Campaign Overview
School Year Abroad (SYA) is a renowned private high school study abroad program, providing opportunities for 10th, 11th, and 12th-grade students across the United States to study in Italy, Spain, and France for a full year or a semester.
Campaign KPI
Build brand awareness of the unique school type to maintain enrollment for the spring, summer, and fall semesters for the programs in each country.
Campaign Challenge (COVID-19)
With the outbreak of COVID-19 in January 2020, SYA faced unprecedented challenges as it had to swiftly extract students from the four countries.
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted SYA's study abroad programs, leading to the suspension and eventual cancellation of its China program, and an overall decline in enrollment interest.
The rapidly changing guidelines both domestically and internationally posed significant challenges for the school's digital marketing efforts and the program’s overall enrollment numbers.
As the SEO and Google Ads (PPC) account manager, my role was pivotal in promoting the school and maintaining enrollment amidst the uncertainties brought by the pandemic.
Solution to the Campaign Challenge
In response to the rapidly evolving situation, I quickly adjusted the digital marketing strategy.
The first step was to pivot the Google Ads campaign, eliminating all references to the China program, and removing corresponding website pages. This allowed us to focus solely on promoting enrollment for future semesters in Italy, Spain, and France, where programs were still operational.
Additionally, I utilized on-page SEO strategies to optimize the school's website for relevant keywords related to "study abroad programs for high school students" during COVID-19.
This approach improved the school's organic search visibility and enhanced the chances of reaching interested high school students despite the uncertain global situation.
Through the strategic digital marketing campaign, SYA successfully filled enrollments for future semesters.
Results
Despite the challenges brought by the pandemic, the school maintained a steady flow of interested students for the spring 2021, summer 2021, and fall 2021 semesters.
The efforts not only ensured the continuity of the school's programs but also showcased its adaptability and commitment to student experiences.