Mkt4Edu Blog

How to be relevant to Google and attract more students

Written by Gustavo Goncalves | Mar 11, 2024 1:44:29 PM

Being relevant and having good content to offer its students and candidates is the desire of every educational institution. This is because, when a student searches for information on the internet, they want their expectations to be met. In fact, the student research process is quite simple: look for a place that is trustworthy and that answers all your doubts. And this is precisely where all the work to be developed in content marketing.

Creating relevant, well-structured and coherent content is just part of the job. SEO professional. Furthermore, you need to understand how Google reads the information and content you create and make available to your readers. This is all part of the work of inbound marketing that universities must develop, aiming for greater growth in student recruitment It is lead generation

Key points covered in this post:

What's relevant to Google;

Are the algorithms always the same?

Capturing students.

Happy reading!

What's relevant to Google

Google works with algorithms that have their mechanics constantly updated, in order to offer the user an ideal answer to their search. Every time you publish something on your website, Google will read your content, at a semantic level, with the aim of classifying it as relevant or not. The relevance and authority that your content achieves with Google will define its placement, as a response to users' searches.

It is important to understand that Google, as a search engine, does not read information like humans. However, through its algorithms, it creates indices, signals and references that relate as closely as possible to what we understand as relevant.

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Are the algorithms always the same?

No! Algorithms change constantly. As previously mentioned, Google is always looking to optimize for the end user. These algorithm changes happen up to more than 3000 times a year! This is really incredible. ButHow to survive Google's algorithm changes? Neil Patel, known as the Marketing Guru, on his blog, separated some tips for How to survive these changes. 

In short, understanding the user's needs and offering a solution to a problem through content is the best option. Answering a question, informing clearly and educating are the best ways to be relevant to Google and your readers. Framing these solutions within the dynamics of algorithms is the role of the SEO professional. It is with this in mind that you must adjust your content production to the stages of your sales funnel.  

Capturing students

When it comes to attracting students, everything becomes easier when you know the lead behavior and your journey. Once you can understand which paths the interested party takes to actually arrive at your institution, you need to take the next step: building a relationship. The best way to do this is through the application of good SEO practices in your content and inbound marketing.

Analyzing the needs of your leads and generating relevant/quality content should always come first. Through this, you increase engagement, lead generation and, consequently, student acquisition.

Carrying out the opposite process, that is, thinking about registrations before the needs of leads is quite tempting, but it can create a headache in your relationship with Google. You will not be less commercial if you think about the end user first, quite the contrary, acting/applying strategies with your reader in mind is demonstrating a real understanding of what should and should not be done to attract more enrollments.

From the moment you understand the relationship between SEO and student acquisition, your digital marketing strategy will be much more objective and streamlined. All of this, aligned with the institutional culture built on publishing your content, will define what your relationship with Google and its algorithms will be like.

Want to know more about fundraising strategies for your educational institution? You can schedule a meeting for your educational institution!