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In the past years business schools around the country have been seeing a decline in their Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) applicants. Exaggerated by the pandemic, top business schools like Harvard Business School are witnessing a significant loss in enrollment according to BSchools.org which provides a comprehensive look at online MBA programs. 

WWU MBA Brand Overview

Western Washington University (WWU) is a public university located in the Northwest that grants degrees at the baccalaureate and graduate levels (NAICS Code 611310). Western Washington Universities MBA Program emphasizes interdisciplinary, enterprise management and prepares students to serve as nimble and adaptive leaders in a dynamic, changing, and interconnected business environment.

The Goal & KPI: Brand Awareness & Enrollment

However, just like many other universities, WWU’s MBA program has seen an 11.8% decrease in graduate students according to WWU’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness.  

Brand awareness is a consumer’s ability to recall a product or service preferably without aid. Increasing brand awareness is crucial to increasing enrollment as it is the first step in the marketing funnel of converting your consumer. 

The communication objective for brand’s awareness can be achieved through the repetition of a brands tagline or value proposition. This combined with pay-per-click (PPC) is how I propose that WWU MBA Program overcome their challenge of brand awareness. 

Overview of Pay Per Click

Sparrowboost Complete Beginners Guide to Paid Search states that PPC also known as paid search is a form of online advertising where brands pay a certain amount to have their business websites displayed on a search engine result page (SERP). Brands choose to invest in PPC because it:

•  Drives traffic and revenue
• Can be tracked and measured
• Has a low barrier to entry
• It enables brands to reach a wider audience

How to Implement PPC

 PPC Ads are usually utilized through Google Search Engine as it accounts for 98% of global search traffic. Three elements go into the creation of a PPC ad:

• Keywords: For Google to show users queries when those words are searched.
• The ads: These need to be relevant and enticing for users
• Landing page: Which gets users to convert

Quality Score (QS) also affects a brand’s PPC ad as it refers to googles algorithm which ranks each of your ads in order of relevancy. QS impacts the ranking of a brand’s PPC ads as well as the amount of money a brand must pay per click. Factors that influence a brand’s QS include:

• Click-through rate (CTR):
• Relevance of keywords to their ad groups and affordability
• Quality and relevance of landing page
• Relevance of ad text
• Historical performance of your google ads account 

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PPC Ad For The WWU MBA Program

Based on these 4 factors we can create a PPC ad that will promote WWU’s MBA Program’s goal of brand awareness which can be measured by a KPI of enrollment.

Keywords

When researching keywords, it is important to determine if people are looking for the keywords you select.

• Is the person searching this keyword likely to buy your product or service?
• Finally, can your brand afford to advertise on the keyword?

Using Ubersuggest and Google Keyword Planner tools, brands can determine if there is a search volume for their keywords. Based on Ubersuggest it can be concluded that there is a high search volume for keywords like

• MBA programs online
• MBA program online
• MBA program

To figure out if users are likely to buy a product, brands need to figure out the intent of the keyword and choose keywords that shows that users have a high intent to purchase. For example, the keyword “MBA Programs near me”.

Using the formula Max CPC = (profit per customer) x (1 – profit margin) x (website conversion rate) brands can figure out what their max CPC for a keyword is and compare it to the estimated CPC for a keyword. This allows brands to ensure they’re only utilizing keywords that will be profitable.

Based on these factors we can conclude that the WWU MBA program should utilize keywords like business administration degree jobs, business administration as a career, and business administration certificate, and best MBA Programs.    

The Ad 

Ad creation is where WWU MBA Program’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP) comes into play. A USP is important to highlight in an ad as it:

• Generates more traffic from qualified prospects
• Increases sales conversion rates.
• Reduces price comparison shopping: Buyers don’t view you as a commodity.

WWU MBA program has multiple features they could utilize as their USP. For example:

• Western’s MBA Program is a close-knit community and gives students the ability to have access to faculty and, build relationships with staff.
• The WWU MBA is offered in three unique platforms: Daytime, Evening and, Weekend Programs
• The Western Washington University’s College of Business and Economics MBA emphasizes an interdisciplinary program.

The Landing Page

Next, the program needs to create a dedicated landing page that matches the keyword used in the ad. According to Neil Patel a successful digital marketer, the goal is to make the entire sales process congruent, so your consumer is continually reassured they are going down the right path.

Creating a relevant landing page can be achieved through:

• Highlighting the benefits of your product or service
• Detailing your irresistible offer
• Providing social proof like testimonials
• Providing credibility that you’re a legitimate business
• A strong call to action

Conclusion

WWU MBA Program has great differentiation from competing MBA Programs however without proper brand awareness their services won’t be known around their target audience. This is why PPC is an important tool utilized by marketing professionals. By focusing on keywords, ad creation, landing pages, and quality score, brands can set themselves apart.