Case Study
4× monthly student pilot enquiries after rebuild and local SEO
Cascade Air had a strong training reputation locally but an underperforming website that wasn't converting the discovery-flight traffic they already earned. We rebuilt the site around the student pilot journey — discovery flights, RPL, PPL, CPL pathway — and layered local SEO targeting state-level intake keywords. Enquiries moved from a handful of monthly forms to a steady weekly pipeline within 90 days.
The challenge
What Cascade Air needed to solve
Cascade Air was a credible CASA-registered Part 141 operation with full-time instructors and a well-known training reputation in their region, but their website was converting discovery-flight traffic into enquiries at a fraction of the rate their walk-in volume suggested was possible. The site treated RPL, PPL and CPL as a single service and buried pricing behind a contact form, which meant serious prospects were bouncing before the school ever heard from them.
Our approach
How the engagement was delivered
Discovery
Mapped the real student pilot journey from first Google search through discovery flight to CPL, then audited the existing site against every decision point. Identified that the RPL intake page was doing the heavy lifting but was the least optimised.
Rebuild
Rebuilt the site around dedicated pages for discovery flights, RPL, PPL and CPL with honest indicative pricing, aircraft details and instructor bios. Enrolment enquiry flow moved above the fold on mobile.
Local SEO foundation
Cleaned up GBP, rebuilt citations, and targeted state-level "learn to fly" and "flight school [region]" intake terms. Added schema for the school, the courses, and the aircraft fleet.
Content cadence
Published a monthly article answering the questions prospects were actually asking pre-enquiry — medical class, hour-building paths, CPL cost realism — each linked into the relevant intake page.
Timeline
Week 1–6: discovery and site rebuild. Week 7–12: local SEO foundation and GBP. Month 4 onward: monthly content cadence and iterative CRO.
Results
What the work produced
4×
Monthly student pilot enquiries
Enquiry volume grew from a handful of monthly forms to a consistent weekly pipeline within the first 90 days.
92
PageSpeed score
Rebuilt on a performance-first stack with optimised aviation imagery, replacing a legacy theme that was scoring in the low 40s.
Top 3
Local pack rankings
Cracked the local pack for the core "flight school" and "learn to fly" intake queries across their primary catchment.
6 weeks
From kickoff to live site
Shipped the rebuilt site in six weeks without disrupting active RPL and PPL intakes.
100%
Mobile-first enrolment flow
Redesigned the discovery flight and RPL intake forms as a single mobile-first step, cutting drop-off between page view and submission.
Your sector
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