Leveraging SEO to Boost Your Institution’s Marketing Efforts
It’s 2024, and we’re long past the dawn of the digital age. We’re closer to high noon, where just about everyone is technologically literate — and empowered to access a universe of information with the tap of a fingertip.
In the context of higher education, modern learners are a quick Google search away from answers to their most pressing questions. What’s the best nursing program? Where’s the best nursing program in the Southeast located? What’s the most affordable nursing program? Savvy searchers are scrolling away on their devices, seeking out program options, comparing degrees, and ultimately deciding where their academic journey will take them.
So how can your institution ensure that as many eyes as possible are landing on your webpages, and that a good number of those eyes belong to promising prospective students?
The secret lies in a not-so-secret acronym: SEO, or search engine optimization. You’ve undoubtedly heard of it, but developing expertise in the complicated realm of SEO and higher education keywords takes more than a cursory understanding of Google’s search ranking algorithm.
A strategic approach is required to capitalize on SEO, which can allow you to gain a competitive edge over other players in the higher education market.
What Are Higher Education Keywords?
Higher education keywords are specific phrases and terms prospective students use in search engines when exploring their academic options. These keywords range from broad concepts like “best engineering colleges” to more specific ones such as “undergraduate psychology programs in Chicago.”
Understanding and utilizing these keywords in your online content is crucial for ranking well on the search engine results page (SERP). Properly using SEO keywords enhances your website’s visibility in organic search results, making it easier for potential students to find you amid the expanse of educational offerings.
The importance of choosing the right keywords extends beyond visibility. Keywords are pivotal in aligning your content with the student journey — or the path prospective students take from their initial awareness of your institution to their final decision to enroll.
The stages of this journey can include discovering potential fields of study, comparing programs, learning about financial aid options, and evaluating postgraduation career prospects. By using targeted, relevant keywords for each stage, your institution can provide valuable content to modern students that meets their needs at the right time, ultimately guiding them toward choosing your institution for their higher education.
Why Is SEO Important in Higher Ed Marketing?
SEO — which includes not only keyword research, but also content optimization, link building, user experience, technical audits, and website health — should be viewed not just as another digital marketing tool but rather as a strategic approach to connecting with modern learners.
SEO is indispensable in higher education marketing due to factors that include the following:
Increased Visibility
Higher education is competitive, and being noticed is essential. Effective SEO practices elevate your institution’s online presence, ensuring students engage with your brand and mission at the moment they’re seeking information. This not only enhances your institution’s ability to get leads into the funnel, it also strengthens your brand — making it a go-to source for educational information and opportunities.
Building Trust With Prospective Students
Choosing a higher education institution is often one of the most significant decisions a person will make in their lifetime. Therefore, trust is fundamental. Prospective students seek out and rely on trustworthy and authoritative sources when making educational choices, and you can position yourself as one of these sources.
By incorporating higher ed SEO into your website content strategy — answering prospective students’ specific questions through faculty and student testimonials, informative articles on career decisions, degree comparisons, and return on investment (ROI) data for degrees — you provide valuable, relatable, and authentic content that ranks well in search engine algorithms. This informs prospective students and builds a foundation of trust and credibility.
Reaching Prospective Students at Each Stage of Their Journey
The student journey from awareness to enrollment is multifaceted and often nonlinear. Students start with broad searches, move on to specific queries, and finally seek confirmation that they’re making the right choice.
Each stage of this journey requires tailored information to address the student’s needs at that particular moment. SEO helps by customizing and optimizing content so it can be discovered at the right time, whether a student is just beginning to explore potential fields, ready to compare specific programs, or about to make an enrollment decision.
Examples of Higher Education Keywords
Navigating the ocean of potential higher education keywords can seem daunting. To simplify, we’ve categorized keywords based on the student journey stages:
- Awareness
- Familiarity
- Consideration
- Decision
Examples of how you can align your content strategy with these stages include the following:
Awareness Content and Keywords
At this initial stage, prospective students are just beginning to explore their options. They use broad, general terms that reflect their early interest in subjects or careers.
Keyword Examples:
- “What is mechanical engineering?”
- “Should I go back to college?”
- “Best science degrees”
Content Tips: Create introductory guides, blog posts about industry trends, and lists of top programs to capture this curiosity.
Familiarity Content and Keywords
Once students have a basic understanding, they delve deeper, seeking more specific information about their particular areas of interest.
Keyword Examples:
- “Top careers for finance majors”
- “How to become a software engineer”
- “Benefits of an MBA degree”
Content Tips: Explore degree career outcomes and how specific degrees can benefit a student.
Consideration Content and Keywords
At this stage, students are evaluating their options more critically, focusing on factors like ROI and practical considerations.
Keyword Examples:
- “Environmental science degree requirements”
- “MBA vs. master’s in finance”
- “Internship opportunities for psychology majors”
Content Tips: Provide detailed descriptions of courses and departments, and compare different fields of study to give students a clearer picture of their options.
Decision Content and Keywords
This is the final stage where prospective students are ready to make a decision. They search for specific details that will confirm their choice.
Keyword Examples:
- “Application deadline for University of X”
- “Scholarship options for master’s in Y”
- “Admission requirements for Z”
Content Tips: Ensure your content is up to date on application guidelines, detailed admission processes, and financial aid information to assist in the decision-making process.
Tips for Choosing Higher Ed Keywords
Selecting the right keywords in higher education marketing is more than a guessing game. Streamlined tips to guide your strategy include the following:
Define the Student Journey
Understand the typical pathways students at your institution take from their initial awareness to their enrollment. This insight helps in crafting stage-specific content that meets potential students’ information needs.
Identify the Unique Value of Your Programs
Highlight what sets your programs apart from the competition. Whether it’s a unique teaching method, outstanding faculty, or excellent job placement rates, make sure these features are clear and searchable in your content.
Understand the Competitive Landscape
Perform analyses to identify what your competitors are doing well and where they’re lacking. This will help you find opportunities to stand out.
Focus on Keywords that Highlight Your School’s Attributes
Make sure your content is optimized to highlight features such as your accreditation, location, and modality to attract the most relevant audience. These details are significant to prospective students.
Align With Search Intent
You should also strive to match keywords to prospective students’ search intent by considering their thought processes, pain points, and goals. Look beyond search volume and avoid keyword stuffing, and instead focus on providing valuable information that meets Google’s quality standards for search intent.
Focus on Long-Tail Keywords
Use long-tail keywords, which are longer, more specific queries that have lower search volumes but higher intent and conversion rates. For example: “affordable online MBA programs accredited in the U.S.”
Create a Vertical Strategy
Develop a vertical content strategy by focusing on specific fields of study or program types, such as business degrees or master’s in education specializations, for example. Ideally, you would create collection pages that act as hubs for these fields, linking out to various program-specific pages.
These hubs should feature a mix of informative and engaging content types — including articles, infographics, and videos — that showcase your program benefits, faculty expertise, and alumni successes. This not only helps your SEO strategy by improving internal linking and keyword focus, but also enhances prospective students’ engagement by providing comprehensive, authoritative content.
Aim to make this content shareable as well, to increase its visibility and attract quality backlinks, which boost your institution’s online authority and search rankings.
Take Your Keywords to the Next Level
Are you ready to elevate your institution’s online presence through a serious analysis of your keyword strategy? Then it’s time to contact Archer Education. We’re proven experts in higher education SEO and digital marketing, helping dozens of institutions connect with prospective students at every stage of their educational journey. Reach out today!
