Higher Education Marketing Education and News
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Paula French on “The Signal”: What AI Search Means for Higher Education Marketing
Enrollment marketers are losing prospective students at a stage they never even see. Before a student fills out a form, visits a program page, or clicks a single ad, they are already building a short list. They are asking AI tools detailed questions, comparing programs, and forming preferences, and the …
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One Page, One Baseline: Paula French on Program Page AI Search Visibility [UPCEA]
Your program page has a new audience, and it doesn’t fill out RFI forms. Half of prospective students now use AI tools at least weekly, and most universities have no idea what those tools are telling them. Before a student ever lands on your site, an AI tool has likely …
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Track and Report the Right Higher Ed Marketing Analytics to Improve Your Strategy
This post was updated by Allison Zeringue on 6/16/2026 to reflect current best practices. It was originally published on 10/09/2024. Key Insights Less than half of higher ed marketers track cost per inquiry or cost per enrolled student, the two metrics that connect marketing spend to enrollment outcomes. Institutions that …
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[DATA] Higher Education Marketing Trends 2026: How Industry Pros Stay Informed
Higher education is under pressure from every direction. Enrollment shifts, budget constraints, AI disruption, and changing student expectations are hitting at once, and the professionals navigating them are expected to stay ahead of it all. Search Influence partnered with UPCEA, the leading association for online and professional education, to better …
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Paula French Speaks on AI Search and the Invisible Enrollment Funnel
Search Influence Director of Sales and Marketing Paula French recently joined SearchStax and the University of Arizona for a webinar on one of the most pressing challenges in higher education enrollment marketing today: the growing gap between where students research programs and what institutions can actually track. The session, The …
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2026 Higher Education Marketing Benchmarks: Know Your Numbers, Grow Your Enrollment
Note: This post was updated by Paula French on 5/21/26 to reflect current best practices. It was originally published on June 25th, 2024. Key Insights Fewer than half of PCO units track cost per inquiry (46%) or cost per enrolled student (43%), despite spending nearly $900k annually on digital advertising. …
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[WEBINAR] Make Your Existing Marketing Work Harder for AI Search Visibility
AI search is changing how prospective students discover programs. But building an entirely new marketing strategy from scratch isn’t realistic for most higher education teams. Budgets are tight, staff capacity is limited, and priorities compete for attention. That’s why we partnered with UPCEA for this spring’s live webinar: Make Your …
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Search Influence Joins the 2026 UPCEA Annual Conference in New Orleans
The 2026 UPCEA Annual Conference, taking place April 15–17 in New Orleans, will bring together leaders across online and professional education to discuss the future of higher education strategy, technology, and student engagement. Search Influence will participate in this year’s event through speaking sessions, thought leadership, and in-person conversations with …
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UPCEA Guest Article: Explaining AI SEO ROI to University Leadership
Prospective students are doing more homework before they ever reach your website. Many start by asking AI tools to explain programs, compare schools, and surface credible options. Those responses shape which institutions feel trustworthy, which ones make the shortlist, and which never get considered at all. By the time a …
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The Hidden Cost of “Good Enough” SEO in the Age of AI
Key Insights Traditional SEO still matters. Technical health, keyword research, authority signals, and high-quality content remain the foundation of search visibility in the age of AI. AI search changes how visibility is earned. Ranking in traditional search results is no longer enough. Institutions must also earn citations in AI summaries, …
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