Client Background
IDEO U is the online education platform from IDEO, the global design and innovation firm. Their programs focus on design thinking, human-centered design, creative leadership, and innovation — a category where content authority and citation presence in AI responses directly influences course discovery and enrollment.
Challenge
IDEO U entered an engagement with JDM already holding a strong position in AI visibility for the Online Education category. The challenge was defending and extending category leadership in a space where well-resourced competitors like Coursera, CareerFoundry, and CCL.org are actively competing for the same citations and recommendations.Strategy
- Developed evergreen “best of” guide formats to compete with listicles and course roundups that competitors were using to capture high-intent category queries
- Expanded content in underdeveloped categories including team training, B2B-oriented programs, and AI innovation — building new resources to grow presence in competitive spaces
- Targeted specific competitor gaps
- Optimized Design Thinking content to replace a competitor surfacing for niche queries
- Expanded Human-Centered Design resources to counter another
- Added applied leadership frameworks to compete in the leadership development space
- Audited and optimized internal linking to strengthen connections between high-performing blogs, glossary entries, and program pages — reinforcing topical authority across Design Thinking, Human-Centered Design, and Creative Leadership.
Results
IDEO U has held the number one visibility rank in the Online Education category for every month of the engagement. Visibility score has grown by more than 2 percentage points since the start of the program, reaching its peak in the most recent full quarter (Q1 2026).We have grown IDEO U’s citation volume by 27% across the engagement, with the strongest growth coming in the most recent months. IDEO U has held the top citation rank in the category for all but one month of the engagement.
