If you’re a school leader, you’ve probably got a lot of things on your mind.
You might be juggling school health and safety issues, textbook delivery delays, staffing problems, and academic results to deliver.
On top of all that, you’re going to have to reserve some of your mental bandwidth to come up with strategies about how to reach student enrollment targets!
The good news is that SEO for schools website can help improve your school’s visibility online and drive enrollment while you sleep.
In this post, we’ll show you how to get SEO working for your school to meet those targets.
Table of Contents
Key Takeaways
- Implement targeted SEO strategies to increase visibility for prospective students and parents.
- Ensure your website is mobile-responsive to improve user experience and retain visitors.
- Regularly update site maps and meta tags to optimize search engine indexing and boost click-through rates.
- Create high-quality, relevant content to drive organic traffic.
- Utilize SEO tools like Google Search Console to monitor performance and refine strategies over time.
Real-World Success: How SEO Helped One School Increase Enrollment by 29%
After noticing a dip in enrollment, a private K-12 school in Quebec, Canada that we were in contact with decided to focus on SEO.
We helped them improve their website’s mobile responsiveness, optimize for local keywords like “private school in Montreal,” and created a blog featuring student achievements and educational insights.
In less than a year, the school saw a 29% increase in inquiries and a 15% boost in actual enrollments. This growth was largely attributed to the higher visibility achieved through SEO efforts.
Importance of SEO for Educational Institutions
With so many options available to parents and students, your school needs to be visible where it counts—on Google.
That’s where a strong SEO strategy comes in. If planned carefully, it will ensure that prospective students and parents can find you easily.
For example, if a family searches for “top bilingual school in [your city],” and your school doesn’t show up in the results, you’re likely losing potential enrollments.
So you are going to want to optimize your site for specific keywords like “bilingual education” or “STEM curriculum,” that can capture the interest of families who are actively searching for these programs.
Sometimes we hear people say that they’re website is “finished.” That’s like saying you went to the gym so you’re now fit.
A website is like a curriculum – it should be a living, breathing artifact that is updated regularly with informative, engaging content.
A blog that highlights school events or academic achievements is fundamental because it can help keep visitors on your site longer, making them more likely to inquire about enrollment.
Practical Steps to Boost Your School’s SEO
1. Keyword Research: Start With What Parents Search For
Tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs are important for finding out what terms prospective parents are using.
If families are searching for “best international schools near me,” you need to incorporate those phrases naturally into your content.
A well-optimized page should also feature terms like “enrollment process,” “after-school activities,” and “academic excellence” because it is highly likely these are things that matter to prospective families.
2. Create a Blog Strategy: Showcase Your School’s Strengths
We recently guided a private boarding school we work with in Thailand to begin a blog series showcasing student success stories, extracurricular activities, and interviews with teachers.
This not only engaged current families but also boosted their SEO for schools rankings by providing content relevant to prospective parents.
You don’t need to blog every day, but regular updates (weekly or bi-weekly) with helpful, keyword-rich content are key to improving search visibility.
3. Optimize for Local Search: Be Found in Your Area
Claim your Google Business profile and ensure your school is listed with up-to-date information.
Many families search for schools locally, so including your school’s location, contact information, and even photos can increase your visibility in local search results.
You can boost your visibility by asking your current parents to leave positive reviews. These play a major role in local SEO rankings.
And you will want to reply to all your reviews – good and bad – because Google pays attention to this.
The Essentials of Technical SEO
1. Mobile Optimization: More than 60% of searches happen on mobile devices. If your site isn’t responsive, you could be driving away potential enrollments. Fast loading speeds and easy navigation are essential for keeping visitors on your site.
2. Site Maps: A well-structured site map helps search engines crawl and index your content more efficiently. Regularly updating your site map when you add new pages or content ensures that Google recognizes your school’s online activity, which boosts your rankings.
3. Meta Tags and Descriptions: Each page of your site should have a unique meta description that summarizes the content and includes target keywords. This helps improve your click-through rates from search engine results.
Monitoring and Improving SEO Performance
Regular SEO audits help identify areas for improvement.
Tools like Google Search Console allow you to track which pages are performing well and which need work. And Google’s PageSpeed Insights can give you important information about your website’s performance in terms of loading time.
Visitors don’t want to wait more than three seconds for a page to load and Pagespeed Insights will help assess your website’s speed.
By identifying what keywords are driving traffic and where you’re losing visitors, you can adjust your content strategy and technical SEO efforts accordingly.
Benefits of Hiring an SEO Agency: Time to Get Expert Help?
An international school in Kuala Lumpur partnered with us and saw nearly a 55% increase in web traffic in less than six months.
We optimized the school’s website, implemented local SEO strategies, and optimized and updated their blog content to highlight the school’s unique selling points, while ensuring the posts were following all the p’s and q’s in terms of best practice.
As a result, that school saw a significant boost in enrollment inquiries and an increase in revenue.
Working with experts saves your Marketing team’s time to focus on other aspects of your school’s enrollment targets, and gets you customized strategies tailored to your school’s needs.
Whether it’s conducting keyword research, optimizing your website, or monitoring performance, an experienced SEO team can make sure your school stands out in a crowded market.
Conclusion: Don’t Miss Out on Future Enrollments
SEO isn’t just about boosting your rankings—it’s about making sure your school is easy to find, informative, and engaging for prospective families. With the right strategies, you can improve your school’s visibility, increase enrollment inquiries, and strengthen your connection with the community.
If you’re looking for expert help to make that happen, we’re here for you.
At SEO for Schools, we specialize in helping educational institutions thrive online. Contact us today for a free consultation and let’s discuss how we can help your school grow.
And want to see how SEO can transform your school’s online presence? Schedule a free SEO audit with us today and find out how we can help increase your enrollment and visibility.