This is the first in a multi-part series on using Google Adwords for higher education marketing.
If you search for higher education related terms like ‘business degree’ or ‘online MBA’ you’ll see numerous Google Ads from universities around the world.
The reason: low-cost and specific targeting.
The low-cost benefit is a bit of a misnomer. While the cost-per-click (CPC) is usually relatively low ($0.50 – $1.50), it can get as high as you let it – in some cases $5 – $7. But this isn’t the only issue. Even if your CPC is always under $2, you could end up spending thousands of dollars, yielding little results.
Google is in the business of making money. They will ultimately show your ads based on keyword terms you identify – regardless of how relevant the term is.
Keyword Matching
When adding keywords to a new or existing campaign, they are added as broad match by default. What does that really mean and does it matter? Lack of understanding of keyword matching can cause you to waste hundreds or thousands of dollars. Here’s a brief overview of the keyword matching types:
| Match type |
Special symbol |
Example keyword |
Ads may show on searches that | Example searches |
| Broad match | None | math games | Include misspellings, synonyms and related searches | math activity |
| Broad match modifier | keyword | math games |
contains the modified term (or close variation, but not synonyms ) in any order | games to teach mathematics |
| Phrase match | “keyword” | “math games” | are a phrase, and close variations of that phrase | math games for kids |
| Exact match | [keyword] | [math games] | are an exact term and close variations of the exact term | math games |
| Negative match | -keyword | -online | are searches without the term | online math games |
It’s OK to leave your search terms as a broad match for the first little while, as this may reveal other possible search terms that you could target. But ideally, you should hone your keywords to be more specific.
Remember: plenty of clicks on your ads does not indicate success if they don’t complete the desired action at the other end. Focusing your keywords may reduce your impressions and possibly clicks, but your traffic will be more qualified and complete the desired tasks.
Keyword Report Tool
When you target keywords, especially if keyword targeting is broad match, the actual search phrases used to trigger the ads could be quite different then your targeted keywords.
The Keyword Report Tool lets you see what keywords are actually triggering your ads to appear. This can be great to generate additional keywords to target or even to exclude undesired keywords. You can select search terms from the list and either add them to your list of keywords or exclude them, allowing you to improve your targeting and more wisely spend your Adwords budget.
Need Help?
For more information on how to use Google Adwords more effectively to accomplish your school’s goals or to request a customized Google Adwords workshop, schedule a free consultation.
This post was written by Mike McCready
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