How to measure your university website’s performance

Higher ed marketers face increasing pressure to make their websites not only attractive but also functional and effective. A university’s website is the #1 resource for prospective students and is often the first stop for prospective students and their families, meaning its success can make or break the inquiry process.

But the definition of “success” is often intangible and ever-changing. How do you measure a university website’s performance metrics as student digital behavior, preferences, and expectations continue to change? While metrics like traffic and time on site have been go-to indicators for years, they don’t tell the full story nor take advantage of new tracking, reporting and lead generation possibilities.

3 core KPIs to evaluate your university website

To truly understand your website’s performance in a quantitative sense, it’s important to focus on three core KPIs: visibility, engagement, and conversion.

Visibility

Visibility refers to how often your website appears in front of prospective students and their families during online searches. A first indicator of visibility is the number of impressions your pages generate—how many times the institution appears in search engine results. To improve your site visibility, it’s essential to invest time in search engine optimization (SEO) for higher education websites. Conduct audits to ensure your content matches what students are searching for and that the pages on your website inspire prospects to move from interest to application and enrollment. Another way to boost visibility is to make sure your website content is attractive and accurate when search engines and third-party sites pull information into their zero-click environment, for example in the “people also ask” section of Google’s search results.

Engagement rate

Once a prospective student lands on your site, the next crucial measure is engagement. Engagement metrics have evolved recently within GA4 and includes a number of user-driven actions such as clicks, time spent on key pages, and whether visitors interact with important content. High engagement is a good indicator that users are actively moving from initial interest in your institution to considering it seriously. At EAB we track engagement benchmarks and stay on the pulse of student trends to help digital journeys through the website be most productive for the user and institution.

Beyond clicks, other important page-level engagement includes watching videos, downloading resources, navigating virtual tours, etc. This is where a data-backed and insight-driven content strategy for universitieswith informed on-page hierarchy and elements can significantly improve performance. Our team helps partners identify which content formats work best for driving deeper engagement.

Conversions

Ultimately, conversions are the most critical success indicator for higher ed websites. Highly valued conversions include inquiry submissions, campus visit registrations, and, most importantly, completed applications. To turn your website from an information source to a marketing enrollment engine, ensure that your calls to action (CTAs) have strong SEO value are placed strategically on high-traffic pages that follow the digital journey of your prospective students. Simplifying your inquiry or application process can also boost conversion rates. Our team is actively weaving in high-performance lead forms onto pages so that leads more quickly enter nurturing campaigns (speed to lead).

Our team can help you make sense of website data (e.g. through GA4) and show you how to track the performance of your online campaigns, so you get clearer, more useful insights for your institution. This work is never a ‘set-it-and-forget-it’ approach. Instead, our work relies on continuous optimization and monitoring to stay true to prospective student needs and preferences in an increasingly competitive landscape.

How EAB Helped Lewis & Clark College Increase Organic Traffic and Create a Student-Centric .edu

Success indicators beyond the numbers

Metrics like visibility, engagement, and conversion are essential, but they only tell part of the story. True website success depends on how well your site inspires prospective students and showcases your institution’s unique brand. A well-designed site can make all the difference—nearly 78% of prospective students rely on a school’s website to determine if it’s the right fit, while 81% say a poorly designed site damages their opinion of the school. By investing in your website as a key resource in the student search journey, you create a lasting impact.

Many institutions fall into the trap of organizing their websites around internal priorities instead of focusing on their audience. When websites don’t prioritize prospective students, elements like navigation, information architecture, and user experience suffer. Our SEO and Content Strategy teams help by conducting Content Audits that identify and eliminate friction points, ensuring your site engages users more effectively.

Individual contributors can also miss opportunities to differentiate their institution. In decentralized environments, content creators often emphasize what an academic program offers without answering the bigger question: Why should a prospective student choose your institution? Stats and rankings are important, but outcomes and authentic student experiences create the strongest impact and set your institution apart. Higher ed marketing teams must use more than traditional metrics to effectively measure success. Focusing on visibility, engagement, and conversion—while also considering qualitative indicators—can give you a holistic view of your website’s impact.