ACE HSC Tuition Case Study
About ACE HSC Tuition
Founded in 2010 by three James Ruse graduates and UNSW medical students, ACE HSC Tuition was established to raise the standard of HSC tutoring in Sydney. With a clear focus on academic excellence, ACE delivers high-quality tuition across Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Mathematics, Economics, and UCAT preparation. Each program is led by tutors who are not only subject matter experts but also high achievers—many having attained state ranks and ATARs of 99+.
What distinguishes ACE HSC is its rigorous, structured approach to learning, supported by outstanding educators, purpose-designed resources, and a results-driven mindset. With over 3,500 students taught and growing, ACE operates across three key locations in Epping, Parramatta, & Chatswood and offers online classes to support motivated students across Greater Sydney.
What was the challenge?
ACE HSC Tuition entered the partnership with Ignite Search in 2021 as a high-performing education provider with limited digital visibility. Despite delivering exceptional outcomes for students, they were not ranking competitively in search results, resulting in reduced discoverability among prospective families seeking quality tuition. On top of their low website rankings, they were also not able to engage with a minority in Sydney who were looking for a service provider of their caliber, the local non-primary English-speaking Chinese community.
In January 2021, ACE’s visibility across 75 tracked keywords stood at just 11%, with only 30 keywords appearing on the first page of Google and 5 in the #1 position. This limited exposure was impacting their ability to attract new students at scale.
They required a strategic partner to elevate their digital profile, placing them at the top of the industry, where they could do the most good for NSW HSC students needing expert academic support. As well as help them to cultivate a budding community of bilingual Chinese/English-speaking parents and students. As a provider of both SEO services and Chinese Marketing, Ignite Search was selected to help ACE HSC Tuition grow and thrive.
Client
ACE HSC Tuition
Website:
Location
New South Wales, Australia
Services
- Website Audit
- Brand Strategy
- Website Development
- Search Engine Optimisation
- Content Marketing
- Chinese Digital Marketing
The Solution
Search Engine Optimisation and Website audit
Ignite Search delivered a holistic and sustained digital strategy tailored to ACE’s position as a premium tutoring provider. The work focused on long-term growth through:
- Technical and On-site SEO Optimisation
- Comprehensive audits to resolve crawl errors, broken links, and performance issues
- Optimisation of meta titles, descriptions, and page structure to align with high-intent keywords
- Content Strategy and Development
- Creation of new landing pages and educational content, including blog posts targeting subject-specific and location-based searches
- Optimised content aligned with student search behaviours and seasonal trends
- Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO)
- Refinement of site architecture and calls to action to improve enquiry rates
- Enhanced usability across devices to ensure a seamless user experience
- Competitor Benchmarking
- Regular performance tracking against 10 Sydney-based competitors, identifying tactical gaps and opportunities
- Regular performance tracking against 10 Sydney-based competitors, identifying tactical gaps and opportunities
- Website Rebrand and Speed Optimisation
- In 2024, ACE relaunched its website with improved load speed, updated branding, and a streamlined user interface that reflected its academic credibility
ACE’s strategy was consistently adjusted in response to Google algorithm updates. These proactive refinements ensured performance recovery and continuous upward momentum.
Multilingual Strategy: Chinese Marketing Rollout
As part of the broader digital growth strategy, Ignite Search also developed and implemented a dedicated Chinese marketing approach to support ACE HSC Tuition’s engagement with its non-primary English-speaking audience, particularly Sydney’s Chinese-speaking community.
This included:
- WeChat Integration: Establishing ACE HSC’s official presence on WeChat & RedNote to connect with prospective families on a trusted and widely used platform.
- Bilingual Content Translation: Translating key website and marketing content into simplified Chinese to ensure accessibility and relevance.
- Direct Communication: Facilitating real-time communication with enquiries via WeChat, enhancing responsiveness and customer experience.
- Community-Centric Posts: Sharing informative, culturally resonant content tailored to Chinese-speaking parents and high school students in Sydney.
This targeted outreach allowed ACE HSC Tuition to foster stronger relationships with a key demographic, further reinforcing its position as an inclusive high performing and community-focused education provider.
Key Performance Highlights
Visibility Growth
ACE’s online visibility increased from 11% in January 2021 and peaked at 77% by February 2025, reflecting a substantial improvement in digital presence across key HSC-related search terms.
Keyword Rankings
The number of tracked keywords appearing on the first page of Google rose from 30 to over 50, while the number of #1 ranking keywords grew from 5 to 14, a clear indicator of strengthened search authority.
Sustained Market Leadership
Since November 2021, ACE HSC Tuition has consistently held the highest visibility ranking among its ten tracked competitors in Sydney’s HSC tutoring sector.
Commercial Outcomes
This growth translated into significant business impact, including notable increases in website traffic, qualified enquiries, enrolments, phone call volume, and overall revenue.
Growing Chinese Community
With a starling benchmark of zero, ACE HSC Tuition had to start somewhere. Data showed a steadily growing community online full of active parents and students, and by April 2025, ACE HSC Tuition has recorded:
- WeChat followers: Compared to the first month—increased 90.91%
- RedNote followers: Compared to the first month—increased 1166.67%
- Weibo followers: Compared to the first month—increased 1180.00%
Parents and students were logging on to their Chinese social media accounts to read ACE HSC Tuition insights and guides on how best to prepare, study and take their Exams. Posts were being shared and comments proved that the topics were hitting the mark as planned.
Ready to Achieve Similar Results?
This case study highlights what can be achieved when a high-performing educational brand partners with a results-driven digital team.
If your organisation is ready to compete at the top of your field, we’re ready to help you get there. Contact us today to book in a free consultation.
For more case studies and success stories, visit our Case Studies page.
“Ignite Search brought the strategic clarity and technical expertise we needed to compete at the highest level. The results speak for themselves. Their team understands not only SEO but also how to position a premium service in a competitive space.
The team always answered my questions about their SEO strategy and results and helped us to make an informed decision about our website for long-term strategy.”
Gareth Vaughan ACE HSC Tuition Director, 2024
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