The Trusted Authority for Starting, Improving, & Selling Private Schools: Is Your School On Google Maps

Hello,

Well we’re back to rain here in Vancouver, but the bright side is that it’s Friday and our Vancouver Canucks hockey team will be playing the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are the worst team in the NHL.

Many of you found our firm via an Internet search. You either clicked on our link in a natural search (using keywords) or a pay-per-click link on Google of Yahoo. Yet most of you may not know how many hours were put into optimizing our website so that it’s search engine friendly. We’ve hundreds of back-links to our site, optimized title and description tags, and copy with key word density. In addition, we’ve links on Tweeter, Facebook, Blog, LinkedIn, and other social marketing websites.

How much time has your school put into optimizing your website and utilizing other web-based tools to promote your school? It’s also part of my marketing strategy of optimizing your marketing systems to bring in as many prospective clients (parents and students) into your marketing ‘funnel’ as possible, and then connecting with them as much as possible to creating a compelling reason to contact your school about admissions.

One strategy is to get your school on Google Maps. But how do you get your website above the regular results on Google maps without paying for it? Good listings on Google maps can result in many website visitors. But how do you optimize your website?

For many schools, it is very important to be listed in Google Maps. If you offer a service or a program that is relevant to a special area, you might miss many visitors if your website is not listed in Google Maps. This summer, Google changed its algorithm so that the search results automatically include local results if relevant. These local results are often displayed above the first regular result on the result pages.

If your website is listed in the local results, it will be listed above the regular results on that page and people will also see the exact location of your school and find quick access to your school’s information. If web surfers enter your school’s name in Google they will get your company information at the top of the search results, above all other results on the page.

Google will also show user reviews about your business in the results. But how do you get listed on Google Maps? You can submit your website to Google Maps through Google's Local Business Center. Login to your Google account and click "Add New Listing" to enter your company information.

How to optimize your Google Maps listing

There are several things that you can do to get a better listing on Google Maps or to make your listing stand out. You can enter your school information in Google Maps for free but to be listed at the top of the list, you have to optimize your entry. Enter as much information as possible about your school. Include important keywords in your description. Choose the best possible category for your website. If possible, include images and videos to help your listing stand out. The more information you provide, the better. If your school location is in the center of the town, it is more likely that it will appear at the top of the list. Submit your website to other local directories. Google Maps compiles its local results by crawling and parsing data from other online directories and databases. A good position in online yellow pages can cause your listing to be placed higher on the list. The more local directories list your website, the better.

Optimize your web pages for local content. Add your city and state name in your web page title. You can also use local meta tags to tell search engines the location of your website. Encourage your website visitors to write positive reviews about your company on Google Maps. More stars can mean a higher position.

If you follow the tips above, your website will get a good listing in Google Maps. Do not spam Google and describe your business without exaggeration. Include your keywords in your company description but don't overdo it.

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CAN YOUR MARKETING AND ADMISSIONS IMPROVE?

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You need to understand the critical elements affecting the marketing and admissions of your school and determine whether your current marketing plan, strategies, message, and media are working effectively, and what areas you need to make adjustments in. It's important to understand that current and prospective parents, students, and donors are influenced by your message and your media. They are making decisions about enrolling or re-enrolling at your school or even making a donation. It's critical that your school develops a marketing system that maximizes your message and reassures your community about what you represent and how they fit in, and the benefits to enrolling at your school. You need to:

Identify your school's strengths and weaknesses from a marketing perspective;
Review current demographics of your school;
Assess the external pressures that affect you;
Assess the current processes that attract and bond students and families;
Market Analysis to determine "who" you are reaching out to and alternate markets to maximize;
Review strategies related to lead generation / conversion and student retention;
Determine critical message(s) that represent what your school is about;
Determine the most suitable media to reach your market (e.g., publications, advertising, outreach programs, social media, internal/external communication by your staff);
Determine a systemized approach for your marketing metrics (e.g., Cost per inquiry, retention, drop rate, sales conversion for admissions staff, enrollment projections, response rate);
Analyze your advertising, collateral material, websites, Internet ads, re-marketing ad copy and media choices;
Review communication stream and use of resources to increase lead flow and create a better quality lead generation for the admissions team;
Development of alternate marketing strategies and tactics to enhance the admissions performance and enrollment.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

We can help your school improve the critical elements of effective marketing and admissions, by evaluating your current marketing plan, strategies, message, and media, and suggest adjustments. Our approach to reviewing your current marketing and admissions system is comprised of a four-part process, which begins with a one-day site visit to analyze your school’s current situation. Our approach is comprised of four phases:

1). Determine Scope of Review Process:

Meeting with the Head of School to determine realistic enrolment goals, budget, staffing, timelines, and SWOT analysis.

2). Review Current Marketing/Admissions Materials & Admissions Data:

Prior to the onsite interview sessions, the school will send related marketing and admissions materials, related data that measures enrollment performance, current enrollment and local demographics, budget update, and annual marketing plan for review.

3). One-Day Focus Group Interviews & Research Analysis (Internal/External):

After reviewing the documents from your school, we will come to your campus and spends one-day interviewing key constituents of your community to determine the strengths of your school’s admissions process (e.g., administration, parents, students, staff, former parents, competitors), barriers to increasing enrolment, and opportunities and trends to take advantage to improve enrolment.
Review the school’s current process for marketing and admissions and collateral materials and staffing assignment.
Hold a “mystery call” with the school to assess the script for new parents and how they’re handled by the reception desk and admissions staff.

4). Final Report:

Develop a customized Summary Report outlining a set of multiple strategies to increase student enrolment (lead generation/conversion, retention, timelines, and staffing). This includes:

Issues that are holding your school back from reaching its enrollment goals;
Market Analysis that identifies "who" you should market to maximize enrolment;
Develop a set of strategies to enhance enrollment (e.g., publications, social media, advertising, outreach programs, internal/external communication by your staff), staffing, budget, work plan, and tracking metrics to measure your marketing success (e.g., enrolment, retention, response rate, fundraising performance);
Develop new marketing strategies and tactics to enhance your marketing performance and enrolment

To find out more about our firm’s marketing and admissions services, and learn more about how we can help provide you solutions, please email HEG at info@halladayeducationgroup.com to discuss your needs in more detail.

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To your success,

Doug Halladay

President

Halladay Education Group

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