About the Episode
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About the Episode:
Your website isn’t just a digital brochure. It’s your most powerful marketing asset. In this episode, Brittney Miller (Director of Communications and Marketing) and Britt Heppler (Digital Media Specialist) from Angelo State University join Allison to share how they turned underperforming academic program pages into high-converting recruitment tools. They break down the strategy, collaboration, and SEO tactics that led to a 370% increase in RFI submissions. We also explore how they used data, internal buy-in, and smart design to create a better experience for both students and parents.
Join us as we discuss:
- [1:53] Why program pages are more than just content
- [8:51] How to gain buy-in and merge faculty insight with SEO strategy
- [14:47] What metrics to track for maximum success
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Why Should Enrollment Marketers Treat Program Pages Like Recruitment Tools?
Brittney Miller lays it out plainly: your website is your number one marketing tool. Everything—social, email, print—funnels back to your site, so it needs to convert, not just inform. At Angelo State, the team realized their program pages were underwhelming and underperforming. Feedback from faculty and admissions pointed to a lack of usable content—no clear next steps, sparse details about the program, and zero financial aid information. This sparked a full overhaul aimed at turning passive pages into active conversion drivers.
The goal? Build program pages that support a natural, intuitive student journey—from “Do you have my program?” to “Can I afford it?” The answer started with building pages for prospects first, while layering in content for parents. This meant reducing clutter, restructuring content for clarity, and creating a guided scroll that answers the most important student questions in real time.
What Exactly Did Angelo State Change—and What Worked?
The team didn’t just tweak—they flipped their entire program page model on its head. One of the biggest wins was shifting from a single, long RFI form to short, program-specific forms embedded directly on each page. The result? A jump from 128 to over 600 RFI submissions in just one month. Pages were also restructured to highlight financial aid options, add keyword-optimized content, and improve navigation by consolidating scattered content into centralized experiences.
Collaboration with admissions and faculty was essential. The communications and marketing team partnered with department chairs to surface points of pride and relevant content while maintaining Angelo State’s brand voice. They also worked closely with admissions to ensure that any changes in forms or data collection aligned with recruitment goals.
How Do You Balance SEO Optimization With Faculty Input?
This is where Brit Heppler’s work shines. Starting with keyword research, Brit analyzed search trends, competition, and volume to identify terms that were both relevant and realistically rankable. Crucially, she chose keywords that writers could actually use in grammatically correct, human-sounding copy. Her approach centered around accessibility—targeting a freshman-in-high-school readability level while preserving academic integrity.
By using SEO tools like BrightEdge and AI-powered content advisors, the team was able to efficiently generate meta descriptions, YouTube blurbs, and keyword-rich microcopy without losing the human touch. The internal writers, including Brittney herself, took these optimized suggestions and molded them into content that reflected the institution’s tone and addressed the questions prospective students were actually asking.
What Metrics Do They Track and How Do They Evolve the Pages?
RFIs are the north star metric, and the increase was almost immediate. Beyond that, the team monitors traffic to linked financial aid and scholarship pages—another huge area of growth. Brittney notes that as academic programs evolve and new degree tracks are added, they loop back into the process, refresh the keyword strategy, and revise content accordingly. These aren't “set it and forget it” pages—they’re living assets in the marketing ecosystem.
The team also monitors page consolidation effectiveness. For example, combining three separate curriculum & instruction pages into a single, keyword-rich, well-organized page led to better UX and higher engagement. The same strategy was applied to performing arts and engineering program pages. By pulling relevant content from underused department pages and placing it where students actually look, the pages became more useful and compelling.
What Tools and AI Tactics Does the Team Use?
Angelo State’s team integrates BrightEdge for keyword strategy and optimization ideas and uses AI tools like ChatGPT for crafting meta descriptions and YouTube copy. Their approach reflects a mature use of AI—strategically applying it for efficiency and ideation, not full content production. Brit emphasizes the importance of using AI as a time-saving assistant, not a replacement for institutional knowledge or editorial voice.
The introduction of video, with optimized descriptions, marked another milestone. As Britt notes, YouTube is the second-largest search engine, and optimizing for it is a no-brainer for boosting discoverability and user engagement.
Connect With Our Host:
Allison Turcio
https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonturcio/
https://twitter.com/allisonturcio
About The Enrollify Podcast Network: The Application with Allison Turcio is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you’ll like other Enrollify shows, too!
Some of our favorites include Mission Admissions and Visionary Voices: The College President’s Playbook.
Enrollify is made possible by Element451 — the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.
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