BOOK A FREE STRATEGY SESSION

Lower Cost Per Lead in Google Ads

Apr 8, 2024

Navigating Google Ads can be tricky for educational institutions. You want to make sure every dollar you spend helps attract students effectively. This is where understanding your cost per lead (CPL) becomes important. CPL measures how much you spend to get a prospective student interested. Whether they’re asking about a program or actually enroling.

With tight marketing budgets, it’s essential to make sure your spending is actually bringing in students. Low-quality leads are not helpful to achieving this.

This guide simplifies Google Ads for you, helping you use your budget and get more students through your doors. Let’s explore how you can get better results for less money.

What Makes a Good CPL for Schools?

Figuring out a good cost per lead (CPL) means understanding what your school aims to achieve and how other schools are doing. CPL can change a lot based on what kind of programs you offer and where your students come from. Let’s look at what makes a CPL good for schools and how you can set smart goals for your ads.

Industry Benchmarks

First, it’s important to know the usual CPL benchmarks to aim for. For example, career training programs might have lower CPLs than universities or private colleges. Knowing these numbers helps you see if your ads cost too much or just right. According to Wordsteam benchmarks the average cost per lead in the education industry is $62.80

Education Industry Benchmarks

Defining Success

Different schools have different ideas about what a successful CPL is. Some schools need to keep costs low, while others might spend more to get better-quality leads who are more likely to enrol. Think about what success means for your school:

  • Cost Efficiency: Finding a balance between how much you spend and the results you get.

  • Lead Quality: Make sure the leads you get are students who are likely to sign up.

Setting Realistic Goals

Setting good CPL goals isn’t about picking a low number. It involves:

  • Analysing Past Performance: Look at your previous ad results to know where to start.

  • Considering Seasonal Trends: There are times when more people are looking to enrol, like before a new semester starts.

  • Aligning With School Goals: Your CPL should help meet your school’s plans.

Understanding what a good CPL looks like and setting the right goals are key to successful ad campaigns. By matching your goals with what’s typical in your industry, you can use your budget better and attract more students who are a good fit. Next, we’ll go over ways to reduce your CPL to hit these goals.

How to Lower Cost Per Lead in Google Ads for Educational Institutions

Lowering your CPL (Cost Per Lead) means you spend less money to get more interested students. Here are some simple ways to adjust your Google Ads to make them work better for your budget.

1. Focus on Important Campaigns

Put most of your budget into the ads that bring in the most students.

  • Choose Top Campaigns: Find out which of your ads bring in the most students and spend more there.

  • Change Your Bids: Spend less on ads that aren’t as important, so you have more for the ones that matter.

  • Check Your Spending: Use tools like “Search lost IS (budget)” and “Estimated first page bid” to see if you’re spending enough on your best ads.

2. Make Better Ads

Creating better ads can make more students want to click on them, which can lower your costs.

  • Get More Clicks: Use exciting ad text and clear calls-to-action to get more clicks.

  • Better Landing Pages: Make sure the pages your ads go to are helpful and have all the info students need.

  • Match Ads to Searches: Use the right keywords so your ads show up for the right searches.

3. Keep Your Account Tidy

A well-organised Google Ads account is easier to handle and works better.

  • Group by Programs: Organise your ads by the courses or subjects they talk about. This helps you keep track of how they’re doing.

  • Stick to One Theme per Group: Have each ad group focus on one topic to keep things clear and improve your scores.

  • Use Automatic Bidding: Let Google help you decide how much to bid on ads, but keep an eye on it to make sure it’s working as you want.

4. Choose the Right Bidding Strategy

How much you bid for ads can change how much you spend on each student lead.

  • Bid More on Good Devices: If more students come from mobile phones, you might spend more on mobile ads.

  • Adjust for Your Audience: Change your bids based on things like age or where the students live.

  • Stop Spending on What Doesn’t Work: If some times, devices, or places aren’t bringing in good leads, spend less there.

5. Set a Good Target CPA

Setting a target cost per student inquiry can help keep your spending in check.

  • Find a Good Cost: Figure out how much you can spend on each student lead while still keeping costs reasonable.

  • Keep Checking and Changing: Start with a CPA goal based on your data, and change it as you find out what’s working best.

These steps can help your school spend less on ads and still get more interested students. By being smart about where and how you spend your ad budget, you can make your Google Ads more effective and save money.

6. Clean Up Your Keywords

Managing your keywords is key to lowering your cost per lead. Here’s how to refine your keyword strategy to get more for your advertising dollar.

Nurture High-Performing Keywords

Identify the keywords that bring in the most leads at the lowest cost. These are your best performers, and focusing your budget on these can reduce your CPL.

  • Increase Budget for Successful Keywords: Divide more of your advertising budget to these high-performers to maximise their impact.

  • Monitor Performance: Check how these keywords perform to ensure they continue to deliver good results.

Maintain a Negative Keyword List

Using a negative keyword list helps you avoid wasting money on irrelevant clicks that don’t convert into leads.

  • Update Regularly: Add new irrelevant search terms to your list based on the insights from ongoing campaign analytics.

  • Review Matches: Review what triggers your ads and adjust your negative keywords to better target your desired audience.

Pause Low-Performing Keywords

If certain keywords cost more than they bring in terms of leads, it’s time to reassess them.

  • Identify and Pause: Find out which keywords are underperforming and pause them to stop draining your budget.

  • Analyse and Adjust: Look at the data to understand why these keywords aren’t working and decide if they can be optimised or should be excluded.

7. Optimise Your Landing Pages

The landing page is where prospective students land after clicking on your ad. Its effectiveness is crucial in converting interest into actionable leads.

Improve User Experience

Ensure that your landing pages are user-friendly, fast, and mobile-optimised to keep potential students engaged.

  • Streamline Design: Use a clean layout that makes information easy to find and actions easy to take.

  • Enhance Content: Include compelling, relevant content that resonates with your target audience and encourages them to take the next step.

Test and Refine

Use A/B testing to try different versions of your landing pages to see what works best in converting visitors into leads.

  • Experiment with Elements: Test different calls to action, images, and form designs to see which combinations produce the best results.

  • Analyse Data: Use the data from these tests to refine and improve your landing pages.

8. Ensure Accurate Conversion Tracking

Proper conversion tracking is essential to measure the success of your campaigns and to optimise your CPL.

Set Up Comprehensive Tracking

Make sure you are tracking all types of conversions that are relevant to your educational institution, such as inquiries, applications, and campus visits.

  • Use Google Ads Tools: Implement Google’s built-in conversion tracking features to monitor how well your ads are performing in driving leads.

  • Integrate with CRM: Sync your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system with Google Ads to get a full picture of how leads move through your enrolment funnel.

Regularly Review and Adjust

Monitor your tracking setup to ensure it captures all relevant data.

  • Check for Gaps: Review your conversion data for any signs of missing information or discrepancies that could affect your campaign insights.

  • Adjust Tracking Settings: Update your tracking configurations as needed to keep up with changes in your advertising strategies and goals.

Wrapping Up

Running Google Ads for schools takes more than setting up ads. It needs a smart plan to make sure you’re getting the most out of every dollar spent. By focusing on lowering your cost per lead (CPL), you not only save money but also attract better-quality inquiries from potential students.

Here’s what to keep in mind:

  • Fine-tune your campaigns: Spend your budget on ads that matter and can bring in the most students.

  • Make better ads and landing pages: Create engaging ads and easy-to-use landing pages that encourage more students to sign up.

  • Keep your keywords and tracking up to date: Update your keywords and make sure you’re tracking everything to keep your ads effective.

By following these tips, you can better connect with potential students and use your advertising budget more. Always check on your ad performance and make changes when needed. This will help your school stay ahead in the competitive world of educational marketing.