Salt Lake City, UT – December 16, 2012 – Datamark, the leader in data-driven driven enrollment marketing, has published its newest white paper, which highlights the massive opportunities presented by search marketing, along with expert advice for institutions exploring and using this channel. Readers will gain insight into the ways they can maximize the impact of paid search as part of an integrated marketing plan, as well as strategies to avoid overspending.
“Paid search is an extremely powerful and effective medium to connect with prospective students at their exact moment of intent – our data tells us that it is one of the highest quality inquiry sources with one of the best inquiry to enroll/start rates,” said Steve Winchester, Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President of Student Marketing at Datamark. “That said, if not executed appropriately, paid search can present some cost and scalability challenges. There seems to be a misconception that the more you spend the more you get back; but it’s more complicated than that. Our goal is to help schools achieve and maintain conversion oriented and cost-effective spending patterns so they can drive more high quality inquiries.”
According to Datamark’s research, 47 percent of students turn to an internet search when beginning the research process. Industry data points to even higher percentages of students who rely on search.
Because an increasing number of students are searching the internet, more and more schools are recognizing the value in paid search marketing and dedicating more budget to it. This is causing the cost of education key words to spike, which can drive up a school’s CPL (cost per lead). It is therefore critical for schools to know what their tipping point is so they do not exceed it. That is to say, they need to clearly understand their optimal spend level and how many more inquiries they can generate from incrementally more money, so they can then determine the impact on their overall CPL and search strategy.
Winchester continued, “We have seen search become so much more powerful when it is used along with other marketing channels. A broad media mix that includes a variety of direct response channels should be used alongside a search campaign in order to enhance brand awareness. For example, often when our clients send out direct mail campaigns we see their search traffic significantly increase about a week later.”
“Maximizing Search as Part of Your Integrated Marketing Strategy” is available for free download from Datamark’s website.
About Datamark
Founded in 1987, Datamark is a leading provider of student marketing, enrollment and learning solutions to the education industry. Focusing on performance and visibility into the student enrollment cycle, Datamark helps schools drive higher returns on their marketing investment. Best-in-class solutions include full-service digital and direct marketing and management, dynamic on-demand relationship marketing, customized CRM designed exclusively for the education market, enrollment management, and student retention. The company also offers Helix, a competency-based online learning platform recognized by EDUCAUSE and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as a Breakthrough Model in higher education.
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