66 Higher Education Marketing Stats [2025]
January 9th, 2025 by
Key Insights
- Entering 2025, higher education marketers must revisit their strategies to ensure they reflect today’s learners’ preferences while driving measurable outcomes. Marketers must reassess their campaign priorities, metric-tracking strategy, and overall performance to remain competitive in the new year.
- Building a strong strategy for 2025 requires external data to provide key insights into an institution’s position within the market.
- Benchmarking against industry trends and peer performance allows for smarter strategic adjustments.
- The following list of higher ed marketing statistics provides critical data for institutions looking to evaluate performance and see how they stack up against competitors.
2025 is shaping up to be a year of fierce competition for the higher education marketing sector. From the demographic cliff and evolving modern learner to the increasingly saturated higher ed market, to stay ahead, institutions must pay close attention to how they measure up to the industry.
At Search Influence, we’re at the forefront of research that empowers higher ed marketers with a clear view of where the industry stands — and where it’s headed. Through our research studies in the continuing and online education sector, conducted in partnership with UPCEA, we uncover everything from the state of SEO to metric tracking priorities.
We’ve compiled key insights from our research, alongside broader higher education marketing data to reveal what today’s prospects prioritize and how you can adapt. You’ll see where institutions thrive, where they fall short, and what actions are essential to stay ahead.
Must-Know Higher Education Marketing Stats for 2025
Cost Metric & Benchmark Statistics
Digital advertising cost per inquiry benchmarks
- $140: Average cost per inquiry in higher ed (online and continuing education)
- $157: Average cost per inquiry for graduate programs
- $128: Average cost per inquiry for undergraduate programs
- $51: Average cost per inquiry for non-credit courses
Cost per enrolled student benchmarks
- $2,849: Average cost per student in higher ed (online and continuing education)
- $3,804: Average cost per student for graduate programs
- $1,505: Average cost per student for undergraduate programs
- $599: Average cost per student for non-credit courses
Marketer spend & satisfaction stats
- The average annual digital ad spend is $800,970, accounting for 3.6% of total revenue.
- 47% of surveyed higher ed marketers are satisfied with their marketing campaign performance.
- 38% of surveyed higher ed marketers are satisfied with their cost per inquiry. 27% are not sure.
- 29% of surveyed higher ed marketers are satisfied with their ability to track their campaign success.
- 92% of those satisfied with their tracking capabilities also report satisfaction with their marketing campaign performance.
Source: Search Influence x UCPEA
Marketers’ SEO Capability & Strategy Statistics
SEO priority stats
- 84% of surveyed higher ed marketers view SEO as a core part of their marketing efforts, yet half (51%) do not have an established SEO strategy.
- Only 52% of surveyed higher ed marketers are highly aware of their continuing and online education unit’s SEO capabilities, processes, and strategies.
- 20% of surveyed higher ed marketers don’t have a plan for developing and updating their website content.
- 82% of surveyed higher ed marketers view digital marketing as a core part of their marketing strategy.
SEO strategy execution stats
- 91% of surveyed higher ed marketers implement paid search into their SEO strategy, but only 27% integrate keyword optimization and link-building.
- 55% of surveyed higher ed marketers report allocating marketing spend to every graduate program in their portfolio. However, only 15% allocate funds equally across programs.
- 36% of surveyed higher ed marketers report that SEO for their online and continuing education programs is handled exclusively within the marketing or continuing and online education unit. 23% say SEO efforts are evenly mixed within the marketing or continuing and online education unit and outsourcing, with 18% reporting that they’re mostly within the marketing or continuing and online education unit with some outsourcing. 18% report mostly outsourcing, with some marketing or continuing and online education unit assistance.
- 36% of surveyed higher ed marketers report that their continuing and online education unit’s established SEO plan or strategy is mostly driven by the unit with some input from the college or university. 27% say it is driven exclusively by the unit, with 18% reporting it mostly driven by the college or university with some continuing and online education unit input. 18% report it is evenly driven by the college or university and the continuing and online education unit.
- Over a third (36%) of surveyed higher ed marketers disagree or strongly disagree that their marketing department engages faculty and staff in selecting keywords for SEO.
- The most common types of content strategically leveraged on website designs include degree, program, and/or course information (92%), title tags and meta descriptions (78%), and images/image optimizations (70%).
- Half (50%) of surveyed higher ed marketers report their unit assesses the SEO strategy and execution of their continuing and online education programs once a quarter. 18% revisit their strategy once every six months, 14% once a year, and 5% once every few years.
Analytics & tracking stats
- Less than 60% of surveyed higher ed marketers have insight into how leads perform after moving from marketing to enrollment efforts.
- Less than half of surveyed higher ed marketers track cost per inquiry (46%) and cost per enrolled student (43%).
- Online and continuing education marketers most commonly track their program’s web traffic (93%), followed by the source of traffic (89%), organic visits (85%), time spent on pages (70%), and bounce rates (69%).
- 31% of surveyed marketing departments struggle to correlate their marketing success with enrollment numbers.
- 62% of surveyed university leaders want consistent reporting on SEO, but only 31% receive regular updates.
- A third (33%) of surveyed higher ed marketers report on metrics once a month, 24% once a quarter, 8% once every six months, and 10% once a year.
Sources: Search Influence x UPCEA, Ruffalo Noel Levitz, Search Influence x UCPEA
Prospect Behavior & Outlook Statistics
Search engine usage for program discoverability stats
- 67% of Internet users turn to search engines as their first source of information when researching higher education institutions.
- 64.6% of Internet users click on sponsored links when researching higher education information.
- More than 90% of prospective students visit an institution’s website in their search for higher education programs.
Online learner stats
- 73% of surveyed online learners are pursuing degrees, with 27% pursuing credit-bearing certificates or licensure programs.
- 58% of surveyed online learners are employed full-time, with 21% employed part-time, reinforcing the importance of program flexibility in marketing messaging.
- 26% of surveyed online learners say institutions with programs matching their career objectives help them decide on one school over another.
- 32% of surveyed online learners indicate time to completion is an important factor in their decision to enroll.
Adult learner stats
- Adult learners account for 42% of higher education revenue.
- The total addressable market of adult learner candidates is estimated to be 242+ million.
- Gen Z is predicted to comprise 60% of all adult learners by 2031.
Sources: tSunela, Education Dynamics, EAB, UPCEA
Higher Education Marketing Statistic and Benchmark FAQs
How is the traditional higher education student evolving in 2025?
The higher education sector is approaching a “demographic cliff,” with a sharp decline in traditional 18-22-year-old students expected over the next two decades. This anticipated decline presents an opportunity to market to a growing population of adult learners, aged 25+. Recent data estimates the total addressable market of adult learner candidates at 242+ million.
These “modern learners” may be entering college for the first time or returning to school to finish a degree. Because they are often employed part or full-time, they tend to value flexibility and distance-learning programs to accommodate a busier schedule.
How centralized are marketing decisions across different departments and the greater institution?
When asked about the centralization of their higher education marketing, 36% of those surveyed report that their continuing and online education unit leads the SEO strategy with some input from the college or university. Another 27% say their continuing and online education unit manages it entirely. Meanwhile, 18% report the college or university leads the strategy with some input from the continuing and online education unit, and another 18% say both share the responsibility equally.
What percentage of higher education marketers have an established SEO strategy?
Although 84% of surveyed higher education marketers view SEO as a core part of their marketing strategy, only 47% have an established SEO strategy. Higher education SEO marketing statistics reveal the other 2% are unsure.
What are the most common SEO metrics universities track?
Online and continuing education marketers primarily track web traffic (93%) for their programs, followed by traffic sources (89%), organic visits (85%), page time (70%), and bounce rates (69%).
How important is SEO reporting to higher education leaders/administrators?
Higher ed marketing tracking and reporting statistics show that while 62% of surveyed university leaders want consistent reporting on SEO, only 31% receive regular updates. 33% of higher ed marketers report on metrics monthly, 24% quarterly, 8% every six months, and 10% annually.
How often do higher education marketers reassess their SEO strategies?
Half (50%) of surveyed higher education marketers say their unit reviews the SEO strategy and execution for their continuing and online education programs quarterly. 18% reassess their strategy every six months, 14% annually, and 5% every few years.
How many universities track cost per inquiry and cost per enrolled student?
Despite being a key indicator of advertising efficiency, less than half of surveyed higher ed marketers track cost per inquiry (46%) and cost per enrolled student (43%).
What is the benchmark for higher education cost per inquiry and cost per enrolled student?
On average, higher education marketers for online and continuing education programs spend $140 to generate each inquiry and $2,849 to enroll each student.
How many higher education marketers are satisfied with the performance of their marketing campaigns?
47% of surveyed higher education marketers express satisfaction with their marketing performance.
How does campaign tracking satisfaction correlate with performance satisfaction?
92% of surveyed higher education marketers who are satisfied with their analytic tracking capabilities also express satisfaction with the performance of their marketing campaigns.
See More Digital Marketing and SEO Data for Higher Education
Are your marketing priorities right as we enter 2025?
These higher education marketing benchmarks and data figures help you temperature-check the state of your own marketing strategies. Use them to gauge your performance, inform your core focuses, and ultimately set the stage for enrollment success.
For deeper insights into the data from our Search Influence x UPCEA research, download our full SEO Research Study and Marketing Metrics Research Study today.
