The education industry has witnessed rapid growth and innovation in the last few years. According to Invest India, India has become the second-largest market for e-learning after the United States, and by 2025, the education sector in India is expected to be worth USD 225 billion.
The internet and digital media have had a significant impact in unlocking this growth for the education sector, where educational institutions are making greater use of digital platforms to reach prospective students.
That is not to say that they did not face any challenges. The increased competition and a knowledgeable target audience well-versed in different marketing channels made it necessary for educational organizations to be strategic.
Digital Marketing For Education Must Be Strategic
Modern students and their parents are increasingly aware of marketing methods and can discern between various promotional efforts. Consequently, digital marketing for the education sector needs to be more focused, well-thought-out, and, more importantly, strategic.
There are a number of marketing channels, and when it comes to establishing a digital presence, many brands battle with FOMO (Fear of missing out). In such a pursuit, it is easier to get lost and lose sight of the bigger picture, i.e., ensuring the organization’s message reaches the target audience in an effective manner.
Educational brands must go back to the board and identify channels that have the most potential. Search engines still carry a lot of weight. Presently, the search volume for most of the keywords in the education industry has seen an upward trend, suggesting a surge in interest and necessitating that search engines are an important digital channel. However, to capitalize on this trend and dominate search results, education brands need a proper strategy - Enterprise SEO.
Leveraging Enterprise SEO To Attract More Students
Enterprise SEO, a specialized form of search engine optimization, is tailored to dominate a keyword universe, and in this case, it is education.
In an interview on Enterprise SEO, Sarvesh Bagla said, "With the upward trend we have seen in the keyword universe for the education industry, the time is ripe for educational brands to capitalize on it through Enterprise SEO.” He goes on, “Enterprise SEO gives organic growth, and time and again, we have seen organic growth surpass the performance through paid media in the acquisition cost as well as the intent to purchase.”
Presently, educational brands that tap into the power of Enterprise SEO see a significant boost in their Share of Voice in the target keyword universe, enabling them to attract students organically. The case studies below illustrate the effectiveness of Enterprise SEO to a great extent -
Case Study 1: [International School Chain Witnessed an 82% Increase in Leads]
[An international school chain increased the number of admission-related queries from organic search by 82%. The strategies involved specific tactics, such as keyword universe identification, content strategy, conversion rate optimization, and optimizing technical SEO elements.]
Case Study 2: [EdTech Platform Witnessed a 96% Increase in Web Traffic]
[An EdTech platform witnessed a 96% increase in web traffic, which translated to increased visits from potential learners to the top course pages. The strategies involved targeting keywords to increase the number of queries from professionals looking to get certified in areas like Cloud Computing from platforms like Microsoft and AWS.]
What Must Educational Brands Do To Leverage Enterprise SEO
Enterprise SEO works on scale, so educational brands must realize that it comes with a lot of challenges. To start things off, brands must identify the keyword universe in which they operate and target it strategically.
Moreover, since this strategy is dependent on scale, the focus on creating helpful content should not waver. If done correctly, intelligent content can help build thought leadership, which is something that a knowledgeable target audience highly values.
Brands must also cover the basics, such as fixing the website architecture, setting up the crawl budget, and optimizing the web experience for mobile devices. Similarly, collaboration across the SEO, content marketing, web development, and PR teams is crucial to adopt a unified strategy.
It is challenging, necessitating educational brands to be strategic. But by embracing Enterprise SEO and keeping up with the evolving landscape of digital marketing, educational institutions can position themselves as leaders and attract and engage students in a highly competitive environment.