Whether you’re recruiting students to your university or a specific major, graduate program, or other campus initiative, digital marketing solutions are non-negotiable. Earlier in our Recruiting Students blog series, we explored how to use digital marketing tactics to attract and retain qualified students, extend your reach to in-state and out-of-state markets, drive website traffic, generate more qualified leads, and increase attendance at open houses and other on-campus events.

In this post, we take a closer look at three important digital marketing solutions that fuel higher education advertising success. To use your limited time, energy, and marketing budget most efficiently, focus on the digital advertising solutions proven to provide maximum return on investment (ROI).

PPC (Pay Per Click) Advertising 101

PPC is a type of online marketing in which you pay a fee each time one of your ads is clicked. A holistic digital marketing campaign will include display, video, search, and social advertising across Google Ads, Bing Ads, and social platforms including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Solution #1: The Value of Search Engine Based PPC

Search engine advertising lets advertisers bid for ad placement in the sponsored links that appear when someone searches a keyword related to their offering. PPC is fast and efficient, perfect for rapid response advertising and testing. It targets your ideal audience through effective filters, letting you choose exactly where and when your ads appear, and it enables geographic pin-pointing so your targeted ad is there when customers in your area seek your institution or program.

Solution #2: The Role of Social Media Platforms

Paid social advertising is another important step toward better audience targeting and higher ROI. Social ad impressions continue to rise as video and story formats grow, and a significant share of online brand discovery still happens in public social feeds. Weak social ads create a negative response in under a second, so you need high-quality copy, compelling calls to action, and strong visuals.

Solution #3: SEO as a Digital Marketing Solution

Obtaining an excellent search engine ranking is a related strategy that bears much fruit. URL factors include search-engine-friendly URLs, site structure, and domain life span. On-page factors include content relevance, meta tags, and keyword density. Off-page factors include inbound links, online press releases, and blogs and RSS feeds.

See our complete guide: Recruiting Students: A Marketing Plan to Increase College Enrollment.