Online Education Marketing That Grows Enrollment

It depends on your program, your market and the services you need. Most of our online education clients run an SEO campaign as the long-term foundation, paired with paid search to drive immediate enrollment inquiries.

We'll right-size a plan to your program, your competitive market and your growth goals. There's no one-size-fits-all answer, and we'll tell you exactly where each dollar goes.

Very. At the typical school or program in the calls we've listened to, 24% (about 1 in 4) of calls went to voicemail or were never picked up: 21% during business hours and 30% after hours. And most of those callers do not try again: 80% of callers who reached voicemail did not call that business again within a week.

That is why we track every call from your campaigns, flag missed calls, and help you set up call routing, after-hours coverage and fast call-backs, so the leads you pay for are not lost at the front desk.

Based on calls to 5 schools and education companies we market, Apr to Sep 2026.

Mostly business hours: 24% of calls came outside Monday to Friday 9 to 5 (4% on weekends), and the busiest day is Monday. Of the calls that were answered, 49% were new-customer inquiries, 27% were existing customers, and 19% were sales pitches or wrong numbers.

That mix is why we report on qualified calls, not raw call counts.

Based on 8,100 calls to 13 schools and education companies we market, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026 (timing) and Apr to Sep 2026 (call types).

Across the Google Ads accounts of the 21 schools and education companies we manage, the median cost per lead over the last 12 months was $65, with a median cost per click of $3.00 and a median conversion rate of 5%.

Your number depends on your market, services and how well the landing page and phones convert. We use these medians as a starting benchmark, then work to beat them.

Source: Google Ads accounts managed by SmartSites, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026; a lead is a tracked call or form conversion as set up in each account.

For the 15 schools and education companies whose Google Business Profiles we manage, the median profile got about 1,290 views, 20 calls and 95 direction requests a month over the last year.

Reviews, photos, accurate hours and categories move those numbers, which is why local SEO is part of every plan we build for an online education company.

Source: Google Business Profile performance data for profiles managed by SmartSites, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026.

You don't have to choose. The best results come from doing both, with experts who know how to use AI responsibly:

• AI-assisted audits: our initial and routine audits combine years of human expertise with AI to spot opportunities a person alone would miss.
• Enterprise-grade data: professional SEO and ads tools give us visibility into organic, AI and paid search. You get the insights without the bill.
• Always human-in-the-loop: every output is reviewed by a strategist before it ships, and you own all work product.

A good in-house marketer is only one person. With SmartSites you get a whole team (strategist, SEO specialist, paid media lead, web designer, email specialist and social manager) for less than the cost of a single hire, with no recruiting, no PTO and no learning curve.

No, and we'll always be straight with you about that. Effective marketing for online programs takes time; programs that expect instant ROI from SEO are usually disappointed. We don't do risky shortcuts. Here's what to realistically expect:

• SEO can be a roller-coaster, but the long-term curve bends up and compounds.
• Paid search typically generates enrollment inquiries within the first 30 days.
• Web rebuilds pay for themselves through higher conversion rates.

Yes. We optimize for generative engines (GEO) as well as traditional search, so online education providers show up in ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and the AI assistants prospective students increasingly use to compare programs. For NFC Academy, that meant ChatGPT traffic up 26x. Our tracking includes AI mentions and citations, not just rankings.

Online program leaders don't think in impressions or vanity metrics. They think in:

• Cost per enrollment
• Course completion rate
• Revenue per student
• ROI

We do too. Our online education case studies include revenue up 1,295% and orders up 276% (Northstar Aviation References), plus phones ringing consistently and enrollment forms that actually convert.

For most online programs we recommend three tracks: a nurture sequence for prospective students who haven't enrolled yet, automated re-engagement for lapsed leads, and course-specific drips that walk new students through onboarding. We write, design and send every campaign and report on the enrollments it brings back.

Online programs sell trust and outcomes, so short-form video on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube wins. We recommend one or two produced videos per week (student testimonials, course previews, instructor spotlights), regular story activity, and targeted paid social to drive new enrollment inquiries. We handle production, posting and reporting.