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Website management & SEO support for research & policy organizations

Policy institutes, think tanks, and research organizations publish constantly — briefs, reports, working papers, event recaps — but rarely have dedicated staff to keep the website current, technically sound, and discoverable. When your latest report isn't indexed properly or your publications page hasn't been updated in three months, credibility takes a quiet hit. A Trusty Oak EA handles the ongoing website and SEO work so your team stays focused on the research itself.

Fractional website management & seo support for research and policy organizations

How Trusty Oak handles website management & seo for research and policy organizations

A Trusty Oak EA assigned to a research or policy organization typically works inside WordPress or Squarespace to publish and format new content — reports, policy briefs, blog posts, and event pages — following your existing style and taxonomy. They'll manage metadata, alt text, and internal linking using tools like Yoast SEO or Rank Math, and run routine technical audits through Google Search Console or Screaming Frog to catch crawl errors, broken links, or slow-loading pages before they become problems. On the SEO side, they'll research keywords relevant to your policy focus areas — whether that's climate legislation, healthcare access, or fiscal policy — and apply on-page optimization to new and existing content. You stay in the loop through a shared task tracker or a brief weekly update; you're not managing the work, just reviewing what matters.

What your EA takes off your plate

Before your EA starts, pull together your CMS login credentials, any brand or style guidelines for how reports are titled and categorized, and a short list of your three to five core issue areas — these become the foundation for keyword research and content organization. The most common mistake is handing off website work without explaining your audience: an EA optimizing for general traffic will miss the mark for an organization whose real goal is visibility with Hill staffers or foundation program officers. A ten-minute kickoff call covering who you're trying to reach makes the first month significantly more useful.

1

Publication & Report Page Uploads

Formatting and publishing new research reports, policy briefs, and working papers in WordPress or your CMS, including PDF embeds, author bios, tagging, and categorization.

2

On-Page SEO Optimization

Writing and applying title tags, meta descriptions, header structure, and internal links for new and existing content using Yoast SEO or Rank Math to improve organic visibility.

3

Google Search Console Monitoring

Reviewing crawl errors, index coverage issues, and keyword performance data weekly, then flagging or resolving issues that affect how your site appears in search results.

4

Policy-Focused Keyword Research

Identifying search terms your target audiences — policymakers, journalists, academics, funders — use when looking for research in your issue areas, and mapping those terms to existing or planned content.

5

Site Health Audits & Broken Link Fixes

Running periodic audits with tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs to identify broken links, redirect chains, missing metadata, and outdated content, then resolving or escalating each item.

Tools our team works with

We adapt to your existing stack — no forced migrations.

Google Search Console
Google Analytics 4
Ahrefs
Screaming Frog
SEMrush
WordPress

...and many more!

Trusted by research and policy organizations

Trusty Oak supports research and policy organizations including Clayton Christensen Institute — handling everything from website management & seo to broader operational support.

What website management & seo support costs for research and policy organizations

Drag the sliders to build a monthly plan that fits your workload.

Executive Assistants
~$35/hour
10 hours $350
Specialists
~$50/hour
20 hours $1,000
Fractional Executives
~$95/hour
0 hours $0
Your monthly budget
$1,350

Starting at $1,000/month. One-time $300 onboarding fee includes your Strategic Delegation Plan.

Book a Discovery Call

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes — research organizations with regular publication schedules are a good fit for ongoing EA support because the work is consistent and process-driven. You'd establish a repeatable upload and optimization workflow early in the engagement, and the EA handles each new publication against that template without needing your input each time.
Trusty Oak EAs are most experienced in WordPress, Squarespace, and Webflow. If your organization runs Drupal or a proprietary CMS, it's worth discussing during onboarding — some EAs have Drupal experience, and for straightforward content publishing tasks the learning curve is often manageable. Your Client Success Manager will match you with someone whose technical background fits your setup.
For research and policy organizations, SEO determines whether your work surfaces when journalists, policymakers, or other researchers search for evidence on your issue areas — which directly affects reach and influence. Funders and partners also frequently search for organizations by topic before making contact, so discoverability has real organizational value beyond web traffic numbers.

Keep your research visible and your website current

Trusty Oak's US-based EAs are ready to take on the website and SEO work your team doesn't have bandwidth for. Engagements start at $1,000/month with a one-time $300 onboarding fee and include a Strategic Delegation Plan built around your organization's needs.