A question I’m increasingly asked is do we use Facebook Ads and Google Ads at my school?
Yes we do!
The next question I usually hear is are the Google Ads and Facebook Ads effective?
Yes they are!
How do I know they are effective?
Keep reading and I’ll explain below…
Are You Making This Mistake?
During this school year alone I’ve noticed that more and more schools are utilizing Facebook Ads and Google Ads. As someone who is hyper-aware of how schools attempt to market themselves I will occasionally click on the ads to see where the school is sending their paid search traffic.
Here’s the problem?
A lot of the schools I’ve seen utilizing Facebook Ads and Google Ads are sending their paid search traffic to their homepage or their admission page.
This is a mistake! If you are doing this you are wasting your money. Stop now.
You should be sending your paid search traffic to a landing page. Let me explain.
Why You Should Use a Landing Page
If you haven’t done so already I encourage you to read my post, What is a Landing Page and Why You Need One, to give you a basic understanding of landing pages and their importance.
In a nutshell, utilizing landing pages allows you to more easily convert people who click on your Google Ad or Facebook Ad into a prospective student – which is the reason to use online ads in the first place.
Additionally, using landing pages will allow you to track the effectiveness of your search engine marketing efforts and determine if the money you are spending is “worth it.” If you send your paid search traffic to your homepage or to your admission page how can you track your efforts? Just checking the number of people who click your ad doesn’t really show anything. If your ad produces 50 clicks over a time period what does that show?
I think a much more valuable measurement is how many people click your ad and then converted on your landing page. This metric is commonly referred to as a conversation rate and it is this metric where I spend most of my time in trying to determine the effectiveness of our ads.
If you are utilizing Facebook Ads and Google Ads and not utilizing landing pages – please stop now!
But I Don’t Know How to Create Landing Pages
If you are unsure of how to create a landing page or how to get started I encourage you to check out Unbounce.com. Unbounce will allow you to quickly and easily create professionally looking landing pages in minutes without knowing a bit of code. They also offer a free account so there is no initial cost to your school.
Your Homework
If you are using Google Ads or Facebook Ads for your school and not using landing pages I have homework for you.
- Please sign-up for a free account at Unbounce.com.
- Complete the quick online tour after you log in for the first time.
- Check SchneiderB.com later this week when I will publish a screencast showing you exactly how to quickly create a landing page on Unbounce.
Let me know if you have any questions by posting them in the comments section below and let’s meet back here later this week to create your first landing page.