A KEY TAKEAWAY FROM 5 MILLION GOOGLE SEARCH RESULTS: If search engine optimization (SEO) isn’t a top priority, here’s why it should be. An analysis of 5 million Google search results found that #1 organic ranking web pages on Google have an average Click-Through-Rate (CTR) of 37.1%. Web pages that move up one spot in Google’s search results see an average increase in CTR by 30.8%. If your webpage does end up as the #1 organic spot on Google, it is 10x more likely to be clicked than the webpage that ranks in the #10 spot for that same search query.
Why you should care: There are about 5.6 billion Google searches made every day— ample opportunity for enrollment marketing teams to answer prospective students’ most pressing questions, all with organic content. However, a lack of new content and SEO optimization on your program pages could render them “invisible” to prospective students.
HOW TO REFURBISH TOP CONTENT: Once you’ve created high-performing content, you need a plan to perpetuate and amplify its success. After having identified your top content, the second step is to simplify and repurpose it. For a top performing blog, consider pulling quotes, images, creating a slideshow, video, or even transcribing the blog to an audio file. Get creative! The last step is to publish the variations of your top performing content on popular digital platforms to spread the content to new audiences.
Why you should care: It’s not enough to blog about a specific graduate program or faculty member anymore. As enrollment marketers, you want more people visiting your blog and website, right? Start thinking more strategically about what your target audience is searching on Google and what general questions they might have about financial aid, career outlooks, online degrees, or even the ROI of a degree. Higher education blogs should be a major source of website traffic for any school.
AVOIDING THE COST PER LEAD TRAP: Many organizations rush into LinkedIn advertising with a cost-per-lead (CPL) goal in mind and become easily disappointed when their 10-day campaign for an upcoming event and a “test” budget badly misses the mark. Unfortunately, you can’t rush a good thing. According to LinkedIn’s study, with a $5,000/month budget over 3 months, CPL begins to decline. Have a $5,000/month budget over 12 months and that CPL declines much more. Large budget or small, the key to getting the best bang for your buck (lowest CPL) is a consistent budget and ample time.
Why you should care: Prospective students can take anywhere from 3 to 18 months to convert, so just one impression from your ad last August is unlikely to gain any mindshare in the student’s applicant journey. That’s why it’s important for enrollment marketing teams to be consistent and patient with LinkedIn advertising. Try allocating a set budget each month for LinkedIn and watch that cost-per-lead slowly drop month over month.