Case Study | Google Display Network

Remarketing helps online university re-engage site visitors, lower costs and double conversions Western Governors University (WGU) is an online university dedicated to expanding access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs. As a nonprofit institution formed by the governors of 19 U.S. states, WGU is recognized as delivering one of the best values in online education.

About Western Governors University

• www.wgu.edu • Offices in Salt Lake City, Phoenix and Indianapolis • Online university serving more than 24,000 students

Goals

• Enroll more students • Identify low-cost, high-return marketing opportunities • Re-engage visitors after they leave the website

Approach

• Added remarketing to online marketing mix • Tailored ads to different audiences

Results

• Conversion rate almost twice that of search campaigns • CPL about one-third of search campaigns • CPC about one-third of search campaigns

“We’ve always had to spend money wisely because part of our mission is to keep tuition low, and at the same time, we have to compete against for-profit online universities,” says Mandi Hudson, online marketing manager at WGU. “In marketing and across the university, for us, every dollar really does count.” Searching for graduates WGU has been growing more than 30 percent per year over the past decade, and marketing efforts are tailored to ensure that all those new students will become graduates. Hudson, who is herself a graduate of WGU, says, “We’re not looking for students. We’re looking for future graduates. Our marketing efforts are focused on ensuring we find people who don’t just want to fill seats but are serious about earning their diplomas and moving forward in their careers.” To find these future graduates, Hudson and her team employ a variety of traditional and online marketing methods, but the majority of students come from online marketing and referrals. She says, “Online marketing has been important to the continuing growth of the university because our chances of getting in front of the right people — people actively interested in our product — are generally higher online.” Remarketing offers “mind-blowing” opportunity At the end of 2009, WGU’s online efforts included a successful blend of search, Google TV ads, and a variety of text and banner ads across the Google Display Network. Hudson was still on the lookout for new ideas, though — especially cost-saving new ideas. That’s when her Google account team introduced the idea of remarketing, which allows organizations to re-engage people who’ve previously visited their website as they browse sites across the Google Display Network. Hudson says she and her team were immediately drawn to the possibilities. “It was something we had never seen before, and the idea that you could stay in front of people you’ve already worked so hard to bring to your website was mind-blowing.”

About Google Display Network

The Google Display Network offers text, image, rich media, and video advertising on Google properties, YouTube, and millions of web, domain, video, gaming, and mobile partner sites. From mass media to niche sites, advertisers can find the most engaged audiences, place ads on the most relevant pages, and achieve performance at scale through our innovative targeting technology. Using our tools, advertisers can build ads, measure results, optimize campaigns, and expand their advertising reach to specific audiences all over the web. For more information visit: www.google.com/displaynetwork

About Remarketing on the Google Display Network

Remarketing on the Google Display Network allows you to reach people who previously visited various pages of your website, and show them a tailored message after they leave your site. Your message appears to these visitors as they browse other sites across the Google Display Network. It’s a powerful way to continue the conversation you began with them on your site. For more information visit: www.google.com/ads/innovations/ remarketing

How it works Within a week, WGU made just a few small additions to the website code to begin its remarketing campaign. The university can now tag various pages of the WGU website, and then show visitors to those pages tailored ads when they browse the Google Display Network. The university began with image ads only, and later added text and video ads. “Remarketing gives us the opportunity to stay in front of potential graduates as they continue on from our site to research other universities. We’re able to offer them additional messaging that will hopefully bring them back to our site,” says Hudson. Visitors may see different ads depending on where they go on the WGU website. For instance, visitors to the home page receive different follow-up ads than those that visit the College of Business. “As we’ve gone along, we’ve added more tags and refined the process to make sure we’re narrowing the audience and putting relevant ads in front of site visitors,” says Hudson. “The most important thing is we know we’re getting our message in front of people who’ve already shown an interest in the university.” Getting results Hudson says the remarketing campaign has performed “at and beyond” her team’s expectations. Remarketing has proven to be an efficient and cost-effective way for WGU to bring potential students back to the site. The overall conversion rate for remarketing is nearly twice that of the university’s search campaign. In addition, both the cost per lead (CPL) and cost per click (CPC) for remarketing are about one-third that of the university’s search campaigns. “The metrics have been exceptional, and as we keep adding tags and refining our process, we believe they can get even better,” says Hudson. “The bottom line is we’re now bringing in future graduates more efficiently than ever before.” Moving forward Remarketing will play a key role in WGU’s ongoing marketing efforts, as the university continues to look for new ways to drive traffic to their website, and then to convince visitors to come back. “We learned that remarketing provides a great opportunity to extend your messaging beyond your introductory hello,” says Hudson. “You can establish your brand a little bit deeper with an audience that you get to define.” For other online marketers, Hudson’s advice is simple: “Keep moving, keep updating and keep testing new products. That’s the great thing about online marketing: You can adapt according to what’s working and what’s not. And for us, remarketing is a great product that’s really working.”

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