Maximizing ROI through Advanced Audience Segmentation in Google Ads
October 4, 2024
Sarah Gilbert
We often hear that Google Ads accounts are ‘optimized,’ when really all they have are some priority locations targeted and some negative keywords. However, we feel the best way to really optimize ROI is to spend the time mapping your ideal student journey to perform high-level audience segmentation.
Understanding the Student Decision-Making Process
The student journey typically consists of five stages: awareness, consideration, intent, decision, and enrollment. Each stage requires a unique approach and keyword set to effectively guide prospective students towards enrollment.
Awareness begins when a student starts exploring higher education options. Consideration involves comparing specific programs or institutions. Intent is marked by actions like requesting information or attending virtual tours. The decision stage culminates in submitting applications, while enrollment focuses on converting accepted students.
Aligning your Google Ads strategies with these stages is key to maximizing ROI.
Targeting Strategies for Different Decision-Making Stages
In the awareness stage, use broad keyword targeting to cast a wide net. Students may be what we call ‘institution-agnostic,’ meaning they don’t have a strong preference toward a particular institution, rather they are searching for a particular degree or career path. If you are doing a lot of PPC in the awareness stage, your enrollment team needs to be prepared to go over programs from the very base level – don’t assume these prospective students know everything they need to know.
As students move into consideration, focus on program-specific + feature search campaigns. These could be ‘versus’ questions, specific answers to questions for choosing one program over another, or specific requirements for programs. For instance, the prospective student could be looking for graduate programs that don’t require a GMAT or GRE, programs that are 100% online or have in-person clinicals – these are the questions and features that are helping them make their decision.
Think about the intent stage in Google Ads as a way to gain access to prospective students who are maybe more non-traditional, who are looking for things like rolling admission and multiple start dates, particularly for graduate students. These are prospective students who are really ready to go if you can show them your programs meet their needs.
During the decision stage, remarketing should play a key role in helping students along the path to enrollment. Ads should be focused on deadlines, encouragement, reminders, even just ads with people at your school having fun, anything that reminds them of their goals and gets them to complete the stages in the enrollment process.
Finally, in the enrollment stage, create targeted remarketing ads for admitted students while excluding enrolled students from acquisition campaigns. This advanced segmentation should also be used in your email marketing campaigns as well.
Leveraging Remarketing Lists for Search Ads (RLSA)
RLSA is a Google Ads feature commonly just referred to as remarketing, which allows you to tailor your search ads for people who have previously visited your website. This part of online ad spend and marketing is particularly important in higher education, where the decision-making process can be lengthy.
Create segmented remarketing lists based on website interactions, such as visits to specific program pages or time spent on the application portal. Develop stage-specific ad copy for these audiences to re-engage them effectively.
Implementing Demographic Bidding Strategies
Google Ads offers robust demographic targeting options. For higher education, focus on:
- Age ranges: Target traditional and non-traditional students differently
- Household income: Adjust messaging based on financial considerations
- Parental status: Particularly relevant for graduate programs
- Education level: Essential for marketing advanced degrees
Implement bid adjustments for high-value demographics and create tailored ad copy and landing pages for specific segments. Regularly analyze demographic performance reports and conduct A/B tests to optimize your approach.
Just be careful not to make your pool too small. You can ‘over-optimize’ yourself out of the running altogether by making your targeted person too specific. Of course, every campus wants the ‘ideal’ or ‘perfect’ student, but don’t underestimate the success potential of other student personas, and also, put some onus on your enrollment team to help explain programs and overcome objections, so you don’t completely shrink your enrollment pool.
Why Partner with a Specialized Agency
While these strategies can significantly boost ROI, implementing them effectively requires expertise and resources. A specialized agency offers:
- Deep knowledge of higher education digital marketing
- Access to advanced Google Ads tools and beta features
- Data-driven campaign optimization
- Up-to-date knowledge of evolving Google Ads capabilities
- Freeing your internal resources for strategic initiatives
By leveraging an agency’s expertise, you can implement these advanced segmentation strategies more effectively and efficiently.
Next Steps
Advanced audience segmentation in Google Ads offers a powerful means to maximize ROI in your marketing spend. By taking the time to map your strategies with the student decision-making process, using remarketing tactics properly, and employing audience segmentation techniques, you can grow enrollments while improving the ROI of your ad spend.
For an audit of your account to see where there are gaps and quick wins, feel free to reach out.