If you’re looking for the best way to reach new audiences or attract students from specific geographic regions, it might be time to consider geo-targeting. There’s plenty of time to jump on board with this highly effective marketing tool, and it’s one of many that can work well for your institution. To get started, we’ll explore what geo-targeting is, how it works, and how you can utilize it for more effective marketing.
According to geomarketing.com, geotargeting is “the practice of delivering content to a user based on their geographic location.” Essentially, this means marketing specifically to someone based upon a specific region or area and is accomplished by using their IP address to identify users in the desired location.
Geo-targeting is an effective form of marketing because a person’s location can actually reveal a lot about them, whether by their interests, preferences or mindset. It also makes it easier to give them marketing and content developed for their interests. As groundtruth.com wrote, “In a nutshell, geotargeting helps advertisers create more relevant, targeted promotions for consumers, resulting in increased engagement.” Therefore, geotargeting can be an effective marketing tool for higher education institutions as well as they aim to attract students from around the world, and reach new target markets.
In order to get the most out of geotargeting, you need to first clearly define which locations or regions you are interested in targeting. If you aren’t entirely sure where prospective students are, that’s all right. To get started, do some research into current international student trends within your country or region. Consider looking into past enrollment data or even traffic to your institution's website for ideas on potential geographic markets to start with. This may take a bit of research, but once you have a few locations to get started with, you will be on your way towards reaching new student audiences from around the world.
Additionally, you may also want to consider the importance of visibility when students are searching online. According to searchengineland.com, “Geotargeting doesn’t always mean you have to capture where someone is physically located. Consumer intent is conveyed all the time by search queries, and location is a commonly included term. Consumers often narrow their own searches by adding in the name of a city or district.” At Keystone, universities that list their study programs on our 420 student websites are able to benefit from strong global visibility across all popular search engines including Google, Baidu, Yandex and many more. With websites are optimized for search in 33+ languages, it easy for students to discover study programs on Keystone in their local language from anywhere in the world.
Want to get started with geotargeting but not sure where to begin? At Keystone, we offer geotargeting solutions as part of our higher education marketing packages. As an extension of our promotion of your programs globally across our 420 student domains, you can select from a range of geotargeting options to reach students from a specific set of countries or regions of your choosing.
With a one-on-one call, we can quickly show you just how Keystone can help take your marketing strategies to the next level. By customizing tailored marketing and student recruitment packages based on your institution’s unique needs, you’ll benefit from increased brand awareness, global visibility, improved student engagement, and ultimately more enrollments. Why not start today?