Category Archives: SEO

Landing Pages are Great, But What About the Rest?

Posted on by jesskry
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Building on the previous post on PPC campaigns in higher ed, I wanted to talk a bit more about my disdain PPC. Not so much as a practice, since I understand its use for collecting leads. But about the importance it puts on such a limited web presence.

I’m not sure about others, but our web team is rather small. Two people in the communications office to be exact. When it comes to really being able to build out pages, that narrows it down to one. When that person is left to build out pages for such specific information gathering campaigns, it kind of irks me. Here’s why: the same attention is not paid to the rest of the content on the web.

I’m sure we all agree that more engaged users come through organic search. In my mind, this is because people that come to our site searched and found that we actually HAVE the content they are looking for. Or at least have pages that rank for it. Now for landing pages, people come in and bounce out. They may fill out a form, which was the goal, but do they stay and find out more on their own? Shouldnt this be the true measure of if they are interested in us or just the subject?

Point being, my confusion around leads: leads are great, applications are great, but if they dont translate into enrolled, retained students, whats the point? If someones not really interested in you, are you spending money for leads that never blossom into graduates?

PPC in Higher Ed: Worth it?

Posted on by jesskry
2

I’ve been sitting in on more and more advertising meetings and still, I dont get it. I see myself as a savvy internet marketer, but when it comes to PPC for our market, I just dont get it. Are we really appropriately reaching students and parents via PPC search engine placements or banners?

The problem here becomes twofold: college choice is very heavily reliant on branding and personal preference. Harvard and Yale have a much easier time getting attention and brand recognition than smaller, lesser known schools. Also, because these schools are so sought after, they can more accurately target their student body by carving out exactly who they want to accept. This also helps elevate the schools status as they only accept ‘the best’ and it can be competitive to get in. Although the current economy has made this a little bit harder for schools with excellent brands, you still cant deny that a final four school will be better off than a little underdog – especially if price is similar.

Second, as mentioned above, college comes down ultimately, in most cases, to cost. How much financial aid a student is given, or how much a family can afford to pay also plays a huge part in college choice. Although you may have a college age child, seeing a Harvard ad doesnt do much if you cant afford the tuition (or dont have the grades, or Boston is too far from home).

With this said, how does PPC factor in? Its a pretty hefty sum for just brand awareness. In my mind, there are other things you can do with that money – like sponsor a local event with great press, put on a contest or build a fun, risky microsite – that may do you so much better. These things build content and buzz. They take on a life. They are a shared experience.

If these all result in names of prospects and the added bonus of good PR, isnt that better than clicks that are mostly wasteful?