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Higher Education Marketing Education and News
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90+ Higher Education Marketing Stats [2026]
This post was updated by Paula French on 12/23/2025 to reflect current best practices. It was originally published on 1/9/2025. Higher education marketers face more pressure to compete than ever before. From the demographic cliff and evolving modern learner to the rise of AI-driven program discovery, institutions must pay close …
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Search Influence SEO: Powering Your Visibility in AI and Your Enrollment Growth
Key Insights Student discovery now happens across multiple channels and moments, not a single search engine. Prospects move fluidly between platforms, which means visibility must extend across every place they form early impressions. AI summaries are becoming the new first impression for many learners. With 79% reading AI Overviews, institutions …
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AI Search Optimization for Graduate Education Marketing in 2026
What 2025 Research Tells Us About AI Visibility, Zero-Click Search, and Enrollment Strategy Executive Summary Here’s the reality: the way prospective graduate students find and evaluate programs has changed faster than most of us anticipated. Research from across 2025 — including original survey data from UPCEA and Search Influence (n=705) …
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UPCEA MEMS 2025 Recap: 11 Higher Ed Marketing Presentations That Show Where We’re Heading
This review was created with AI assistance and human guidance from Will Scott, AI SEO Expert and CEO of Search Influence. TL;DR: The UPCEA MEMS 2025 conference made one thing clear: AI isn’t coming to higher education marketing. It’s here. And institutions that aren’t actively optimizing for AI search, building …
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Search Influence Named a Finalist for Best SEO Campaign at the 2025 US Agency Awards
We’re excited to share that Search Influence has been named a Finalist in the Best SEO Campaign category at the 2025 US Agency Awards for our AI-driven campaign, The Art of AI SEO, created in partnership with Maine College of Art & Design (MECA&D). This recognition marks our second consecutive …
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Higher Education AI Search Strategy: What Students Expect vs. How Institutions Must Adapt
Key Insights Students have shifted how they search. Prospective learners now use AI tools alongside traditional search, making structured, consistent program information essential for visibility. Institutional readiness lags student behavior. Many colleges recognize the influence of AI search but still lack the systems and processes to monitor and improve their …
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Search Influence to Share AI Search Strategies for Higher Education at MEMS 2025
As AI continues to redefine how students search for and engage with academic programs, marketers are rethinking how they track, measure, and optimize online visibility. This December, Search Influence will share actionable AI search strategies for higher education at the 2025 UPCEA Marketing, Enrollment Management, and Student Success (MEMS) Conference, …
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UPCEA Guest Blog: Paula French on AI Search Trends in Higher Education
When prospective students begin researching programs, their first stop may no longer be your website…. or even Google. Many now use generative AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity to ask questions, compare options, and find fast answers. These tools influence what students see, what they trust, and which institutions …
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All of Your Higher Education Marketing Questions Answered
Key Insights Half of all prospective students now use AI tools weekly, making AI-optimized content and entity SEO essential for institutional visibility. Fewer than 50% of higher ed marketers track cost per inquiry (CPI), even though those who do report stronger ROI and campaign satisfaction. 82% of prospective students are …
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Search Influence to Present on AI Search in Higher Education at AMA Symposium 2025
AI-driven discovery is rewriting the rules of visibility for universities. As prospective students increasingly rely on tools like Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity, the traditional SEO playbook is no longer enough. The next era of visibility requires a strategy built for recognition and trust within AI ecosystems, not just …
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