Could you imagine not having a website for your higher institution? The world would suddenly feel…empty.
Your website is where parents and students come to get valuable information about your school and its programs. As focused as you may be on making your website a great place for visitors, don’t forget that it’s a two-way street. You should also be getting information from your users to better understand their needs. This way, you can provide them with more relevant content.
Your website is more than an informational tool. It has many jobs to do, and one of them is converting users. To boost conversions, here are three easy to tips to follow.
1. Attract prospects with the right keywords.
Chances are, you already have an arsenal of content. Whether it’s blog posts, email newsletters or brochures, review your content and look for pieces to repurpose. Use an updated keyword list to drive targeted traffic to your site.
Long tail SEO keywords are effective because they’re easier to rank for. Consider some of the highlights to your school and how they can be added to your keywords. For example “private colleges in New Jersey” is better than “private colleges” but still generic. Instead, try a longer tail keyword such as “private colleges with evening courses”. Additionally, long tail keywords sound more conversational. This is helpful as more people use voice search for their queries.
2. Include multiple conversion points.
You should never be shy in asking for information from prospects. As long as you ask for the right information at the right time in the funnel, it should feel like a natural progression.
On your website, there should be multiple opportunities to convert. Early conversion points should focus on answering questions during the research phase. What types of programs do you offer? What is the employment outlook for certain professions? Do you have sample syllabi for students to look at?
As you write content, include high converting CTAs that bring prospective students to related landing pages. Let’s say that a prospect is reading a blog post about the job outlook for nurses. You could include a CTA that brings them to a landing page regarding your nursing program. As you collect information on the lead, the next steps are to enter them into your database and nurture them through the enrollment funnel with personalized content.
3. Offer personalized experiences with smart content.
Smart content is on-page content that adjusts based on who is reading the material. A content filter is applied to the content, which allows the information to be changed based on which profile the user fits. So, students will see a different home page than their parents. In addition to fresh material, smart content also allows for customized offers.
You don’t need much technical support to make smart content work for you, but you do need a firm understanding of your prospects, personas and data. As you fine tune your content to further match your personas, you’ll find that it becomes more personalized and effective.
Make the most of your content. You take the time to produce it, upload it to your website and share it with your audience, so make sure it’s giving you the conversions you expect.
