Choosing a higher education institution is one of the most important choices someone will make in their entire life. Considering an increasingly large percentage are under the age of 25 and have been raised with technology, it’s understandable that 67% of prospective students choose online search engines as their source of information regarding higher education institutions. But did you know that 9 out of 10 prospective students have no idea what school they want to attend when they are beginning their search? 

 

Higher education institutions aren’t like other industries online because users aren’t just searching for a homepage. Potential students are doing much deeper searches when it comes to such an important, possibly life-changing decision. These users are looking into the many different aspects that go into receiving an education: admissions, degrees offered, courses and course schedules, student associations and reviews of the institutions, and so much more. 

 

The main aim of a search engine is to provide users with the information they are looking for quickly and unbiasedly. In order to give quality information, search engines rank information in terms of its relevance and quality. This is why it’s imperative for higher education institutions to have all these details available for their potential future students as well as the necessary usability and ranking for higher education phrases to be discovered in the first place.  

 

Have you ever searched for something on Google? How many results did you get? Among the list of potentially millions of results that Google provides, up to 125,000,000 results in 0.61 seconds to be exact, which one did you choose? The fact is, the majority of search users take information only from the first page of results. Let’s elaborate on the application of SEO for higher education institutions after we discuss more about what search engine optimization is.

 

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a technique used by various businesses and institutions to enhance the ranking of a website on search engine result pages (SERPs), including Google, Bing, and Yahoo. A better ranking of an online site means better visibility to its target audience. Better visibility on SERPS leads to more traffic and more conversions. Despite having an overall slower conversion rate, for higher education institutions this means more online traffic by potential students, ultimately leading to more enrollments. 

 

It makes sense that choosing where someone is going to receive their education would take more consideration and exploration than, for instance, choosing what company you want to buy your next outfit from. After all, this one decision can determine an individual’s entire future and is usually a significant personal monetary investment as well. This is why it isn’t alarming that 44% of prospective students do not complete a conversion (enroll) until 60 to 120 days after they first discover a higher education website. 

 

This unique trend for higher education conversions also highlights the importance of SEO campaigns being ongoing, rather than approaching them with a set-it-and-forget-it mentality. In this modern and digital era, SEO is a skill that is vital for any industry. Whether operating in higher education or in the retail business, SEO helps achieve goals faster, period.

 

Now more than ever in a socially distanced society, SEO is crucial for higher education institutions to be successful online, especially for those that are completely digital. Optimizing an establishment’s online presence has proven to be beneficial because it’s the most cost-effective way to reach potential students, it allows for the institution to continually monitor the effectiveness of their online presence as well as their competition’s, and it increases student enrollment.

 

The first SERP is where the highest-ranked websites with the most relevant information are presented and generally where most people choose their source from. Some factors that impact SEO ranking are keywords and content density, backlinks, content used in the site’s meta-description, and more. Inevitably, the action that a higher education institution takes to optimize its website will have a direct impact on its SEO ranking. 

 

An SEO campaign for a higher education institution increases the likelihood that their website will be seen by the most relevant search users - prospective students that are most likely to apply for enrollment. Rather than spending huge amounts of money on advertising that may never actually fall into the right hands, optimizing their site makes sure it’s visible to those actively looking for an institute like theirs to attend.

 

A strategy effectively incorporating SEO has the ability to reduce an advertising budget, especially in the long term. Being able to monitor successful and unsuccessful aspects of a campaign and make any necessary changes aids in maximizing an institution's ongoing return. A return comprised of valuable dollars that can be invested back into the students of the future. 

 

The flexibility of choosing the most relevant terms to target in results page rankings gives higher education institutions an opportunity to distinguish themselves appropriately. Consider this: when it comes to the topic of education, not every user seeking to learn something from their search, is looking for a college to attend. Higher education institutions need to ensure they are being seen by the right people at the right time and SEO allows for this kind of fine-tuning. 

 

In addition to being able to collect data-driven information about where their own personal online presence is thriving and where it needs attention, higher education institutions can use SEO campaigns to monitor their competition too. Knowing what the competition is doing that is working well for them and also what isn’t, gives any establishment an edge. With that valuable information, creation teams can fabricate unique content sure to magnify the authority of the establishment and its website. 

 

Student enrollment is one of the most major conversion goals in an SEO campaign for higher education, among others. So how can a higher education institution accomplish this goal? The answer is simply to be seen by more people. Statistically, the more traffic a website receives, the more conversions it completes. SEO is all about getting seen by the right people, at the right time, to increase visibility and increase conversions.

 

It’s hard to find a person not active on some sort of social media platform these days. It seems you can find almost anyone online, with the digital world that has developed over the last few decades. Social media is where people of all ages from all around the world exchange ideas and keep in touch. Naturally, by maximizing an establishment’s social media reach, the number of potential students that view their site increases. An increase in traffic leads to an increase in completed conversions. 

 

In addition, social media adds a personal touch in such a computerized and automated world by allowing for real-time conversations. Quickly and effectively, discussions between potential and current students can take place, as well as with other educational associations that may be recommending students to the institution. 

 

Highly shareable and relevant, long-form content and blog posts provide potential students with information on various aspects of a school. Student testimonials or advice for success, for example, add content to a website, increasing the institution’s chances of having something with their name on it shared and viewed. This is an important part of an SEO campaign for higher education because these natural links alert search engines to recognize the establishment as authoritative in SERPs.

 

With such a prevalence of smartphones and tablets, having a mobile-responsive web design improves the usability of a site when being viewed on a mobile device. Over half of prospective students use a mobile device to research higher education institutions so it’s understandable why a site that is easy to use would be beneficial. An enjoyable online experience further improves the likelihood that prospective students will complete a conversion by enrolling.  

 

For a higher education institution, investing in suitable search engine optimization strategies can be what distinguishes it between a successful, well-known establishment, and one that is struggling to be discovered.

 

Being placed on the first page of a search engine will not happen overnight. An SEO strategy for higher education should be a long-term and continuous process. As the world continues to evolve and more technology develops, search engines like Google adapt to the changes. Meaning an SEO strategy must continually be up to date. If an SEO strategy is appropriately maintained, it will not only aid in maintaining current students but also attract new students. 

 

Following are just a few ways that SEO works for higher education institutions:

 

 

Among the various ways to enhance the user experience, SEO is one of the most significant ones. Providing inquiring students with relevant information, a mobile-friendly website configuration, related videos, or images that support the information and easy-to-navigate pages will result in more views, clicks, leads, and conversions.

 

 

Being placed at the top positions on a search engine leads to more clicks and impressions. Therefore, if a website’s ranking is at the top spot on the search results, it will cause a significant increase in traffic on the website. SEO emphasizes creating relevant and informative meta-descriptions and keywords in order to stay in the top position. Having optimized descriptions and tags will result in a high click-through rate, which also leads to qualified website traffic.

 

 

SEO will provide quantifiable and traceable results for all types of websites. SEO agencies can easily track every element of their strategy, such as conversions, an increase in traffic, and an increase in rankings. SEO agencies are able to track the entire path that a user takes to make a conversion and the keywords they used when searching beforehand. For non-ecommerce sites, the SEO value can be calculated by attributing values to lead conversions such as “contact us” fill-in forms, and so on.

 

 

SEO is a cost-effective method that lowers advertising costs. Once in the top-ranked results on Google, there will be no need to invest money in pay-per-click or advertising through any other method. Inbound lead generation activities (which have low costs) include social media management, referrals, blogging, and search engine optimization.

 

 

An institution that appears in the top-ranked results on search engines, gives potential students the idea that they are one of the top leaders in the industry. It portrays that they are sought-after and searched for by many users. Furthermore, SEO also ensures that a higher education institution’s brand can be found easily on search engines. It increases awareness of the brand and makes it more visible to users.

 

In the end, relevant content should be at the heart of SEO tactics. We at Spherical Strategies provide the right marketing touch that your website needs to succeed.

 

80% of education searches end without conversion, so it’s vital to have a website that’s attractive and operating correctly in order to rank higher on SERPs and be seen by the appropriate target market. 

 

If you wish to get started with SEO, you don’t necessarily need an expensive SEO agency to do so. There are various tools to help you in the initial phase. However, if you are a leading brand and wish to reach higher targets, bringing in an SEO agency and digital marketing consultants might be the right choice. 

 

Spherical Strategies offers SEO campaigns that help improve your ranking for higher education phrases and the digital presence of your educational institution. In addition to SEO packages, we offer services in branding, website creation and redesign, project management, and more.