It all begins with SEO
Learning Revolution cuts to the chase in its blog post, " Using SEO to Sell Online Courses ." The author observes that most of the organizations and institutions offering online courses and programs tend to focus on creating the best possible learning experience for students. Mastery of such areas as SEO and marketing fall outside their wheelhouse.
As the article describes: "That's understandable, but it can also be harmful. Think for a moment about how someone who doesn't know you and has never heard of you is likely to find your course. She's likely to (a) go to Google, and (b) type in whatever phrase seems to describe the educational experience she is seeking."
According to , the keyword "online education" yields 14,800 searches per month . If your organization isn't utilizing up-to-date search engine optimization (SEO) practices, precious few of those searchers will find your website.
As the WebFX article explains, SEO is included in the category of inbound marketing, because it brings users to your site when they're actively searching for information about online education.
This is the opposite of such tactics as flyers and billboards, which fall under the category of "outbound marketing" because they reach out to an audience regardless of whether they care about your programs. Prospective students are looking for your school - or, at least, what it has to offer. A solid SEO strategy helps lead them to it.
Building SEO starts with keyword research
Consider the words that potential students might enter in a search engine to find the courses or programs you offer. WebFX uses the following examples:* "How much does an online education cost?"
* "Classes at [your online school]"
* "How many years is an online education?"
* "Prerequisite for online education"
Many of these "long-tail" keywords can form the basis for creating high-quality content, which also helps your website rank higher in the SERPs. For example, "How many years is an online education" can be the topic of a blog post. By providing a consistent amount of good content that your target market finds informative, you'll increase traffic, leads and conversions along with your SERP position.
Tyler Basu - content marketing manager at Thinkific - goes a step further.
He recommends using keyword research to create the course title . "Use a tool such as Google's Keyword Planner or to identify the most popular keywords related to your course topic, and include those keywords in your course title," Basu writes.
"This will help to position your course as exactly what a potential student is looking for as they search for your topic online."
While building SEO for organic search, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising should also be part of your marketing plan. Use Google Ads and Bing Ads for maximum impact, and to target potential students by age, if they're currently searching for colleges, if they are interested in the topic you teach, etc.
Create quality content
Content such as blog posts can be created based upon your courses. An online course on web development presents endless possibilities for informative blog posts - as well as social media posts. If your online school offers scholarship programs, they, too, can be used as the subjects of blog and social posts - as well as landing pages. Linked internally throughout your website, this creates a spider-web effect. Each link can draw visitors in further and further.
As our March 12, 2018 blog post, " What is Internal Linking, and How Does it Help SEO ?" explains, a visitor who follows your website's internal links has a better chance of eventually converting into a sale or a lead to be cultivated into a customer. Our June 8, 2018 blog post, " What is Quality Content ?" covers the do's and don'ts of writing engaging online content that will connect with and motivate your target audience.
Domains make a difference
Does your school have an .edu domain?
Having an .edu domain is an advantage, as .edu domains pass valuable "link juice" (a non-technical SEO term used to reference the SEO value of a hyperlink to a particular website or webpage) to linking domains. Adding a backlink strategy is essential.
Social media - sharing is caring
Naturally, your online course needs to be on relevant social media platforms to drive traffic to your website. Write social posts that link to your blog posts, landing pages, curriculum pages, etc. This can boost organic search rankings and build a strong online presence that cultivates trust in your brand and programs.
As you see, planning and executing a digital marketing plan for your online courses or school demands a good deal of time and attention. The process is easier when you partner with a full-service digital marketing agency to meet your needs and help you reach your goals.
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