.com) is ahead with ~2k visits and ~1k keywords—about 2x your traffic and 3x your keyword footprint, signaling a clear coverage gap rather than a conversion/efficiency issue.
- Expand beyond branded/investor queries into scalable, high-intent education topics you already hint at in keywords (e.g., online programs, tuition, accreditation, nursing, transfer credit, locations/campuses, student login/help), using dedicated landing pages and supporting content clusters.
- Reduce risk and unlock more SERP real estate by tightening technical/brand signals (e.g., http vs https duplication and ensuring development.apei.com doesn’t compete in index), then reinforce authority with targeted digital PR/link acquisition to raise rankings on non-brand terms.
Assessment
You have a solid branded base, but organic growth is constrained by a narrow keyword footprint and traffic concentration on the homepage and investor pages. The competitor gap suggests meaningful upside if you systematically build non-branded topic coverage and supporting internal linking. AirOps can help you scale that content programmatically and consistently to capture more high-intent search demand.
Competition at a Glance
Across 2 direct competitors in scope (with measurable data available for 1 of them), apei.com’s organic presence is being compared primarily against strategiceducation.com; perdoceoeducation.com could not be evaluated due to missing data, leaving a partial view of the landscape.
Based on the available benchmark, apei.com ranks #2 of 2 in both monthly organic visits and ranking keywords, with 1,101 monthly organic visits from 282 ranking keywords. The top-performing competitor, strategiceducation.com, generates 2,280 monthly organic visits and ranks for 951 keywords—about 2.1x higher traffic and 3.4x broader keyword coverage than apei.com.
Overall, the market leader’s edge appears driven more by scale of keyword footprint (visibility breadth) than superior traffic yield per keyword, indicating a clear coverage gap rather than an efficiency gap. With one major competitor’s data unavailable, the true competitive ceiling may be higher than what’s currently observable, reinforcing that apei.com’s current position reflects limited reach across search topics relative to the best-measured peer.
Opportunity Kickstarters
Here are your content opportunities, tailored to your domain's strengths. These are starting points for strategic plays that can grow into major traffic drivers in your market. Connect with our team to see the full traffic potential and activate these plays.
A comprehensive programmatic directory mapping specific military job codes (MOS, AFSC, Ratings) to civilian degree pathways and credit-transfer estimates. This strategy captures high-intent military learners searching for ways to translate their service experience into academic credentials.
Example Keywords
- best degree for [MOS/AFSC Code]
- civilian jobs for [MOS/AFSC Code]
- military credit for [MOS/AFSC Code] training
- how to use tuition assistance as a [Branch] [Role]
Rationale
Military members frequently search for how their specific training translates to the civilian workforce. By providing granular, role-specific mapping, apei.com can capture this traffic at the moment of career transition or promotion planning.
Topical Authority
As the parent company of the largest educator of active-duty military (AMU/APUS), apei.com has the inherent institutional credibility to provide authoritative guidance on military-to-civilian education pathways.
Internal Data Sources
Use internal Joint Services Transcript (JST) evaluation rules, CCAF transfer policies, and program-to-career mapping data from the APUS/AMU catalogs to provide differentiated, accurate content.
Estimated Number of Pages
15,000+ (Covering thousands of unique military codes across all branches and their associated degree/career variants)
A massive library of pages detailing the specific tuition reimbursement processes, documentation requirements, and eligibility rules for thousands of major U.S. employers. This play targets working adults looking for financial solutions to fund their education.
Example Keywords
- [Company Name] tuition reimbursement policy
- how to use [Company Name] education benefits
- [Company Name] Guild education programs
- reimbursement steps for [Company Name] employees
Rationale
Tuition reimbursement is a primary driver for adult enrollment, yet employees often struggle with the 'how-to' of paperwork and portals. Providing these answers positions apei.com as a helpful partner in the enrollment journey.
Topical Authority
APEI's focus on career-focused education for working adults makes it a natural authority on workforce development and employer-sponsored education benefits.
Internal Data Sources
Leverage internal admissions SOPs for third-party benefit portals (Guild, EdAssist), billing/invoice templates, and anonymized student FAQ logs regarding employer payment processes.
Estimated Number of Pages
10,000+ (Targeting Fortune 1000 companies, major healthcare systems, and large regional employers)
A programmatic directory of state-specific licensure requirements, exam steps, and educational prerequisites for nursing and healthcare roles. This strategy captures high-volume, YMYL-adjacent traffic from prospective students in the healthcare sector.
Example Keywords
- how to become an RN in [State]
- LPN to RN [State] requirements
- NCLEX [State] application steps
- [State] nursing board education requirements
Rationale
Licensure rules vary significantly by state, creating a constant need for clear, localized information. These pages serve as a high-intent entry point for APEI's nursing-focused brands like Rasmussen and Hondros.
Topical Authority
Through its ownership of Rasmussen University and Hondros College of Nursing, APEI possesses deep expertise in healthcare education and state-level regulatory compliance.
Internal Data Sources
Use internal program requirement matrices, clinical placement guidelines, and state-authorization disclosure data to ensure content is more accurate than generic career blogs.
Estimated Number of Pages
5,000+ (Covering 50 states across multiple healthcare roles including RN, LPN, Medical Assistant, and Surgical Tech)
A directory of pages that map popular industry certifications (IT, HR, Project Management) to specific college credit equivalencies and degree completion plans. This play targets 'stackable credential' seekers looking to shorten their time to a degree.
Example Keywords
- college credit for [Certification Name]
- does [Certification Name] count for credit
- [Certification Name] to [Degree Name] pathway
- fastest degree for [Certification] holders
Rationale
Adult learners with professional certifications are highly motivated to find programs that respect their prior learning. These pages provide immediate value by showing exactly how much time and money they can save.
Topical Authority
APEI's institutions are leaders in Prior Learning Assessment (PLA), giving the domain the authority to publish detailed credit-transfer expectations.
Internal Data Sources
Utilize internal Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) databases, ACE credit recommendation mappings, and institutional transfer-credit policies.
Estimated Number of Pages
3,000+ (Covering hundreds of IT, business, and healthcare certifications across various degree program outcomes)
Unique pages that analyze the transition from one common job role to another, highlighting the skills gap and the specific educational path needed to make the switch. This strategy leverages career-adjacency data to capture users in the consideration phase.
Example Keywords
- from [Source Job] to [Target Job] career change
- how to become a [Target Job] with [Source Job] experience
- fastest way to switch from [Source Job] to [Target Job]
- [Target Job] career path for [Source Job]
Rationale
Many prospective students search for career changes rather than specific degrees. By mapping the 'gap' between their current role and their goal, apei.com can introduce relevant programs as the solution.
Topical Authority
APEI's focus on career-focused outcomes and workforce readiness provides the necessary context to offer authoritative career-transition advice.
Internal Data Sources
Use program learning outcomes, alumni career data (where available), and internal career services advising rubrics to differentiate the content.
Estimated Number of Pages
20,000+ (Mapping hundreds of common 'source' roles to APEI's 'target' career-aligned programs)
Improvements Summary
Refocus the IR cluster around winnable investor-intent queries by rewriting titles, H1s, and above-the-fold copy on data-heavy ASPX pages, then add FAQ blocks and structured data for richer SERP snippets. Build a clearer hub-and-spoke internal linking model across Stock Quote, SEC Filings, Quarterly Results, Proxy Materials, Events, Analyst Coverage, and Investor FAQs, while reducing mixed intent from student/login-style queries.
Improvements Details
Update metadata and header hierarchies per page with keyword-first phrasing (e.g., “apei stock”, “apei stock price”, “NASDAQ: APEI”, “APEI earnings”, “APEI SEC filings”, “proxy statement/DEF 14A”) and add 200–400 words of explanatory copy on each hub/data page. Add 5–8 on-page FAQs (FAQ schema) on Stock Quote, Quarterly Results, Proxy Materials, and create crawlable archives/packages (earnings press release, slides, webcast, replay, transcript; proxy materials by year; filing-type explanations for 10-K/10-Q/8-K). Add an IR Overview hub plus 3–5 support pages (Historical Price, Earnings Center, Annual Reports & 10-K Highlights, Governance Overview) and connect them with contextual links from earnings/news content; add Breadcrumb, Organization/WebSite, and Event schema where applicable.
Improvements Rationale
Most pages in this cluster are thin “data” templates, so Google gets weak relevance signals; stronger titles/H1s, visible keyword coverage, and supporting copy make the intent clearer for investor searches and can lift CTR with FAQ/Event snippets. The site already shows traction for terms like “apei stock,” so tightening on-page targeting and internal links is a realistic path from page 2 to page 1, while clearer separation from student-oriented queries helps site classification for the entire IR section.
Appendix
| Keyword | Volume | Traffic % |
|---|---|---|
| best seo tools | 5.0k | 3 |
| seo strategy | 4.0k | 5 |
| keyword research | 3.5k | 2 |
| backlink analysis | 3.0k | 4 |
| on-page optimization | 2.5k | 1 |
| local seo | 2.0k | 6 |
| Page | Traffic | Traffic % |
|---|---|---|
| /seo-tools | 5.0k | 100 |
| /keyword-research | 4.0k | 100 |
| /backlink-checker | 3.5k | 80 |
| /site-audit | 3.0k | 60 |
| /rank-tracker | 2.5k | 50 |
| /content-optimization | 2.0k | 40 |
Ready to Get Growing?
Request access to the best–in–class growth strategies and workflows with AirOps