Study in Europe: the cost per student down 67%
Facebook, Instagram and Google ads for study in Europe: a 67% lower ad cost per paid student, 60 times more students and triple the share of leads that pay.
- −67%
- ad cost per paid student
- ×60
- students compared with 2024
- ×3
- share of leads that reach the payment
In short
- Period
- Since 2024, ongoing
- Market
- Education: admission to European universities
- My role
- Contractor: Facebook and Google ads, marketing consultant
The task
The company helps people get into European universities: language courses, preparatory courses and help with admission. Since 2024 I have worked with it as a contractor: I run the Facebook, Instagram and Google ads and consult on marketing.
The niche has a long deal cycle. From the first lead to the payment, a person needs 4 to 12 months of follow-up.
I do not name the company and do not share its numbers that would help its competitors. I do not name the ad budget either, only how many times it grew.
My part in the team
The company has a whole team: marketers, content makers and others. My part is the ad setup, the strategy and the funnels, the analytics and the tests of ideas. I work closely with the company’s marketers.
The funnel: from an ad to a paid student
The main channel is Meta Ads: Facebook and Instagram.
- Bots and lead forms. Most leads come through them.
- Website. We keep testing and developing other funnels: targeted traffic from the ads to the website.
- Audiences. Retargeting, lookalike audiences and the audiences of competitors.
- Ads for each stage. The message changes with the stage: the ads warm up the interest and lead the person to the next step.
How I run these ads for other businesses: Facebook and Instagram ads.
How to keep a client for 4 to 12 months
We make unique content for the company with AI tools, and it costs little. The ads help keep people too: a person sees the company at every stage while they decide.
Ads for partnerships with universities
We also show the ads to university staff. Together with the owner’s own work, this brought partnerships with more universities and countries.
The result
Compared with the company’s historical data at the start of my work in 2024:
- Cost per student: the ad cost per paid student fell by 67%, to a third of what it was.
- Students: 60 times more.
- Lead quality: the share of leads that reach the payment grew 3 times.
- Ad budget: 20 times larger. With 60 times more students, one student now costs a third as much.
- Partnerships: more universities and countries.
This is the result of the whole team and the owner. My part is the ads, the strategy, the funnels and the analytics.
What your business gets from this
- A funnel for a long deal cycle: the ads take a person from the first lead to the payment.
- Facebook, Instagram and Google ads that I keep testing.
- Low-cost content made with AI tools that keeps people interested.
- Ads aimed at partners as well as clients.