fighting for students online: higher ed conversion optimization

Fighting for Students OnlineHighEdWeb West 2016Brian Massey, Managing PartnerConversion Sciences

20082011 2012 2013

March 2013

March 2013March 2016

“Data Talks”

@bmassey

Founder of Conversion Sciences a pure-play Conversion Optimization Agency

Author Your Customer Creation EquationLab Wear Fashion ModelThe Conversion Scientist BlogConversionScientist.comContact:[email protected]

Brian Massey, Conversion Scientist™

@bmassey

The Cost of Higher Ed Visits

Photo Credit: azbillboard cc

https://www.flickr.com/photos/21628283@N07/16624365614/

https://www.flickr.com/help/general/#147

$25 per click for keywords containing “online college”

$8 average for keywords in our survey

How to get that 6th Inquiry:

1. Spend another $5002. Get one more inquiry from the current visitors

(Increase website conversion rate)

$500 to $500065%

$5000 to $50,000

28%

Above $50,0006%

Universities and CollegesEstimated Monthly Ad Budget

Source: SpyFu.com, Sample Size: 7,463

Competing for College Students Onlinewww.ConversionSciences.com

How Much are Organizations Spending on AdWords each month?

Conversion Rate Applies to All Visits

• Organic Search• Email Traffic• Referrals Visits• Social Media Visitors

Increasing Conversion Rate

1. Get to Know Your Visitors

• Analytics• Click Tracking• Surveys• Screen Recordings

Web Analytics Installed50.0%55.0%60.0%65.0%70.0%75.0%80.0%85.0%90.0%

$500 to $500075.4%

$5000 to $50,00083.4%

Above $50,00085.7%

Web Analytics Useby Estimated Monthly Ad Spend


Competing for College Students Onlinewww.ConversionSciences.com©2015 Conversion Sciences LLC

Click Tracking “Heatmap” Tools

Where are visitors clicking?

Where are they NOT clicking?

How far are visitors scrolling?

What navigation items are most clicked?

@bmassey #CXLLive

A Form on Every Page

The little red dot in the click-tracking heat map.

Program of Interest

Answer Their Burning Questions

20% IncreaseIn Form Fills

Category Pages: Pagination

Scrolling past top of page creates “Header Blindness”

44% Increase in Revenue per Visit

2. Decrease Load Time

Particularly important on Mobile Devices.

Tweet @conversionsci #labcoatlessons

High School Students

Mobile Visits

Desktop Visits

Tweet @conversionsci #labcoatlessons

Luxury Ecommerce

3. AB Testing

Find out what works through Trial and

NO ERRORS.

Web Page B (Treatment)Web Page A (Control)

CONVERTED

Splitter

Traffic

AB Testing1. A variation of a page is

created.2. Visitors are split between

the variation (Treatment) and the original (Control)

3. Whichever generates the most inquiries becomes the new Control.

4. Try to beat the new Control with a new Treatment

Examples

Sticky Headers

Android: +78.83%iPhone: +25.7%

Android: +3.9%iPhone: -21%

@ConversionSci #convcon

AB Test: Sticky Header vs. Sticky Footer

Schoolfinder.comSchoolfinder.com

+20%

Who’s Winning?

Report by Conversion SciencesSurvey of 9,528 organizations competing for Higher Education clicks on AdWords.

Evaluates installation of key tools on their Websites.

Data source: Spyfu.com

conversci.com/CollegeReport

Survey of Organizations Competing for Higher Ed Students

9,528 Organizations that buy Search Ads• Physical Universities • Online Universities • Community Colleges • Trade Schools • Technical Institutes • Student Services (loans, insurance, housing) • College Directories

Which Software is Installed on Their Websites?

•Web Analytics•Heatmap click-Tracking•Screen Recording•AB Testing•Website Performance Analyzers•Social Analytics•On-site Surveying

Segmented by Ad Spend

•$500 to $5000 per month•$5000 to $50,000 per month•Above $50,000 per month

How do you think each segment did?

These Organizations Invest in Web Analytics

78% of all organizations have Web Analytics installed.Over 80% of “big spenders” invest in Web Analytics Web Analytics Installed

50.0%55.0%60.0%65.0%70.0%75.0%80.0%85.0%90.0%

$500 to $500075.4%

$5000 to $50,00083.4%

Above $50,00085.7%




These Organizations Invest in Web Analytics

The bigger the ad spend, the more likely they are to invest in Web Analytics.

Web Analytics Installed50.0%55.0%60.0%65.0%70.0%75.0%80.0%85.0%90.0%

$500 to $500075.4%

$5000 to $50,00083.4%

Above $50,00085.7%




Other Categories of Software

A/B Testi

ng

Click Tr

acking

Scree

n Recording

Site P

erform

ance

Socia

l Analy

tics

User Fe

edback

0.0%2.0%4.0%6.0%8.0%

10.0%12.0%14.0%

Optimization Software Use by Estimated Monthly Ad Spend

$500 to $5000 $5000 to $50,000 Above $50,000



Recommendations

Give your team time to study analytics.

Make more decisions based on data.

Schools with Smaller Ad Spends Should Focus on Acquisition Cost

If you can’t outspend bigger competitors, out-convert them.

Leverage Your Comparatively High Purchase Price

Your optimization ROI is faster than many other industries.

Decrease Your Search Ad Costs

Decreasing Acquisition Cost means decreasing search ad costs by definition.

Don’t Over Invest in Social Media Sharing

While social sharing is “free”, social visits have a much lower conversion rate.

A/B Testi

ng

Click Tr

acking

Scree

n Recor...

Site P

erform

...

Socia

l Analy

tics

User Fe

edback

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

Optimization Software Use by Estimated Monthly Ad Spend

$500 to $5000 $5000 to $50,000 Above $50,000



Begin Adoption Soon

Optimization takes time. Don’t be late to the party.

Don’t Take My word for it...

Chrome + Ghosterywww.Ghostery.com

$165,000 monthly spend

$1,000,000 monthly spend

Get the Full Report

conversci.com/CollegeReport

Prepared byConversion SciencesJoel Harvey(512) 554-3054Brian Massey(512) 961-6604

ConversionSciences.com8650 Spicewood Springs Rd. #145-601Austin, TX 78759

63

© 2011-2016 Conversion Sciences. All Rights Reserved

fighting for students online: higher ed conversion optimization

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