How a Free Search Audit Changed the Game for a Midwest University
Spring Arbor University offers a blend of faith-based education and academic excellence, attracting students seeking a Christian worldview alongside strong career preparation. Regionally accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, Spring Arbor offers undergraduate and graduate programs in various fields, including arts & sciences, business, education, nursing, and more. There are many things that make this university unique and desirable, including small class sizes, active campus life, career support, and a small-town atmosphere with big city amenities.
Spring Arbor was looking for ways to bolster its student recruitment campaigns. While they were already utilizing multi-marketing strategies, they were looking for a more strategic approach to drive even better results. The Advance Education team was eager to examine their current search campaign, understanding that paid search drives the majority of last-touch online conversions. A stronger search campaign would help to reach more potential students and increase applications, leading to increased enrollment.
Advance Education Offers a Free Search Audit
At Advance Education, our internal SEM team makes crucial recommendations with transparency in mind. Free search audits allow us to provide consulting services to help improve your campaign, no matter if you’re currently a partner of ours or not. Our recommendations are objective and unbiased, driven solely by a comprehensive analysis of your search performance. These FREE audits allow us to conduct a thorough, ethical assessment so our recommendations are based on genuine insights and deliver sustainable results.
Our Findings are Sound, and Supportive Data is Supplied
The results of a search audit produce many results. It’s important that we carefully examine what elements of a current campaign might be turned up or down, abandoned or embraced to make the difference. Here are just a few of the items our team examines in an audit of a search campaign:
- Organic and Paid SERP rankings
- Relevance of Content to Current Search Terms
- Authority Scores
- Backlinks Footprint
- PPC results, geographies, audiences, and share of voice
- Ensuring accurate event and online conversion tracking
Focusing on learning and improvement, this research often results in findings that surprise our clients. Ad types that are no longer relevant, geographical anomalies, frequency modeling, avoidance or inconsistencies with best practices, to name a few. In the case of Spring Arbor, our audit did present findings that could be immediately addressed. In just the first 60 days following our reconstruction of this campaign, we achieved the following results.
DRAMATIC INCREASES
IN ONLINE CONVERSIONS
DECEMBER 2023 COMPARED
TO DECEMBER 2024
INCREASED BY 207%
JANUARY 2023 COMPARED
TO JANUARY 2024
INCREASED BY 196%
Cost per click
DECREASED 31%
THE CLICK-THROUGH RATE JUMPED IMMEDIATELY,
AND IS NOW AT 9.07%,
ALMOST 3X THE EDUCATION BENCHMARK OF 3.78%
The success story shared here is a powerful testament to the transformative power of a comprehensive search audit. At Advance Education, we believe that knowledge is power, and by unearthing hidden opportunities within existing campaigns, we empower businesses to unlock exponential growth.
The 200%+ online conversion improvements witnessed by our clients showcase the tangible impact of our data-driven approach. But beyond the numbers, lies the impact on business: reaching new students, driving site conversions, and ultimately achieving marketing goals.
If you’d like to learn more about how we can help you adapt to the evolving education marketing landscape and ramp up your efforts, please contact us today.
OUR LATEST WHITEPAPER
The 2nd Annual
Parent & Student Survey
As we approach 2025, the landscape of higher education is undergoing seismic changes. Amidst these challenges, we conducted our 2nd Annual Post-Secondary Education Survey to better understand the perspectives of students and their parents. Now these insights are available for download.
