Using AI-Driven SEO to Push Down Negative Content in SERPs
Client
Hult International Business School
A globally recognized institution with campuses in Boston, San Francisco, London, Dubai, and Shanghai, Hult prides itself on innovation and internationalism. However, like many large institutions, it faced challenges controlling the narrative about its brand online.
Challenge
Negative articles and blog posts—some outdated or misleading—had gained traction and visibility on the first page of Google search results for branded queries such as “Hult International Business School reviews” and “Is Hult a good school?”. These results were impacting the school’s reputation, conversion rates, and international student applications, as users typically associate first-page results with high relevance and authority.
Objective
To restore trust and improve the digital reputation of Hult by:
- Pushing negative articles beyond the first page of search results (where less than 10% of users typically navigate).
- Repopulating the first page (SERP Zone 1) with positive, high-quality, and controlled content that reflects the institution’s strengths and community impact.
Solution
Virtuance deployed an AI-powered SEO reputation management strategy that combined Natural Language Processing (NLP), predictive ranking algorithms, and entity-focused content optimization.
Key Tactics:
- SERP Intelligence Audit: Identified all negative URLs and their ranking signals using AI-driven tools. Mapped SERP dynamics and visibility zones (hot zones vs. cold zones).
- AI Content Engine: Generated and optimized over 100+ positive, keyword-targeted assets—including student testimonials, alumni stories, industry partnerships, and faculty achievements—to target specific search intents and dominate relevant search clusters.
- Reverse Engineering Google’s NLP: Used AI to match and outdo the semantic relevance and authority of negative content, allowing new assets to replace them in high-visibility zones.
- Strategic Backlink Deployment: Built high-quality, diverse backlinks to the newly created assets from educational, news, and partner domains to signal trust and authority.
- SERP Sculpting: Created and ranked positive YouTube videos, image carousels, PDFs, and Quora/Reddit threads to diversify the result types and push down textual articles further.
- CTR Manipulation Simulations (Ethical Testing): Simulated human behaviour patterns with A/B testing on titles and meta descriptions to increase organic click-through rates of positive results.
Results (Within 4–6 Months)
- All identified negative articles were successfully pushed to page 2 or deeper.
- The first page of results now features:
- Hult’s official pages
- News coverage of awards and global rankings
- Student testimonials on YouTube
- Thought leadership content authored by faculty
- High-ranking answers and positive discussions on forums
- Bounce rates decreased by 23%
- Conversion rate on the application page increased by 31%
- Overall brand sentiment improved significantly, as monitored through AI-driven sentiment analysis tools.
Conclusion
We helped Hult International Business School not only protect their reputation but actively shape it. Our AI-driven strategy brought measurable results and a deep understanding of how people engage with search content.