Paid Media
Paid media for higher education
Paid search and paid social engineered to enroll students — measured against cost-per-enrollment, not clicks.
01Overview
Most higher-ed ad accounts optimize toward the wrong finish line: impressions, clicks, maybe form fills. We build campaigns around the high-intent program searches and the moments a student actually decides — then optimize every dollar against enrollments, not vanity metrics. Over the last decade our team has managed more than $300M in media for institutions large and small.
What you get
- Budget concentrated on high-intent, ready-to-enroll searches
- Lower cost per qualified inquiry and per enrollment
- Program-level targeting and reporting, not account-wide averages
- A clear line from ad click to application to enrolled student
02What's included
Paid search
Google and Bing campaigns rebuilt around program-level intent — responsive ads, disciplined match types, and negative-keyword lists that cut wasted spend.
Paid social
Meta, TikTok, and YouTube campaigns that reach prospective students where they spend their time, with creative built for how they actually decide.
Landing & conversion
Program landing pages and lead flows aligned to each campaign, so the click you paid for turns into a qualified inquiry.
Optimization cadence
Ongoing bid, budget, and creative optimization against cost-per-enrollment — with the levers pulled weekly, not quarterly.
03Proof
Rebuilding Touro's paid search into a performance engine
RGI restructured Touro University's paid search around enrollment intent — and delivered +200% leads, +290% applications, and +390% enrollments on the same budget.
Read case study Art & Design UniversityFrom paid-search dependency to a balanced enrollment engine
RGI turned Academy of Art University's heavy paid-search dependency into a balanced organic-and-paid engine — doubling enrollment efficiency while cutting wasted spend.
Read case study04Frequently asked
- How is higher-ed paid media different from other industries?
- The buying cycle is long and the decision is high-stakes, and success isn't a purchase — it's an enrollment months later. We build campaigns and attribution around that reality, optimizing to applications and enrolled students rather than immediate conversions.
- Do you manage both Google Ads and paid social?
- Yes. We run paid search (Google, Bing) and paid social (Meta, TikTok, YouTube) as one coordinated program, shifting budget to the channels and programs producing enrollments.
- Can you work within our existing budget?
- Yes. We start by making your current spend more efficient — reallocating budget from low-intent traffic to the searches and audiences that actually enroll — before recommending any increase.
By institution type
Ad Campaigns for schools like yours
Ready to talk about ad campaigns?
Tell us your enrollment goals and we'll show you where the growth is.