Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising plays a pivotal role in any higher education institution’s digital marketing strategy, allowing colleges and universities to reach prospective students effectively and efficiently. Targeted ads placed on search engines, social media platforms, and other websites let universities and colleges promote their programs in front of massive online audiences.
One reason that PPC generates a boost to enrollments is the flexibility, with different options including Google Ads, display ads, and social media ads offering adaptable ways to manage ad spend and target specific audiences. But this is just one example. Let’s explore PPC for higher education further with these 10 tips for optimizing higher education PPC campaigns.
Why PPC Marketing for Higher Education Institutions Is Important
When talking about PPC marketing for higher education, before we dig into the how, we need to understand the why. With increased competition for students, higher education institutions must do more to stand out in the crowd. Students have more options than ever, so colleges and universities need to make sure they are targeting the right audiences to attract prospective students.
This is where paid advertising, and PPC in particular, comes in. PPC lets universities and colleges target specific demographics, such as high school students about to graduate, or working professionals of a particular age who may be searching for degree programs or other educational opportunities.
On top of this, when implemented correctly, PPC can position higher education institutions’ ads at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) for immediate and prominent visibility. PPC for higher education also allows institutions to control their budget and adjust campaigns according to performance. Now, let’s take a look at our top 10 tips for optimizing higher education PPC campaigns.
10 Tips for Higher Education PPC
Whether you’re new to PPC for higher education, your efforts have slowed recently, or you’re looking for something new to take your strategy to the next level, the following 10 tips for PPC and higher education advertising will have something for you.
1. In-House vs. Hiring a Higher Education PPC Agency
The first decision most colleges and universities face when implementing PPC for higher education is whether to manage the efforts in-house or hire a PPC agency for higher education. Managing internally offers control and opportunities for a deeper understanding of the processes involved, but partnering with an experienced education PPC agency lets you tap into industry expertise and advanced digital tools.
If experience is lacking in-house, turn to an agency that has a track record of good results with PPC for higher education. As with any vendor, due diligence is key. Always conduct thorough research and discovery calls with any potential partners. Once you’ve found the right agency, you’ll find that the best agencies can take care of campaign optimization, keyword research, ad placements, and any other aspect of PPC that you need taken care of.
2. Create and Know Your Specific Audience
What makes PPC so successful is that it focuses on targeting the right audience. For higher education institutions, it’s important to segment your audiences to target each student group effectively. Your ads will be the first interaction any prospective student online has with your school, so they must spark an interest.
Ads must resonate with a student’s needs, aspirations, and search behaviors, but those things could be very different for high school seniors, international students, or adult learners. Define your audience segments very clearly. Tailoring messaging to each segment will improve the relevancy of your ads and will boost click-through rates (CTR).
3. Do Keyword Research
Accurate keyword research is fundamental for higher education PPC campaigns. Keywords are highly competitive and finding ways to gain prominence in search results is challenging. Single words and general terms are the most desired but that also means they could get more expensive.
A focus on long-tail keywords is recommended, with terms such as “affordable colleges in California”, “online MBA programs for professionals”, and “higher education adult learner night” are more specific and, therefore, less competitive. This is how bidding on long-tail keywords helps your institution appear in searches with higher intent.
4. Focus on Video and Social Media
Video has come to dominate major social media sites and advertising formats and video marketing is now an incredibly impactful tactic, especially when targeting younger audiences. Online videos are a popular source of information for students researching colleges and universities online, and utilizing video in your PPC campaigns engages prospective students while meeting them where they are.
5. Manage Objectives and Budgets
Clear objectives are a vital early step involved in a successful PPC campaign. Colleges and universities must understand their goals from day one. Clearly communicating these goals to any partner agency is also important to make sure everyone is on the same page and pushing towards the same goal.
Whether the hope is to build brand awareness, increase applications, or promote virtual campus tours, each PPC campaign must have a clear goal that ad strategies can be focused around. Managing your budget is also vital, so set up daily and monthly limits for each campaign and redirect more funds to the most successful channels.
6. Optimize CTAs & Landing Pages
Your PPC ads will always direct potential students to an optimized landing page with a clear call-to-action (CTA). Correctly-built landing pages include contact forms to capture leads without bombarding visitors with information. Forms should be simple and easy to complete.
You can encourage engagement and increase conversion rates with CTAs like “Apply Now” or “Get More Information” on highly relevant landing pages. The relevant nature of these landing pages means the people who land on them are likely far closer to conversion than your typical internet browser.
7. A/B Testing
A/B testing is another powerful digital marketing tool for refining PPC and other higher education advertising strategies. A/B testing is the process of taking two comparable versions of an ad and testing both to see which performs better. This allows you to make data-driven decisions on how to present your ads.
You can test different versions of ad copy, visuals, and CTAs to identify what resonates most with your target audience. Run two or more variations of your ads and assess the results, then take the best-performing ad, or best-performing combination of elements, and the ads you ultimately choose should generate good results.
8. Reporting and Monitoring
If you thought PPC was a “set it and forget it” strategy, I’ve got some bad news for you. Two key steps to successful PPC for higher education: reporting and monitoring. Understanding how your ads perform is how your ads will improve. You must track several key metrics, including CTR, conversion rates, and cost per click (CPC).
Use platforms like Google Analytics and other digital tracking tools to keep track of your ads, assess whether they are reaching the right audience and contributing to the aims laid out at the start of the campaign. If not, it’s time to test new placements or copy and adjust accordingly, always investing in what works.
9. Remarketing
Remarketing is a crucial part of PPC, but is particularly important in higher education advertising. By targeting users that have previously interacted with your ads or your site, you can re-engage with prospective students who showed interest but never made it to conversion.
Remarketing for higher education institutions lets colleges and universities stay at the top of a student’s minds throughout their decision-making process. This increases the likelihood that they’ll return to your site, seek further information, or complete an application.
10. Pay Attention to Mobile
Mobile phones have never been more relevant for digital advertisers and colleges and universities are no different. Younger demographics primarily use their mobile devices for information gathering and sharing, so any ads or landing pages that are not optimized for mobile are destined to fail.
A slow or poorly-designed mobile experience will deter users from staying on your pages or sites, and the negative user experience may deter prospective students from your school or college altogether. Prioritize responsive designs, quick loading times, and simple navigation to grab mobile users’ attention and keep them on your sites.
Pro Tip
Google Ads for schools, and social media giants like Instagram and TikTok, offer prime environments for showcasing campus life, student testimonials, and program highlights in a setting and format that prospective students are already familiar with.
Choose PPC Agencies Wisely
It should be clear from these top ten tips just how vital PPC marketing is for higher education. It’s a powerful tool that drives visibility and engagement with prospective students. Choosing to manage campaigns in-house is a brave decision that may lead to a long-term understanding of paid advertising.
Choosing a specialized PPC agency for higher education like inSegment is a smart move for colleges and universities looking to run effective campaigns from day one and boost ROI. Whatever your goals, by implementing the 10 tips outlined above, you can run effective digital advertising strategies that drive enrollment, build positive reputation, and contribute to the long-term health and success of your school.
Contact inSegment today to begin building a winning PPC strategy for your higher education institution.
