ETA Transit Systems

Transit Digital MArketing

Winning keywords and launching an omni-channel digital marketing strategy.


Project Overview

Winning vital keywords is no easy task, particularly in industries with "dug-in" legacy companies that are apart of larger conglomerations, but that's exactly what we've been building towards for ETA Transit. My time with ETA Transit as a client began years ago during my time with a digital marketing agency and later transitioned to an independent contractor relationship. Below is the guiding problem statement we set out to work on:

How can we create a holistic digital marketing strategy to win important organic keywords, improve brand recognition, and bring in qualified leads for transit projects?

Our focus for this renewed partnership was clear - climb up the keyword rankings ladder while continuously improving the on-site user experience through bolstered content and refined information architecture. The initial efforts focused on winning "CAD/AVL" keywords, and the methods included the following:

  • Full site audit to review current keyword targeting and SEO efforts
  • Competitor research to understand ETA's digital position within the larger transit industry
  • Conduct a full keyword analysis and mapping to lay a strong SEO foundation
  • Create a forward-thinking marketing strategy for SEO, with an eye towards the addition of future marketing channels (mainly SEM and social media) to drive growth

Our strategy has significantly improved the number and quality of inbound leads, greatly increased our following on LinkedIn, bolstered our keyword rankings across the board, and prepared us for future expansion efforts.

For more details on this ongoing project execution, please see below:


Project Execution

ETA has a unique position in the transit industry, combining the power of their cloud-native software offerings with engineering and integration of legacy hardware. That value proposition, innovation combined with reliability, became the north star of our messaging. It was vital that we quickly established their extensive functionality, deep expertise, and incredible customer support that sets them apart. This initial review and SEO foundation included:

  • Refreshed keyword analysis and mapping, particularly for "CAD/AVL" terms.
  • Technical SEO improvements, such as schema creation.
  • Content development to support refreshed keyword targetting.
  • Buildout of Google Ads campaigns to improve reach and lead generation opportunities.
  • Revive LinkedIn presence with thought-leader focused content.
  • Prepare for future large-scale website and brand restructuring.

We moved away from traditional vanity metrics, such as user traffic, and instead focused on the quality of incoming traffic. By pushing forward our organic SEO efforts with precise targeting, we were able to refine our audience to reach those with the decision-making capability for ETA's offerings.

Sample Keyword Refresh for ETA Transit

With the SEO foundation secured, we began pursuing SEM channels with Google Ads. I created a series of 3 campaigns, each with a specific goal:

  • Branding - branded keywords to defend our name and establish legitimacy on Google Ads.
  • Conquesting - branded keywords of competitors to pull traffic from legacy vendors.
  • Search - "CAD/AVL" keyword focused search campaign to capture users searching for our main services.

Once campaigns were established, we worked to iterate and refine our targeting - restricting or opening targeting based on the types and volume of users that clicked through to our site. As an added benefit of these efforts, these campaigns also reinforced our SEO targetting. With SEO firmly in place, and our SEM campaigns refined, we launched a site-wide effort to improve messaging and content to deliver an A+ user experience to incoming potential clients. This effort included everything from keyword density analyses to image optimizations.

Next, we worked to expand our follower base and engagement on LinkedIn to help establish ETA's expertise in the industry. In under 9 months in 2024, we went from the mid-400s in followers to over 700, while improving our positioning as a thought-leader in the industry. This growth continued, with our current follower count sitting at 980. While follower count alone is meaningless, this was a huge goal for my client and has helped us improve social media engagement across the board.

To better understand our ongoing holistic marketing strategies, I created a consistent reporting rhythm. To ensure all parties were kept in the loop and to measure our improvement (or mitigate issues as they arise), we established the following reporting structure:

  • Keyword Rankings (weekly) - the current position and rank changes for our top 35 keywords (example shown here).
  • Marketing Meetings (weekly) - meeting with ETA's marketing personnel to discuss strategy, report findings, and coordinate on way forward.
  • Report (monthly) - holistic report on current status and way forward for each marketing channel.
  • KPI Tracker (weekly & monthly)- document with key performance indicators across all channels, broken down by week and by month.

This evolving reporting structured has empowered our data-driven decision making, while ensuring all parties are kept up to date with our digital marketing campaigns.

Keyword Ranking Changes for ETA Transit

Today, our work continues to iterate on our SEO, SEM, email, and social media efforts, while setting our sights to an exciting 2026. ETA Transit continues to evolve their messaging, fully realize their branding, and dial in their unique niche in the larger market. Real Digital Design is supporting this ongoing effort through marketing partnership and tactical execution of our larger strategy. With big changes on the horizon, ETA Transit is rapidly improving their digital presence while being at the cutting edge of transit technology software, world-class customer service, and impeccable reliability. We stand ready and excited to support their continued growth!

Want to see how your business can benefit from a holistic marketing and design plan? Reach out today!


Skills Demonstrated

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Social Media Content & Strategy
Conversion Rate Optimization
Digital Marketing Strategy
Website Redesign Preparation
Information Architecture & Navigation
Marketing Report Creation

Get in Touch

Want to see how you can enhance your digital marketing and user experience? Reach out using the email shown, or fill out a form below:

Info@RealDigitalDesign.com