Increase in Year-Over-Year Demand for Higher Education in Q2

August 16, 2018 Jeff Meola

Click here for our latest quarterly report, the Q3 2018 Higher Education Inquiry Generation Review published by Digital Media Solutions (DMS).

The major higher education lead generation story for Q2 2018 is the continuing and accelerating growth in online inquiry volume. Read on to see recent highlights surrounding higher education inquiry generation for last quarter. Click here to download the DMS Q2 2018 Higher Education Inquiry Generation Review.

Increased Year-Over-Year Inquiry Volume Trends

The second quarter saw an increase in year-over-year demand for higher education, which was driven by the growth in online program inquiries.

From Q1 2018 to Q2 2018, overall inquiry volume dropped 3%. This drop was noted as a seasonal slip, due to the mid-year decline in campus-based demand that was almost identical to the year prior.

Click here to download the DMS Q2 2018 Higher Education Inquiry Generation Review.

Third-Party Channels Made Up Half of Inquiry Volume

Third-party inquiries accounted for more than half of all inquiry volume in Q2 2018, the highest share within the reporting timeframe.

Increase in Year-Over-Year Demand for Higher Education in Q2 Share of Inquiry Volume First Party vs. Third Party Inquiries by Quarter 2016 Q2 2018 Chart Digital Media Solutions

The share of volume (SOV) for affiliate data leads has climbed for the past three quarters and reached almost 50% of all lead volume in Q2 2018.

Click here to download the DMS Q2 2018 Higher Education Inquiry Generation Review.

Third-Party Media Costs Rose

The average price of third-party leads was $46.79 in Q2 2018, up from $44.10 in Q1 2018.

The average prices for both affiliate hot transfers and affiliate pay-per-click (PPC) leads fluctuated throughout the past 10 quarters, but both were down year-over-year (YOY).

Click here to download the DMS Q2 2018 Higher Education Inquiry Generation Review.

Degree-Level Distribution Favored Diploma and Associate

Despite generating a significant SOV, the Q2 2018 SOV for bachelor’s programs was the lowest SOV for this degree level during the reported time period.

Even with a 5.8% YOY drop for the bachelor’s program SOV, actual inquiry volume for the bachelor’s degree level grew 6.7% YOY.

SOV by Degree Level Campus-Based Programs Q2 2018 SOV by Degree Level Online Programs Q2 2018 Chart Digital Media Solutions DMS

The most popular campus-based degree level was diploma, whereas the most popular online degree level was associate.

Click here to download the DMS Q2 2018 Higher Education Inquiry Generation Review.

Health-Related Programs Received the Most Demand

More than half of all campus-based inquiries were for health programs, which was the top program category across campus-based and online formats with 42.0% SOV.

Coming in in second place for both online and campus-based program formats was the business category.

Increase in Year-Over-Year Demand for Higher Education in Q2 Top 5 Program Categories SOV Q2 2018

Click here to download the DMS Q2 2018 Higher Education Inquiry Generation Review.

Download the Q2 2018 Higher Education Inquiry Generation Review Overview

The following topics are featured in the Q2 2018 Higher Education Inquiry Generation Review:

Q2 2018 inquiry volume trends
Q2 2018 media channel share of volume (SOV)
Q2 2018 third-party media costs
Q2 2018 degree-level distribution trends
Q2 2018 program distribution trends
Appendix: Q1 2018 conversion rate (CVR) trends

The Q2 2018 Higher Education Inquiry Generation Review, published by Digital Media Solutions (DMS), covers trends in the inquiry generation and student acquisition activities of higher education institutions for the period of January 2016-June 2018, with an emphasis on April-June 2018. Data was pulled on July 1, 2018.

Want more data on higher education inquiry generation trends? Click here to download your free copy of the DMS Q2 2018 Higher Education Inquiry Generation Review.

About the Author

Jeff Meola is the Consumer Insights & Marketing Analytics Director at Digital Media Solutions (DMS), the fastest growing independent agency focused on performance marketing. In this role, Jeff is responsible for managing and analyzing DMS industry data and customer trends. Since its inception, DMS has evolved into a full-service performance marketing company that services firms within highly complex and competitive industries including mortgage, education, insurance, consumer brands, automotive, jobs and careers. DMS has achieved incredible year-over-year growth, which has earned recognition on the Inc. 5000 list in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.
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Increase in Year-Over-Year Demand for Higher Education in Q2

Click here for our latest quarterly report, the Q3 2018 Higher Education Inquiry Generation Review published by Digital Media Solutions (DMS).

Increased Year-Over-Year Inquiry Volume Trends

Third-Party Channels Made Up Half of Inquiry Volume

Third-Party Media Costs Rose

Degree-Level Distribution Favored Diploma and Associate

Health-Related Programs Received the Most Demand

Download the Q2 2018 Higher Education Inquiry Generation Review Overview

About the Author

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Increase in Year-Over-Year Demand for Higher Education in Q2

Click here for our latest quarterly report, the Q3 2018 Higher Education Inquiry Generation Review published by Digital Media Solutions (DMS).

Increased Year-Over-Year Inquiry Volume Trends

Third-Party Channels Made Up Half of Inquiry Volume

Third-Party Media Costs Rose

Degree-Level Distribution Favored Diploma and Associate

Health-Related Programs Received the Most Demand

Download the Q2 2018 Higher Education Inquiry Generation Review Overview

About the Author

Previous Article

Next Article

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