The 30 Most Important Digital Marketing Facts for Private Schools

With the majority of parents and students relying on the internet for information, it is crucial for schools to take advantage of digital marketing. Digital marketing for private schools encompasses a range of tactics that can help your school attract more students, improve its online visibility, engage with its audience, and ultimately increase its enrollment rate. These facts will help you have a better understanding of the importance of using digital marketing for your school’s growth efforts.

1. Compared to traditional marketing methods, digital marketing allows schools to reach a wider audience.

Schools can target potential parents and students online with the right strategies in place. This can be through social media platforms, SEO campaigns, or email marketing, to mention a few.

Source: LinkedIn

2. As of 2023, organic search is still the most important source of traffic for private schools.

SEO for private schools is essential as search engines are where people go when they want to learn about something or need answers to questions. Your school will benefit when you comprehend what parents are seeking from you, as well as supply information that answers their questions.

Source: Cube Creative

3. The education industry’s average mobile CTR for search ads is 4.45%.

Schools face a severe battle compared to other sectors when it comes to search ads. This is why Digital Marketing for Private Schools is crucial for optimizing your website to ensure visibility in the searches that matter for your school. Making sure you have a solid strategy in place can save you a lot of headaches not to mention money.

Source: Wordstream

4. It’s calculated that a #1 organic position in Google can result in a click-through rate (CTR) of 34.2%.

Being number 1 on Google’s results page can instill trust and value. Being on the first page can be the difference between a potential new parent clicking on your site or scrolling by.

Source: Wordstream

5. Users are 52% less likely to engage with a company that has a poor mobile site.

Yes, this includes parents. Long load times, complex navigation, and illegible text can all cause a poor online experience. You don’t want to lose potential families because of a bad mobile site.

Source: WebFX

6. Over 90% of online experiences begin with a search engine, and about 93% of those begin within a popular search engine like Google, Yahoo!, or Bing.

When parents go online to find a new school, they need a search engine to help them get started. Parents doing some initial research rarely access your school site directly by typing in a direct URL, so make sure your site is ranking for what they’re looking for.

Source: WebFX

7. Online content is becoming an increasingly meaningful part of the parent enrolling journey.

Today’s parents are much more web and tech-savvy than before. This means they expect their questions to be answered or addressed on your private school’s website; otherwise, they’ll look somewhere else.

Source: Cube Creative

8. The normal person conducts an estimate of three to four searches every day.

A parent looking for a private school will likely search the web for information, therefore it’s important to optimize your school to appear in those searches.

Source: Hubspot

9. 14% of searches are in the form of a question.

It’s important to create content on your school’s website that relates to or answers questions like “What are the benefits of private school education?” or “How do I enroll my kid in a private preschool)?”

Source: Backlinko

10. Organic search drives more than 50% of all website traffic.

Optimizing your school site’s content for organic search not only saves you money, but is more sustainable and successful in the long run. Making sure your content is searchable and discoverable is a must for your digital strategy.

Source: Web FX

11. About a third of all mobile searches are associated with location.

Most parents will search for schools near them, therefore it’s important to make sure your school’s location, business hours, and address are listed on major search engines and platforms, as well as easily accessible on your site. This will boost the chances of being found by local families or families willing to go the extra distance to attend your amazing school.

Source: Think with Google

12. 37% of the population is using voice search on mobile.

Many smartphone users are relying on a hands-free search experience. Make sure your school is listed on Google, and consider what searches could be phrased as inquiries. Voice search is conversational, so use natural language and write content in a way your users can relate to.

Source: Think with Google

13. Today’s parents expect private schools to have mobile-friendly websites.

All you need is to make it easy for parents to find what they are looking for on your site. Make sure to provide mobile-friendly buttons with calls-to-action, inquiry forms, landing pages on specific topics, etc.

Source: Cube Creative

14. Most of today’s parents have grown up with technology and are more tech-savvy than ever.

Therefore providing a positive content experience for parents is a must as they have certain expectations for content published online. Creating content that ensures prospective students’ parents stay on your site is key. Some outstanding content experiences include sign-ups for campus visits, a tuition calculator, a description of the application process, an admissions Q&A, a campus map, etc.

Source: Cube Creative

15. In 2021, mobile saw 85.8% more impressions than search results on desktop.

Nowadays, more and more folks are using mobile devices to search for and engage with your school’s website, which is why making your website mobile user-friendly is a must. Consider your site’s structure, content, and navigation performance on mobile devices.

Source: SEO Clarity

16. According to Google Trends, in 2021, August saw the most search volume for “private schools near me.”

To be more specific, the keyword “private schools near me” had a total of 135,000 average monthly searches. That’s why one important step in the creation of an SEO campaign is effective and detailed keyword research.

Source: Final Site

17. In 2021, July through September had the highest click-through rates in contrast to May and December.

It seems like the summer months might be the best time of year to implement a Digital Marketing for Private Schools campaign related to summer camps. However, your strategy should be year-long.

Source: SEO Clarity

18. Over 80% of online searches start with an unbranded term.

This means most parents find your site through generic keywords like “best private school in Miami” “private schools near me,” or “summer camps in Coral Gables”, instead of directly using your school’s name in the search. This is why it’s important to have an SEO strategy as these searches are more competitive as they have a much higher volume.

Source: MomentFeed

19. 50% of all organic search questions include four or more words.

Nowadays, people prefer natural long-tail keywords, which are phrases comprised of three or more words that focus on specific intent. The higher you rank for those keywords, the more likely you’ll beat the competition. It’s best for your keyword strategy to avoid broad keywords such as “best private school.”

Source: Safai Digital

20. In 2021, the education industry had a below-average conversion rate in search (2.82%), and in display (0.22%).

According to this study, this is the lowest conversion rate of any industry sampled specifically about how paid ads are performing on mobile devices. However, with the right digital marketing strategies you’ve got nothing to worry about as they can improve your chances to get more conversions and ultimately more success.

Source: Final Site

21. Over 60% of users are scrolling, tapping, and swiping on Google Chrome

It’s therefore important to spend some time verifying your site is looking fabulous and working well on this browser.

Source: Statista

22. Google takes into account 200+ factors before showing the best results to users.

Those factors include your website usability, page speed, domain age, content relevancy, grammar and spelling errors, and publishing frequency to name just a few. Make sure your site is responsive, well-written, and uses the best SEO strategies to reach users.

Source: BackLinko

23. Solely 0.83% of clicks happen on page 2 of Google search results.

This fact supports the overwhelming value of being on the #1 page of Google, otherwise, your school will have less than a 1% chance of receiving an organic click.

Source: Safari Digital

24. The number of Google Page 1 results you can scroll through on mobile devices is now INFINITE.

Google’s update lets users continuously scroll results forever. However, this means that being the first to give your searchers what they’re seeking is more critical since otherwise you’ll be drowning in a bottomless sea of search results.

Source: Google

25. Google is now 33% more likely to rewrite title tags.

A study showed that in cases where the titles on the search engine results page and title tag differ, Google pulled the SERP title from the H1 tag about 50% of the time. This highlights the importance of structuring your headings in a cascading format and making sure that your H1 includes accurate and relevant keywords that represent the content on your page.

Source: AHREFs

26. Google processes approximately 63,000 search queries every second.

That equals about 5.6 billion searches per day and approximately 2 trillion global searches per year! Which means that most people are searching for what they need.

Source: Hubspot

27. 96% of educators consider that social media can improve a student’s educational experience.

This statistic is a powerful indicator of the potential of social media to be a valuable tool in a student’s learning experience. It also indicates that educators are open to the idea of using social media to enhance the educational experience.

Source: Gitnux

28. 59% of students use social media to consult educational topics.

Social media has the potential for educational discourse. This of course requires a content strategy to share valuable information and engage parents and students in meaningful conversations about educational topics.

Source: Gitnux

29. 81% of schools documented increased parent engagement due to social media usage.

When used correctly, social media can be a powerful tool for increasing parent engagement in their children’s education. Which can increase your school’s position as a trustworthy source of information.

Source: Gitnux

30. Google owns about 70% of searches

Google dominates the industry, which is no surprise considering that most websites’ traffic comes from this search engine.

Source: Search Engine Journal

Having read these facts you now know that if you want your school to be found online, you’ll need to implement the right digital marketing for private schools strategy based on strong SEO, content marketing, and social media management, to meet the rising expectations of parents in this digital age. Contact us to learn more!