This past week at #Converge2014, we had the privilege of hearing Google’s Head of Industry in Education, Kristin Hall, share the latest in mobile and search trends during her keynote. The presentation was spot on in relation to what’s new and next in Higher Education. The following blog post is a short recap of several key points that Kristin made.

There are over 7000 options when it comes to educational choices for a degree. If you were shopping for a new home or a new car, where would you even begin? You would probably start with things that are important to you in that major purchase by typing specific keywords into Google from your mobile device. Right?

That is exactly what prospective students are doing at all levels.

Takeaway #1: Keyword Research – Organic Search

62% of colleges now offer at least one degree program online, and that number grows every day. There are over 6 billion Google searches a day. How are you competing when it comes to being found in Google search?

Q: What are your unique selling points that students are searching for?

A: Use keyword research. Determine how prospects are finding you and your programs and identify the number of searches that exist for specific words and how you can rank for them.

Takeaway #2: Mobile First

Over 34% of individuals searching for an education reported using their mobile device as the primary research vehicle. (FYI – In Google’s eyes, mobile devices don’t include tablets like iPads, those are incorporated into metrics for traditional desktop search.)

Over 1/3 of all search queries are mobile and the number grows daily. Programs are the number one most sought after information on mobile phones. The largest pain point that students mentioned was trying to navigate sites that are not optimized for mobile usage. We are in a mobile world and have to think mobile first. 

Q: Are your landing pages and website mobile optimized and friendly?

A: Design all landing pages, program pages and new web content with prospective students in mind. They want to access in mobile optimized ways. Mobile research is key, so make it easy and a priority.

Takeaway #3: Video and YouTube

Having video on your site is no longer a nicety it is a necessity. Over 40% of YouTube views are via a mobile device. 1 in 3 prospective students now uses video during their college search process. Not many higher education institutions have a strategic approach to video and few are using video in their advertising strategies.

Q: Do you use video to enlighten students on programs at your college?

A: Create strategic video content based on questions that prospective students have. Optimize the video on YouTube and test video advertising.

If that wasn’t enough to convince you the final facts are:

• Viewers spend 7x more time on mobile optimized edu sites.
• Mobile optimized sites have 5x more visits than non mobile optimized.
• Sites that are mobile optimized have 2x the amount of page views.

The largest way you can reach learners in a digital world is by focusing on SEO. Think mobile first and create video assets to tell your story.

For more information on how video can positively impact your marketing, join us on Thursday 10/23 at 2PM EST for a free webinar on How to Make Better Videos… Right Now!