With millions of students enrolled in schools and universities worldwide, international education has become a major industry. In competing to attract students from overseas, institutions are turning to search engine optimisation (SEO) to drive more traffic to their websites. Let’s look at the key SEO techniques your business needs to rank higher in search engines and connect with prospective international applicants.

Conduct thorough keyword research

Choosing targeted keywords should form the basis of any international education SEO strategy. Generic terms like ‘university’ or ‘language school’ are too broad. Instead, phrases like ‘MBA Canada’ or ‘study English UK’ relate directly to what students search when exploring overseas education. Keyword research tools can identify monthly search volumes for specific terms according to country. Once they’ve been identified, keywords should then be integrated as naturally as possible into your web pages and content. 

Create localised landing pages

Creating web pages and content that are focused on specific countries allows for localisation around cultural interests and language needs. For example, a prospective student from Japan would appreciate content written specifically for Japanese students over general international student content. This not only creates highly-targeted content, but shows cultural understanding – a significant factor in a student’s decision-making process. Consider optimising landing pages by translating content into students’ native languages and displaying fees in different currencies to enhance audience engagement. 

Optimise your website 

With Google’s mobile-first indexing criteria, websites must provide fast page speeds and seamless mobile and tablet responsiveness. Simple page layouts, minimal large media files, and compressed images are all factors that contribute to better loading times. Thus, ensure your website is easy to navigate and adheres to accessibility standards. This will help engage all prospective students and improve user experience – a key trend in 2024.

With intense competition online, only those institutions with refined SEO strategies will attract the highest volumes of international clients. By researching keywords, optimising for local markets, and enhancing user-experience, your business will be in the driver’s seat of international student recruitment. 

Written by Stephanie Clark