Unlocking the secrets of GA4 engagement rates

According to our recent survey of university leaders, 80% of graduate, online, and professional program applicants engage in stealth shopping, making it harder to connect with prospects before they apply. And we’re hearing similar challenges related to stealth shopping among traditional undergraduate programs, as well. With the recent changes to data privacy in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and increasing competition for enrollments, recruitment and lead nurturing have never been more difficult.

In this post, I’ll explore website engagement metrics and benchmarks for colleges and universities, helping you assess how your institution compares to your peers. My team analyzed a years’ worth of data (Summer 2023 to Summer 2024) from nearly 100 institutions to surface trends in organic vs. direct traffic and how engaged students are on higher education websites.

What is an “engagement rate” in GA4 and why does it matter for your institution?

A strong online presence is crucial, and knowing how students engage with your website is key to improving the user experience and driving actions such as applying, requesting information, or taking a virtual tour.

But engagement isn’t just about attracting visitors—it’s about offering content that meets their needs and compels them to explore further. When prospective students are truly engaged, they’re actively exploring your programs and getting closer to applying.

Engagement in GA4 measures the percentage of sessions in which users interact meaningfully with your website. There are three main factors that identify a session as “engaged:”

• Session duration: The user spent 10 seconds or more on the website
• Page views: The user viewed at least two pages on the website
• Conversion event: The user triggered a conversion event, indicating a desired action

We pulled higher education benchmarks for the following engagement metrics:

• Engagement rate: The percentage of users who are engaged with your website

• Engaged sessions/users: How frequently users engage

• Engagement time/session: Time spent on your website

What are GA4 engagement benchmarks for higher education?

Based on our analysis of higher education institution websites from July 2023-July 2024, we’ve established the following averages for key GA4 engagement metrics:

• Organic Engagement Rate: 63.07%
• Direct Engagement Rate: 46.86%
• Organic Engaged Sessions Per User: 1.45
• Direct Engaged Sessions Per User: 0.72
• Organic Engaged Session Duration: 1:05
• Direct Engaged Session Duration: 0:38

Organic search traffic is the true standout: students who find your site through search are more likely to stick around and explore. We found that organic users engaged significantly more on higher ed sites, spending twice as much time on site, with nearly double the number of sessions. Additionally, the organic engagement rate surpassed direct traffic by approximately 30%.

By closely monitoring engagement metrics and implementing data-driven optimizations, higher education institutions can create more engaging web pages that drive student interest and conversions.

What role does user engagement play in Google search?

User engagement is a factor in Google’s search algorithm. Essentially, Google wants to show users the best possible results, and user engagement is a key indicator of what those results should be. So, the better your engagement the better your site will rank in search engines.

What can you do to boost engagement and turn prospective students into future students?

Here are a few tips:

• Content is king (and queen): Prioritize high quality content that speaks directly to students. Do you have testimonials from peers? Alumni success stories? A unique campus life? Use GA4 and other web metrics to identify the information your visitors want most.
• Make it easy to navigate: Don’t hide the good stuff. Make it simple for students to find information about programs, admissions, financial aid, and more.
• Mobile first: Design your website with mobile users in mind. Google switched to mobile-first crawling and indexing in 2016, and it’s also easier to reach prospects where they spend most of their time.
• Call to action: Don’t be shy about asking students to take the next step. Whether it’s applying, requesting information, or scheduling a campus tour, make it clear, simple, and prominent.