Turning Insight into Strategic Impact
The Analytics and Alignment team in Strategic Communications and Marketing helps amplify Illinois’ story by transforming data, processes and strategy into clear, actionable guidance. We partner with communicators across campus to strengthen decision-making, streamline operations and make sure our efforts align with the university’s brand and priorities.
What We Do
Strategic Analytics and Institutional Rankings Insights
We analyze institutional data, competitive benchmarks and ranking methodologies to help leadership understand our standing and make informed, strategic choices that shape the Illinois brand. We also supply institutional data to campuswide ranking surveys that evaluate the university as a whole, ensuring Illinois is accurately represented on the global stage and positioned to strengthen its brand and reputation.
Marketing Research and Analytics
We transform market research and digital performance data into strategic insights. Through dashboards, automated reporting and deep-dive analysis, we clarify website performance, email engagement and campaign effectiveness, ensuring marketing efforts are targeted, measurable and audience-centered. Our research includes brand perception studies and peer benchmarking to guide messaging and optimize marketing impact.
Process Design and Knowledge Management
We provide tools and frameworks to map, refine and document the systems that power StratCom’s work. Through the StratCom Knowledge Base, we help teams improve consistency, efficiency and collaboration with accessible, easy-to-use resources.
SEO and AEO Strategy
Our team drives SEO and AEO by combining strategic planning, market research and keyword analysis to align content with user intent. We provide strategy and best-practice guidance to campus, optimize meta descriptions and implement schema markup for better visibility and rich results. This ensures accurate, accessible and user-friendly information across search and answer engines.
UX Evaluation and Best Practices
We apply UX best practices to enhance Illinois’ digital presence. Through usability testing, accessibility reviews and information architecture assessments, we uncover how audiences interact with our platforms and content. These insights inform design improvements, navigation structures and inclusive experiences to guide our digital touchpoints to be intuitive, accessible and aligned with user needs.
MarCom Project Management
From campuswide initiatives to complex cross-team efforts, we provide structure, coordination and alignment — ensuring that critical projects advance smoothly, support university priorities and deliver measurable outcomes.
Training and Professional Development
We collaborate with StratCom experts to deliver workshops, templates and tools that equip communications professionals with the skills and best practices needed to advance the Illinois brand.
Connect With Us
Whether you need data insights, project support, process improvement or communications training, we’re here to collaborate.
Contact our team: stratcomanalytics@illinois.edu