Influence of search engine optimization (SEO) on business performance
Case study of private university in Sarajevo
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v11i4.1865Keywords:
SEO, digital marketing, marketing, business, online business, business performance, universityAbstract
The aim of the paper is to investigate the impact of SEO on the business performance of a private university in Sarajevo. Thus, the main research question provides the finding on how does the implementation of SEO influence the performance of the business. Moreover, the tested hypothesis presents whether SEO positively influences the business performance of International Burch University (IBU). The research strategy is to analyze primary data derived from a case study, which is generated following a conversation with the Head of the IBU Marketing and PR team. The data sample is derived from Google Analytics (focusing on the number of visits and sessions, average engagement time, keywords and SERP positioning). Seobility tools are employed in data analysis. Business performance is calculated through the IBU CRM system, focusing on student enrolment. Findings indicate that increasing a site's rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs) led to a variety of positive outcomes for companies including an increase in the number of visitors to the site, an increase in the average amount of time users spent on the site, increased user engagement, and an increase in student enrollment, which resulted in IBU increased annual sales revenue. It will benefit many different groups, including the government, which will benefit in both microeconomic and macroeconomic senses, digital marketing enthusiasts and SEO experts, and the academic world, which will benefit as a framework for future studies and research in the field of SEO recognition and implementation in business queries.
Downloads
References
Benbasat, I., Goldstein, D. K., & Mead, M. (1987). The case research strategy in studies of information systems. MIS Quarterly: Management Information Systems, 11(3), 369–386. https://doi.org/10.2307/248684
Binter, U. (2019). Influence of Online Marketing Strategies on the Sales Success of B2B Companies. May, 96.
Budur, T. (2018b). The impact of Al-Ghazali’s virtues on organizational commitment and performance: A case Study at private education institutions in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Icabep, Erbil-Iraq, 2, p21.
Budur, T. (2020). Impact of Transformational Leadership on Customer Satisfaction: Mediating effects of Employee Performance and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). International Burch University.
Budur, T., & Poturak, M. (2021a). Transformational leadership and its impact on customer satisfaction. Measuring mediating effects of organisational citizenship behaviours. Middle East Journal of Management, 8(1), 67-91.
Budur, T., Faraj, K. M., & Karim, L. A. (2019). Benchmarking operations strategies via hybrid model: A case study of café-restaurant sector, 8, 842–854.
Budur, T., Rashid, C. A., & Poturak, M. (2018). Students perceptions on university selection, decision making process: A case study in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. International Journal of Social Sciences & Educational Studies, 5(1), 133–144.
Business Performance Measures – Skillmaker. (n.d.). Retrieved May 28, 2022, from https://www.skillmaker.edu.au/business-performance-measures/
Curkovic, S., Vickery, S. K., & Droge, C. (1999). Quality and Business Performance: An Empirical Study of First-Tier Automotive Suppliers. Quality Management Journal, 6(2), 29–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/10686967.1999.11919185
Demir, A., Budur, T., Hiwa, M., & Heshmati, A. (2021). Links between Knowledge Management and Organizational Sustainability: Does the ISO 9001 certification have an effect? Knowledge Management Research & Practice (TKMR), Doi: 10.1080/14778238.2020.1860663
Enaceanu, A. (2010). SEO Techniques for Business Websites. Journal of Information Systems & Operations Management, 2(1), 114–121.
Enge, E., Spencer, S., Fishkin, R., & Stricchiola, C. J. (2009). Praise for The Art of SEO.
Erdmann, A., Arilla, R., & Ponzoa, J. M. (2022). Search engine optimization: The long-term strategy of keyword choice. Journal of Business Research, 144, 650–662. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JBUSRES.2022.01.065
Forker, L. B., Vickery, S. K., & Droge, C. L. M. (1996). The contribution of quality to business performance. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 16(8), 44–62. https://doi.org/10.1108/01443579610125778
Geroski, P. A. (1995). Market structure, corporate performance and innovative activity. Oxford University Press.
Hidayanto, A. N., Adha, M. S., Jiwanggi, M. A., & Melia, T. (2012). A study of impact of search engine optimisation to internet marketing strategy. International Journal of Services, Economics and Management, 4(4), 298–316. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSEM.2012.050950
Iprospect. (2006). iProspect Search Engine User Behavior Study. Methodology, April 1–16.
Jaakkola, M., Möller, K., Parvinen, P., Evanschitzky, H., & Mühlbacher, H. (2010). Strategic marketing and business performance: A study in three European “engineering countries.” Industrial Marketing Management, 39(8), 1300–1310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2010.06.005
Kivist, M. (2016). Case Study: SEO Strategy and Implementation for Industrial Pump Company, Retrieved 15 February 2022, from https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/115399/Kivisto_Miika.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Neely, A., & Hii, J. (1998). Innovation and Business Performance: A Literature Review. Business, January, 57. http://89.249.21.76/data/696/521/1221/litreview_innov1.pdf
Norrgard, I. (2018). Search engine optimization (seo) as a digital marketing technique for internationalization in higher education, retrieved April 15, 2022, from https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/142502/SEO_in_higher_education_for_internationalization.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Ochoa, E. D. (2012). An Analysis of the Application of Selected Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Techniques and Their Effectiveness on Google’s Search Ranking Algorithm. Retrieved May 28, 2022, from https://dspace.calstate.edu/bitstream/handle/10211.2/1077/An_Analysis_of_the_Application_of_Selected_SEO_Techniques.pdf?sequence=1
OECD Glossary of Statistical Terms - Year-on-year (YoY) growth rates Definition. (n.d.). Retrieved May 24, 2022, from https://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=6673
Plaza, B. (2011). Google Analytics for measuring website performance. Tourism Management, 32(3), 477–481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2010.03.015
Pohjanen, R. (2019). The Benefits of Search Engine Optimization in Google for Businesses. Retrieved February 12, 2022, from https://docplayer.net/225527224-The-benefits-of-search-engine-optimization-in-google-for-businesses.html
Poturak, M., Meki?, E., Hadžiahmetovi?, N., & Budur, T. (2020). Effectiveness of Transformational Leadership among Different Cultures. International Journal of Social Sciences & Educational Studies, 7(3), 119–129.
Prakash, A., Jha, S. K., Prasad, K. D., & Singh, A. K. (2017). Productivity, quality and business performance: an empirical study. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 66(1), 78–91. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-03-2015-0041
Rana, B. (2016). The impact of SEO on business, Retrieved April 25, 2022, from https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/116634/The%20impact%20of%20SEO%20on%20business.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Rashid, C. A., Salih, H. A., & Budur, T. (2020). The Role of Online Teaching Tools on the Perception of the Students during the Lockdown of Covid-19. International Journal of Social Sciences & Educational Studies, 7(3), 178–190.
Sharaf, N. (2013). Search Engine Optimization for E-Business
Sirovich, J., & Darie, C. (2007). Search Engine Optimization with PHP. Wiley Publishing, Inc.
Thoti, K. K., & Vyshnavi, P. (2019). A Study on Digital Marketing Strategy Building for Teachonapp. Com. Indusedu.Org, 9(February), 556–566.
Tomasi, S., & Li, X. (2015). Influences of Search engine optimization on performance of SMEs: A qualitative perceptive. Journal of Electronic Commerce in Organizations, 13(1), 27–49. https://doi.org/10.4018/jeco.2015010103
Vállez, M., & Ventura, A. (2020). Analysis of the SEO visibility of university libraries and how they impact the web visibility of their universities. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 46(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2020.102171
What is business performance? (n.d.). Retrieved May 28, 2022, from https://www.primeum.com/en/blog/definition-what-is-business-performance
Wood, E. H. (2006). The internal predictors of business performance in small firms: A logistic regression analysis. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 13(3), 441–453. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1108/14626000610680299
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Mersid Poturak, Dino Ke?o, Eldar Tutni?
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
For all articles published in IJRBS, copyright is retained by the authors. Articles are licensed under an open access Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, meaning that anyone may download and read the paper for free. In addition, the article may be reused and quoted provided that the original published version is cited. These conditions allow for maximum use and exposure of the work, while ensuring that the authors receive proper credit.