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Learn how DreamApply enhances paid search campaigns for educational institutions. Discover expert tips from Ara Harutyunyan on how to understand search intent, increase return on investment, get more conversions (enrolled students) and more. Boost enrollment and streamline applications with DreamApply’s innovative features.

Boost student enrollment with paid marketing and DreamApply. Here’s how.

Jul 8, 2024 | EdTech

While there are many ways applicants discover educational institutions, in 2024, admissions and marketing teams prefer scalable and automatable channels, considering how overloaded they already are. DreamApply’s customizable and user-friendly software provides the perfect solution, helping institutions increase student enrollment by 30% and reduce application processing time by 40%.

In the latest episode of DreamApply’s podcast, EdTech and Pancakes, we dive into one of the most effective marketing strategies used by modern educational institutions – paid search advertising. Our guest Ara Harutyunyan is the co-founder of Ardos Media, a global marketing agency focusing uniquely on paid search and analytics. Ardos Media’s niche expertise has helped numerous institutions optimize their paid search strategies.

Let’s explore some of the tips shared by Ara and put them in the context of student enrollment. Additionally, we’ll see how DreamApply’s CRM enhances the efficiency of your paid search campaigns, making sure all your efforts are centralized to serve your final goal of enrolling students.

Table of Contents

How to use paid search marketing for student enrollment

Tap into existing intent

Ara emphasizes the importance of understanding search intent, as a cross-cutting principle. Unlike other forms of advertising, paid search targets users actively seeking information. This relevance leads to higher engagement and conversion rates, as opposed to other ad formats.

Ara explains, “Paid search has been dominant because it aligns with what users are already looking for. Most users are not even aware that they are clicking on an ad.”

Segment your audiences to personalize your ads

Ara reminds us of the importance of personalizing ads and landing pages to match the specific queries of prospective students.

For instance, if an applicant searches for “Master’s programs in Investigative Journalism,” and your ad reflects information about a program on investigative journalism, whereas all other ads are about journalism degrees, you’ll likely receive a much higher click-through rate (CTR).

With DreamApply, you can easily tailor landing pages to match these specific queries, ensuring a seamless user experience from search to application.

Maximize brand awareness through YouTube

YouTube, the second largest search engine, is another valuable platform for educational institutions. Ara suggests using video content to increase brand awareness and engagement.

“Video ads on YouTube can effectively target prospective students, especially when aligned with their interests and search behavior,” he explains.

Get the most out of your paid search data

Ara highlights the significance of data in optimizing paid search campaigns. It’s not just about leveraging data to increase the probability of increasing click-through rates, but also analyzing post-click behavior allows to increase real conversions. For universities, this means tracking applicant behavior to refine the admissions process and aid them every step of the way.

DreamApply’s robust analytical tools can track applicant behavior, providing insights to refine the admissions process and aid them every step of the way. In the second part of this blog, we’ll delve deeper into how DreamApply’s features can maximize your ROI for paid search campaigns, ensuring a seamless and efficient enrollment process.

Watch the full episode of EdTech and Pancakes with Ara Harutyunyan

Listen to the audio version of the podcast on DreamApply’s website, Spotify or iTunes.

How DreamApply enhances paid search campaigns

Using DreamApply’s marketing add-on and UTM features, educational institutions can optimize their paid search campaigns far beyond basic traffic metrics. Here’s how DreamApply maximizes your ROI:

Advanced UTM parameter tracking

DreamApply’s UTM features allow you to track the effectiveness of online marketing campaigns, identifying which sources and campaigns drive the most valuable traffic. This data-driven approach helps refine your marketing strategies based on actual applicant behavior.

Automated and personalized reminders

DreamApply automates follow-up processes with personalized reminders. Notifications about upcoming deadlines, incomplete applications, or missing documents keep prospective students engaged and improve completion rates.

Comprehensive dashboard and reporting

The dashboard offers a comprehensive overview of your campaigns, visualizing applicant progress and providing insights for data-driven decisions. This ensures your marketing strategies are always optimized for the best performance.

Integrations with popular marketing tools

DreamApply integrates with tools like Google Analytics, email marketing platforms and CRMs, ensuring all marketing efforts are synchronized for greater effectiveness.

Seamless payment integration

Integration with various payment gateways simplifies the payment process for students. This convenience encourages timely payments and enhances the overall user experience, reflecting positively on the institution.

Efficient management of grants and scholarships

DreamApply’s grants and scholarships feature allows institutions to manage financial aid efficiently. This not only attracts more applicants but also ensures that funds are distributed in line with strategic goals, such as increasing diversity or supporting top achievers.

About DreamApply

Founded in 2011 in Estonia, DreamApply is an innovation-driven EdTech organization that improves access to education around the globe. DreamApply’s application management software helps more than 300 educational institutions across 40 countries to improve admissions, marketing, financial and other internal processes.

DreamApply’s easy-to-use and customizable software increases student enrollment by 30% and reduces application processing time by 40%. With features designed with and for educational institutions, and integrations with commonly used systems, DreamApply empowers teams to get more done with less effort.

Continue exploring by requesting your free, personalized demo.

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