Capturing better education prospects through effective PPC campaigns

With educational opportunities as varied as those who are applying for them, marketing schools has become a highly competitive endeavour. From colleges to universities, trade schools to qualifications programmes, getting in touch with potential applicants — and convincing them to apply — must be a school’s outreach priority.

In the modern world of digital communications, your students are coming from search engines and social networks, and they are using mobile devices to communicate directly with you. Schools now need digital marketing experts to make sure enrolment numbers are on track, and that the school’s “brand reputation” is well managed.

One of the fastest ways to increase your presence online is through Pay-Per-Click services on search engines and social media. PPC is a common online traffic driver for many businesses, schools and educators. If your school is thinking about taking a swim in the PPC waters, contact us to discuss how we can help.

Setting up educational PPC campaigns

Search engine advertising through PPC is one of the most popular forms of advertising. Understanding the basics of a PPC campaign is needed in order to generate the best results and conversions from the new traffic to your website.

In a simple sense, advertisers pay to have their site moved to the top of the search engine results (SERPs) for certain keywords. The site appears in the SERPs in the form of PPC ads. In PPC, the advertiser pays a fee each time their ad gets clicked. These ads can be for educational institutions, for particular courses or qualifications, or even specific candidate groups.

Prioritise connecting with a mobile audience

Nearly everything in digital marketing must be optimised for mobile users. Smartphones and tablets are more the rule than the alternative nowadays. Many searches for new educational opportunities take place on long train commutes and lunch breaks. There are three quick steps in making sure your PPC is effective and targeted for these mobile users.

In starting out, make sure to segment your web traffic by device to see where it is coming from. A quick look through Google Analytics will help you see the behaviours of your visitors. An understanding of your audience will help you make better decisions about your PPC.

Any PPC mobile optimisation must be reflected in where your ads direct users to, which means that your site should be mobile friendly. Your PPC landing pages need to function and render well on all devices. The ability to quickly find information, use appropriate calls-to-action, and complete conversions on mobile are all part of effective use of PPC.

Your PPC bids and ads should also reflect mobile-friendly considerations. Based on your data reviews, bid on keywords on devices that represent your site traffic. If most of your traffic is through mobile devices, then adjust your bids accordingly. You should also optimise your ads for mobile searchers by using short, on-point copy. Make sure your ad extensions are set up to make the most of mobile users, such as with call extensions, and consider running your ads at the time of day when mobile searches are high.

The right keywords and the right expectations

In our mobile-driven, search engine culture, appearing well for your keywords is important in being a competitive education provider. But, you should beware of targeting expensive keywords. There are a great deal of people searching for better educational opportunities. Expect a large competitive PPC marketplace for keywords in this sector, and they won’t come cheaply.

Using a keyword planner, you might be able to find certain niche-type terms on which you can focus your energy. In using PPC, educational recruiters must remember that it is only a piece of the puzzle. The reasons why students apply to certain schools is as varied and different as to why they buy certain items over others — much like the sales cycle. And many of the factors might not be under your control.

The decisions of your potential students will be affected by their age, their friends and peers, parental involvement, and financial concerns. Different types of schools are looking for different types of candidates. For example, an independent school may be searching for new students from nursery age all the way through to sixth form. These types of institutions need to be mindful of the parents of these potential students, taking into account such factors as when they may be searching and with what keywords, what locations they are in, and if retargeting may be an option.

Because of the variety of needs and factors, PPC and appearance in search engine results may not have a direct result of more conversions, but may be part of the puzzle. A comprehensive, integrated marketing plan will help with that.

There may be higher prices for certain keywords — further complicated by usually tight budgets — so finding the right audience for your PPC is vital. If recruiting for further education programmes, traditional secondary school students may not be the best target because they might not be the final decision makers. But, non-traditional students looking for additional education or an update in qualifications may yield more fruit from PPC.

Creating worthwhile and effective PPC campaigns lies within the foundation of our business. At Accord, we look after PPC, digital analytics, SEO and creative digital marketing campaigns. We can help you flourish in the educational sector by helping set up, implement and manage a one-of-a-kind digital marketing campaign — just for you.

Image Credit: Francisco Osorio (flickr.com) This image has been edited from the original.