Attract Potential Students Through Your Website

First impressions are everything.

In the higher education industry, digital is making major headway – your website is your first chance to impress and attract students to your college or university. All of your inbound marketing efforts will lead back to your website, so it’s important to make it as attractive as possible to your audience. Use these five tips to get your college or university website in tip-top condition.

Determine Your Long-Tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords are much more specific than their short-tail counterparts, so you’ll have more success when you use them on your website. For example, students might be searching “how do I write a college resume” as opposed to “example college resumes.” Spend some time researching the long-tail keywords that your target group of students is using.

Search Engine Optimization

In order for your website to be found by potential students, it’s important to make sure search engines can easily find and index your website. That’s where the long-tail keywords come in. Make sure you’re utilizing these keywords throughout your site content, as well as when creating your meta tags and descriptions for each page on your website. By optimizing your website for search engines with long-tail keywords, you’ll make it easier for search engines – and potential students – to find your website, in turn making it easier to attract students to your college or university.

Responsive Design

A responsive web design means that your website is optimized for viewing on all devices – including mobile. Just over half of college students own a smartphone, so it’s important to make sure that your website scales nicely to fit mobile devices. Otherwise, you’ll be missing out on a key segment of your audience!

Aesthetics Count

You might have great content, but if your website isn’t visually appealing, you might end up turning away potential students. They might not be designers, but they’ll know if your site isn’t pleasing to the eye. This doesn’t just mean choosing the right colors (but that’s important too) – it also means organizing your site so content is easy to find.

Drive Traffic Through Content Creation

Use remarkable content to attract students to your website. An easy way to keep updated, fresh content on your site is to start a blog that focuses on everything related to college students. You can consistently create content around your specific long-tail keywords, which will up your chances of appearing in organic search results, and therefore drive traffic to your website. Support your blogging efforts with a social presence – promote each blog post you write on relevant social platforms to increase your reach.

Interested in learning more about attracting students to your college or university via an enticing website and inbound marketing efforts? Download our white paper, Attract Your Ideal Student Base, and contact us at HigherEd@pyxl.com.

Updated: Apr 13, 2022