SEO for Universities

A Cohesive Guide to Performing SEO For Universities

Are you interested in taking a further step in your academic phase? Universities offer high education, degrees, and doctorates that make you a valuable asset to any organisation. However, how do you pick the perfect university from your room? SEO for universities aims to inform individuals with information about the institution. Here are a few reasons why it is necessary

Why is SEO for universities important?

Creating a brand

Other than being individual institutions, universities are a brand too. Each high education institution stands out because of its features and services. Therefore, brand recognition is important for SEO for universities so interested students can immediately link the activity to the courses. Furthermore, it also educates individuals about the departments and academia.

Improved online visibility

When performing SEO, will improve the university’s online presence. The website will perform better too. Furthermore, well-placed keywords will ensure the students find it easier to discover the university. It will build interest with potential investors, teachers, and students. In addition, when a university website is SEO-optimised, it offers updated content. The organised website sections also appeal to the reader.

Educate more students

With cohesion and brand recognition, the university will be a worthy contender in the education industry. They will start seeing the university as a reliable source of information. The feature will heavily influence the ability to attract new students. SEO for universities has the potential to cross international boundaries, so use it to make a lasting first impression

Successful Strategies for performing SEO for universities

Optimise the university website

SEO for universities is based on keywords incorporated in the website content. The education institution can also mention them in titles and headings. As a result, the target keywords appear in the text naturally. The search engine will penalize the website if the terms are forced into the conversation.

Furthermore, the website titles must remain precise and short. Furthermore, ensure the URL addresses also mention the keywords. You can compose the meta descriptions for every webpage to reflect the content expertly.

Use SEO tools

The university website owner is also encouraged to study Google analytics. They can employ suggestions to improve website pages with low traffic to ensure the readers engage with the sections. Don’t forget to add images and alt tags too.

Lastly, eliminate broken links and authenticate the statistics with updated resources. You can complete the information by mentioning news about the university or the new programs you offer.

Use social media

Using social media to improve SEO for universities is a genius idea that more and more education institutions are employing. It will improve your online presence based on the content you created in the earlier step. Furthermore, it will allow the management to communicate with the students instantly, such as by posting about exams, holidays, or events.

The university can pose relevant sources or URLs that link to the university’s website. Moreover, management profiles with complete information, qualification, and keywords will attract a wider audience. Lastly, the university can also look into creating a Google My Business Profile.

Backlinking

Are you wondering about the importance of backlinking for SEO for universities? The component is an influential factor in SEO to enhance its online presence. It will increase in ranking because high-quality links are associated with the website. As a result, the university’s online information becomes credible.

To create high-quality backlinks for the university, consider building engaging content. The text can offer input or quotations from the field’s experts. Therefore, think outside of the box other than blogging. Other link-building exercises are question-and-answer sessions, forums, and performing a link exchange. Don’t forget to add the keywords too organically.

Compatibility

We live in digitised times where an individual owns a mobile phone, laptop, tablet, and other smart devices. The student will disengage if the university website works on one device and cannot load on other platforms. Therefore, SEO for universities involves building a compatible website for across-the-board access.

Initially, the website must feature a dynamic design that responds to phones, tablets, and laptop screens. The layout must automatically accommodate the screen size so the individual can continue browsing the website.

In addition, the website management can also add videos and images for mobile use optimisation. Before launching the website on all platforms, the management can test the load time to ensure it works.

Keyword Research

Keyword research is essential for websites, pages, social media, or interactive content. The keywords are based on identifying the word and phrases that will benefit the readers, especially the students.

The university management can begin by creating a keyword list for the educational institution. You can consult online tools such as Google AdWords Planner to identify current keywords and their variation. After the management has recognised the keywords to perform SEO for universities, they are placed carefully in the content. Keywords will organically become part of blog posts and web pages. Furthermore, the keyword can also include university location to perform local SEO. As a result, the website becomes popular with students.

Use Local SEO

Local SEO for universities is also an essential part of the online strategy. The university will appear at the top of the search engine result pages when local SEO is optimized. Furthermore, the feature attracts much traffic when the Google My Business profile is set up according to the location. The website management team can also add contact information, reviews, faculty feedback, and office hours.

Local SEO is based on local keyword search, which empowers users from the targeted vicinity to learn more about the educational institution. The university can also encourage graduates and previous alums to leave reviews. The positivity will enhance the online presence.

Website speed

A website that loads slowly with corrupt instructions will not generate the same traffic or engagement as a successful one. Furthermore, popular search engines such as Google also prefer websites that do not take too long to appear. Therefore, website speed is a crucial SEO factor.

If your website is lagging, consider reducing the video and image pixelation. Furthermore, limit the number too. Moreover, you can simplify the code and empower the website with cache and compression features.

The university management can also run speed tests regularly to ensure maximum engagement. Students, faculty, investors, and new admissions rely on the website speed heavily. Therefore, focus on the attribute.

Sub-domains vs. sub-categories

SEO for universities involves subdomains and directories. Assuming your website has sub-domains only. In that case, the elements are considered separate websites. In other words, your content on one sub-domain will not optimise the entire platform because each website is distinctive.

Google indexes directories and domains separately. Therefore, when the search engine identifies a domain, it will consider it a separate website. Therefore, ensure a correct pathway when the university creates links for the primary website, page, and sections.

A neat trick is categorising the landing page as the fundamental domain. Subsequently, it will guide the individuals to different sections that now become sub-domains.

Ensure interaction for engagement

The university welcomes hundreds and thousands of new students every year. Furthermore, new admissions are accepted throughout the academic year too. The reality is that not every student can physically visit the campus. Therefore, the interactive website must have the necessary information to transition from reality to virtualism.

The university website can host application forms and enable online fee transfer. Virtual class tours, guest attendance, maps, and extensive schedule are excellent recommendations. A live chat feature is always welcomed.

The audience will easily learn more about the academic institution with these SEO features. Furthermore, they won’t be waiting idly for a response too.

Highlight each program

SEO for universities is incomplete without drawing a separate section for each activity. It will allow the university to post detailed information. Thus, improving its ranking. Furthermore, the content will also satisfy internal queries.

A typical example is creating different electrical, mechanical, and civil sections for the engineering department. As a result, new enrolments can learn about the program in detail. Furthermore, if the academic institution offers certifications, it will also educate the professionals on how the program will broaden their career perspective.

With the content satisfying the queries, the reader will perceive the university as well-researched and authentic. They will not shift to competitors’ websites which is excellent for the university. Therefore, divide the website into numerous sections according to niche, speciality, or profession.

The Closing Argument

SEO for universities is becoming essential to their marketing strategy to promote their courses and programs successfully. Furthermore, SEO will also attract students and improve the enrolment rate. The university’s website will rank above the competitors with the SEO techniques mentioned in the discussion. As a result, the educational institution’s visibility increases manifolds.

SEO.London is a well-experienced and award-winning company that will guide the client to establish a successful online presence. We do not fluff but empower entrepreneurs and companies to realise the SEO potential for economic benefits. One-click on SEO.London website will ensure your business scales, thrives, and grows exponentially. Dial +44 7891 173 471 or email us at lukasz@zelezny.co.uk to schedule an appointment.