Data from Ruffalo Noel Levitz and Eduventures shows us that degree listings and pages representing individual degrees, majors, minors, and certificates are critically important marketing content on college and university websites. But how do you get more people TO these pages? This webinar shows different techniques and examples.
11. Source: @davidpoteet
• Intercept survey performed on
University of Portsmouth (UK) website
• Number of respondents = 400 visitors
• In the UK “course” means “major”
“What did you come to the website looking for today?”
13. First, make sure your
individual degree pages
are more than a registrar’s
catalog listing.
In this example for the
University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, there
is no marketing content for
a prospective student – so
there is very little point in
driving traffic to the page.
15. If you want to get to this information quickly, your public U.S. News & World
Report listing usually has your most enrolled programs.
colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com
16.
17. Set up internal vs. external filters to understand how
much traffic comes to an individual degree page from on-
campus computers vs. prospective students.
Measure page views vs. unique page views as a way of
understanding new vs. returning visitors to individual
degree pages.
Measure bounce rate to help you understand how much
traffic comes to a page intentionally.
48. Use consistent
nomenclature
within your own site.
Undergraduate degrees = “majors” or “programs”
Undergraduate degrees in Europe = “courses”
Graduate degrees = “degrees” or “programs”
Continuing education = “certificates” or “non-credit courses”
49. Make sure your degree pages
are easy to get to from
outside of your site.
51. SEO influencers for degree pages:
• well-written copy that is relevant to the degree
• title tag
• meta description
• relevant headlines and subheads (h1, h2, h3)
• alt tags
• links to a page or degree from social media
52. Use semantic urls to promote individual
degrees– in print, in advertising, and
email.
53. This is great as a promotion for a degree – URL is too long for drivers.
54.
55. Semantic URLs can be used to point
visitors to:
•degree listing pages – example: fabercollege.edu/degrees
•undergraduate-only listing pages – example: fabercollege.edu/majors
•individual degrees – example: fabercollege.edu/economics
•custom print or email-specific URLs – fabercollege.edu/geteducated
56. Use PPC (pay per click) campaigns to
promote individual degrees.
57.
58.
59. Getting started with a PPC campaign:
•Use Google AdWords to assess the volume of local / national
searches for specific degrees.
•Test a degree-based PPC campaign in specific geographic markets
first – keep it affordable vs. buying in every national market.
•Consider PPC campaigns for high-enrollment degrees first (academic
programs you have an easier time selling)
60. PPC copywriting:
•Always run multiple ad variants to see what visitors respond to.
•Test a couple of broad terms (such as “MBA”) vs. more specific terms
“part-time MBA” or “executive MBA in Seattle”
•Because PPC ads resemble Google returns, it’s good to focus on
decision factors.