Key Insights
- SEO is the foundation of higher ed marketing: Most institutions recognize SEO’s importance but lack a solid strategy. Strong SEO supports all marketing efforts and drives conversions.
- AI Overviews are changing search visibility: Google’s AI-generated summaries are pushing down traditional search results, reducing organic traffic, and demanding new content strategies.
- Social search is expanding beyond platforms: Social media content is influencing in-app searches and Google rankings, offering new ways to boost visibility.
- Cookie deprecation is reshaping digital advertising: With third-party cookies being phased out, marketers must prioritize first-party data and new tracking methods to maintain targeting and performance.
- Tracking cost per inquiry (CPI) is critical: CPI is the most important metric for marketing efficiency, yet less than half of institutions track it.
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In a guest webinar for The Leading Edge Thinking in Higher Education Series hosted by Bay Path University’s Center for Higher Education Leadership & Innovative Practice (CHELIP), Search Influence Director of Sales and Marketing Paula French shed light on the key digital marketing trends shaping higher education in 2025.
Colleges and universities face an increasingly competitive environment. To attract and engage prospective students, it is critical for marketing teams to stay ahead of these trends.
Higher education institutions are grappling with challenges like evolving search engines, changes in how prospective students search, and a shifting digital advertising landscape.
To remain competitive, institutions need to adopt innovative strategies that leverage AI tools, optimize for emerging search results formats, and refine targeted advertising techniques.
In her webinar, Digital Marketing in 2025: Best Practices for Higher Education, Paula explained how marketing teams can adapt to these changes. Paula also highlighted findings from Search Influence’s Marketing Metrics Research Report, emphasizing the importance of tracking cost metrics to enhance marketing performance and ROI.
The Importance of SEO for Higher Ed Institutions
According to the Higher Ed SEO Research Study by Search Influence and UPCEA, 84% of marketing departments recognize SEO as a core part of their strategy.
Yet, 51% of those departments admit they don’t have an established SEO plan.
This gap highlights a critical opportunity for higher education institutions to strengthen their marketing efforts by making SEO the foundation of their strategies.
Think of your higher ed marketing strategy as a house.
Advertising is the front door — it grabs attention and gets prospective students into the funnel.
Social media platforms are the living room, where you engage in meaningful conversations and build relationships with your audience.
Email marketing acts as the stairs, guiding prospective students down the funnel toward conversion.
But SEO is the foundation — it supports every marketing effort by ensuring your website, the core of your digital presence, is optimized for discovery and user experience.
No matter how prospective learners hear about your institution — whether through an ad, an email campaign, social media, a conference, or a Google search — you will lead them to your website to learn more or take action.
A strong SEO strategy ensures visitors easily find the information they need when they arrive, resulting in a better user experience and higher conversion rates.
Higher Education Digital Marketing Trends in 2025
AI Overviews: how generative AI is reshaping search in higher ed marketing
While much of the conversation around AI in marketing focuses on how it helps create content — writing, graphics, videos — less attention is given to how AI search results are changing how prospective students find information about schools and programs.
AI search will change the traditional structure of SERPs and the strategies digital marketers use to climb them.
As search engines evolve, higher ed marketers must embrace optimizing for AI search, or, what some are more formally referring to “Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)” to maintain visibility.
Understanding AI Overviews is the first step.
In May 2024, Google introduced AI Overviews as part of its Search Generative Experience, powered by the generative AI model Gemini. These AI-generated summaries provide quick answers to user queries, pulling from content across the web and including links for deeper exploration.
However, AI Overviews dominate search results pages, pushing traditional organic listings down. Even top-five rankings now require more scrolling, leading to less traffic. This means even if your certificate program ranks top five on the SERPs, it still might not get all the eyes it deserves.
A Seer Interactive study shows that organic click-through rates (CTR) drop by nearly 70% when AI Overviews are present, highlighting the need to adapt your content marketing strategy.
So, how can digital marketers adapt to AI Overviews?
- Target commercial and transactional keywords: One of the most immediate steps your team can take is to focus on optimizing for commercial and transactional keywords. These types of searches — like “coding certification online” or “online MBA programs ranked” — are less likely to trigger AI Overviews. This means higher organic click-through rates and more traffic to your site. Aligning your content marketing efforts with these keywords can help you capture prospective students actively looking to enroll.
- Evaluate keyword competition: Consider how competitive specific search phrases are and where your institution currently ranks. If you’re already performing well for less competitive keywords, you may have a better chance of becoming a source for AI Overviews. Like traditional SEO, start with the low-hanging fruit — targeting terms where you can realistically break through.
- Align content with search intent: When developing your content strategy, aligning your content with the searcher’s intent is essential. For example, someone searching “how to become a CFO” has informational intent — they’re looking for guidance or advice. Google highlights articles, videos, and guides for these types of searches. By tailoring your content to fit this intent, you improve your chances of being featured in AI Overviews.
- Create question-based content: Search engines like Google and AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity are designed to provide direct answers to user questions. Creating question-based content that addresses specific queries — such as “What are the admission requirements for an online MBA?” or “How long does it take to complete a coding certification?” — increases the likelihood that your content will be featured in AI-generated responses.
- Make content digestible: AI models and search algorithms favor content that’s easy to understand and well-structured. Use clear headings, subheadings, bullet points, and short paragraphs to make your content more accessible. Incorporating internal links and using Schema markup can also improve your chances of being featured in AI Overviews.
Social search: expanding your visibility beyond traditional SEO
When people talk about social search, they typically mean how learners use platforms like TikTok, Instagram, or LinkedIn to find information and discover content.
But social search extends beyond social platforms. Social content is increasingly appearing in Google search results, offering new ways to enhance your digital marketing strategy.
For example, searching “best project management courses” on TikTok brings up typical video content like “Top 3 Project Management Courses.” But you’ll also see an AI-driven search highlighting what TikTok’s generative AI detects in those videos.
Similar social content often ranks prominently on Google. Thanks to their large audiences and dynamic content, platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, Quora, and YouTube appear more frequently in Google search results.
To capitalize on this, start by repurposing existing website content for social media. Share videos from your site on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, turn blogs into LinkedIn articles, and create short videos summarizing your program pages.
This approach boosts engagement on social platforms while increasing your visibility on Google. Learners prefer social searches because they find information presented in engaging, authentic formats — so meeting them there makes your marketing campaigns more effective.
You should also engage in relevant discussions on Reddit and Quora and optimize video content for YouTube — both of which can rank well in Google search results.
This dual strategy strengthens both your social presence and your search visibility.
Cookie deprecation: navigating the shift in digital advertising for higher ed.
The deprecation of third-party cookies is reshaping the digital marketing landscape, significantly impacting how higher education institutions target and track prospective students.
Without third-party cookies, it’s harder to tailor ads based on consumer behavior. It also limits how accurately you can measure the success of your digital advertising campaigns, often leading to sampled or underreported conversions.
In the past few years, browsers like Firefox (2019) and Safari (2020) blocked third-party cookies entirely. Although Google Chrome, which holds nearly 60% of the U.S. desktop search market, delayed full deprecation, users have more control over data privacy, making it easier to opt out of tracking.
Alternatives to cookie-based targeting include:
- Contextual targeting, which places ads alongside relevant content (e.g., showing your online MBA program ad next to an article on “Best Online MBA Programs”), and leveraging first-party data collected through forms, applications, or interactions on your site.
- Addressable geo-fencing allows you to target specific locations without relying on third-party cookies, layering in your own CRM data for added precision.
Integrating your CRM data with platforms like Google Enhanced Conversions and Meta
Conversions API is key for tracking. This approach offers more accurate reporting and allows platforms to optimize campaigns based on qualified leads. Your CRM can also create custom audiences for retargeting and help build lookalike audiences to expand your reach.
As third-party cookies disappear, the focus shifts toward using data-driven insights from first-party data to refine targeting and improve performance across digital channels.
By embracing these changes, higher education marketers can continue to effectively engage prospective students while navigating new data privacy norms.
New standards of measurement: why tracking the right metrics matters
When it comes to higher ed marketing, generating student inquiries is the first and most crucial step toward enrollment. That’s why cost per inquiry (CPI) is the single most important metric for evaluating marketing efficiency — yet too few institutions are tracking it.
According to our 2024 Higher Ed Marketing Metrics Research Report: What Gets Measured Gets Managed, co-authored with UPCEA, only 46% of marketing teams track CPI, and just 43% measure cost per enrolled student.
Without this data, institutions are missing key insights into how effectively their marketing spend drives prospective students into the funnel.
The good news?
Those who do track CPI are more likely to be satisfied with their campaign performance.
Why?
Because having clear, data-driven insights allows marketers to optimize strategies, allocate budgets more effectively, and ultimately drive better enrollment outcomes.
Our higher ed marketing metrics study found that the average CPI across institutions is $140, with variations by program type:
- Graduate programs: $157 per inquiry
- Undergraduate programs: $128 per inquiry
- Non-credit programs: $51 per inquiry
With enrollment marketing evolving rapidly, tracking CPI is no longer optional — it’s essential.
Optimizing for CPI ensures your marketing dollars work smarter, helping you attract more students and maximize ROI.
About Bay Path University’s CHELIP and Leading Edge Series
Bay Path University’s Center for Higher Education Leadership & Innovative Practice (CHELIP) drives innovation in higher education. Since its founding in 2019, CHELIP has built on Bay Path’s 120-year legacy of teaching excellence to promote bold ideas and collaborative solutions that address the evolving needs of both students and institutions.
One of its key initiatives, the Leading Edge Thinking in Higher Education Series, invites thought leaders from across the country to share insights on advancements in the field. This series tackles topics like top marketing trends, marketing effectiveness, and the increasingly important role of digital strategies in student engagement.
Prepare for Digital Marketing Trends in 2025 With Search Influence
In her guest presentation for Bay Path University’s Leading Edge Thinking in Higher Education Series, Paula highlighted key trends — like AI Overviews, social search, and cookie deprecation — having a major impact on higher ed marketing.
As marketing leaders, it’s essential to prepare for these shifts. From machine learning in search to evolving data privacy standards, staying ahead ensures you get the most value from your campaigns.
At Search Influence, we help higher ed institutions thrive by integrating data-driven strategies into their marketing.
Download our Higher Ed Marketing Metrics Research Report to gain insights that keep your marketing effective and future-ready.
