A college’s reputation is the single most important factor considered by prospective students. Therefore, it’s critical that your college or university has a great—and highly visible—online presence. We have provided thought leadership-based SEO services to colleges and universities for over a decade, helping them publicize their excellent programs and significantly increase applicant and enrollment numbers.
First Page Sage takes pride in serving institutions of higher education by providing engaging content in response to potential students’ search queries. Our approach to SEO—building a system, rather than simply offering a service—helps you reach applicants early in the decision-making process and convert at a higher rate.
Colleges & Universities have partnered with us to create:
- A pillar page on interdisciplinary research opportunities and grant offerings
- An article series on how to pay for a part-time nursing degree and fit it into a busy life
- A series of landing pages custom-crafted for each department and academic program of a community college
- College fair-ready infographics to share with high school guidance counselors and teachers
- Resource hubs on the admission process, including determining the correct degree program, crafting successful application essays, and deciding when to apply early
Each week, a specialist writer recruited for your specific campaign will ghostwrite 2 pieces of thought leadership content targeting a specific keyword. Doing so for several months establishes your authority with Google and allows the site to rank highly in the search results. At the start of the campaign, we build out an editorial calendar that maps out an entire year’s worth of content, making sure each piece we write targets a transactional keyword actively searched by potential students; or by parents, guidance counselors, or other important mentors along a student’s path to higher education.
Higher Education & College SEO ROI
Institutions of higher learning are consistently among our clients with the best ROI for SEO services, averaging $1.3M / year in new, net revenue. We’ve worked with colleges and universities from Maine to Silicon Valley, supporting institution-wide marketing as well as program- and department-specific content needs.
As part of our integrated onboarding process, we begin with a conversation about your school and the applicants it looks for. We ascertain what sets you apart so we can answer the questions and concerns students and their families have. By the end of our initial year-long campaign, your university’s online reputation will be many times stronger than it was at the start, with the higher applicant numbers to show for it.
SEO ROI for Institutions of Higher Learning
- Average engagement rate: 71%
- Average time on site: 00:02:25
- Landing page conversion rate: 2.83%
Partnering with First Page Sage for Higher Education & College SEO
First Page Sage is different from other marketing agencies because of our exclusive focus on superb quality of content as a means to better search engine optimization. We publish the best piece of content on a given keyword multiple times per week in order to earn Google’s “news publishing bonus,” and optimize every piece to build trust, clicks, and ultimately conversions in the form of new applicants. Our process helps us meet and exceed your institution’s goals. Here’s how our process works:
Onboarding
- Define your target market and most desirable applicants; conduct competitor analysis.
- Identify transactional keywords and create a keyword strategy aimed at generating conversions and ROI.
- Conduct a Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) analysis and site health assessment, implementing updates as needed.
- Implement reporting and data analytics systems for your various marketing channels; monitor and assess outcomes and adjust strategy as appropriate.
Ongoing Campaign
- Generate and publish 2 pieces of thought leadership content each week, aligned with your school’s brand.
- Meet weekly to provide insights into your campaign progress, outcomes, and leads.
- Provide expert advice on leveraging your articles with alumni networks, in email campaigns, and on social media platforms.
- Report monthly on KPIs and quarterly on user engagement, conversions, rankings, and other valuable metrics.
If you’re ready to use SEO to build inroads with new students, contact us. We’d be happy to share more about our experience working with higher education institutions, colleges, and universities.