5 best practices for building better program pages
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5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages Slide 1 5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
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Program pages are increasingly important to higher ed marketing. Schools are adjusting education marketing strategy to become more engaging. Here are 5 best practices for building better program pages.
Transcript of 5 best practices for building better program pages
5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
Slide 1
5 Best Practices For Building Better Program
Pages
5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
Slide 2
1. Create a seamless experience
2. Make the case with relevant data
3. Anticipate what prospective students are asking
4. Humanize with visuals and testimonials
5. Optimize your program page for SEO
Overview
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
Slide 3
It can definitely be challenging trying to simultaneously optimize multiple program pages, but some colleges and universities that are investing time and resources on these pages are beginning to show results.
The University of Manitoba recently restructured its website to provide users with consistently informative and visually dynamic content.
It was a labour-intensive process to create but Jeff Adams, director of student recruitment, believes providing "all of the information we can, in a simple manner," provides users with the maximum information in a minimum of clicks.
All program page information was provided by faculties and then formatted to have a common voice and style.
Students are able to click to apply directly from each site.
1. Create a seamless experience
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
Slide 4
The University of Manitoba includes for each program:
a program description degree options interesting courses unique opportunities (co-op and exchange options),
career choices admission requirements prerequisites links for each program
1. Example: University of Manitoba
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
Slide 5
Great program pages not only provide necessary functional information but, if possible, relevant data that convinces prospects about a particular degree's value.
Career-focused students are seeking employment rates within the first year of program completion and median starting income.
If you don't have access to this data, it might be time to start collecting it.
2. Make the case with relevant data
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
Slide 6
The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology makes everything very clear to prospective students: their ROI (Return on Investment), along with quick facts, fees, application deadlines, and a handy "apply online" button.
2. Example: Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
Slide 7
Prospective students will generally have a few common questions regarding a particular program and it is your task to provide the answers as clearly as possible.
Questions could include: What is the demand for graduates of this program? What positions are graduates qualified to apply for? What have other graduates done with the degree? How much is it and is there financial aid?
3. Anticipate what prospective students are asking
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
Slide 8
Make it easier to finish the application process by offering immediate next steps related to enrollment on each program page.
Consider that the average high-school student may have only the vaguest idea of what they want to study, so links to related majors will make navigation within your site more fluid.
It is ideal to present helpful information such as a course calendar and specific benefits that result from completion of the program in an uncluttered manner, with relevant links to further details.
3. Anticipate what prospective students are asking
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
Slide 9
Centennial College has an excellent layout on their program pages that provides a lot of content in an easily digestible format. The program overview, resulting eligibility for certification, admission requirements and application process are all tastefully presented, and a comprehensive program outline even features links to each course description.
3. Example: Centennial College
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
Slide 10
Despite a growing focus on careers, choosing a school is still a decision about where a student can envision themselves spending a significant amount of time.
Adding relevant pictures with written and video testimonials to program pages gives prospective students a better idea of the intangible feel of a place, while encouraging users to explore more of the website.
4. Humanize with visuals and testimonials
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
Slide 11
Carleton University features text, pictures and videos on their main program page, while each specific program has a testimonial and sometimes a head shot to further personalize the content.
4. Example: Carleton University
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
Slide 12
Preparing each program page for SEO will better your chances of targeted leads arriving there through search engines, so:
Keep the content regularly updated Integrate the right keywords, with unique page titles and clear meta
descriptions. If a major website overhaul is too much, try starting with five
degrees or programs with the highest enrollment. Continue to test for fluid site navigation as you make
updates, remembering that the easier you make it for students to understand your academic offerings, the more likely they are to apply.
5. Optimize your program pages for SEO
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
Slide 13
What features on program pages have you found most effective for student recruitment?
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
5 Best Practices For Building Better Program Pages
Slide 14
Questions?1.514.312.3968 [email protected]
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