Case study
Maine Maritime Academy
A focused, digital-first paid media strategy helped Maine Maritime Academy increase undergraduate inquiries by 15%, improve traffic quality, and exceed enrollment goals.
Services
SEM + PPC, Social Media Marketing
Industry
Higher Education
The challenge
Balancing Volume & Quality in a Competitive Landscape
Maine Maritime Academy has a solid reputation as a strong close-to-home option for students interested in the maritime trades. But with year-over-year applications trending down, the institution came to us a critical juncture.
With a site bogged down by low-quality international traffic, we set out to establish a baseline that could be used for years of incremental improvements and sustainable growth. The goal, in broad terms, was not just more, but better.
Key objectives
- Improve year-over-year inquiry growth
- Maintain efficiency with similar audience size
- Reduce friction between inquiries and applications
- Align paid media with enrollment goals
The solution
An Omni-Channel Paid Media Strategy
We partnered with Maine Maritime Academy to execute a coordinated strategy across Paid Search, Paid Social, and YouTube, designed to reach prospective students throughout their decision-making journey. With a strong emphasis on audience quality, geographic focus, and enrollment-stage intent, we refined targeting to prioritize high-value U.S. prospects while reducing low-quality traffic.
Campaigns were layered across awareness, consideration, and high-intent stages, with messaging, keywords, bids, and targeting adjusted throughout the enrollment cycle. This connected approach allowed each channel to play a distinct role while working toward the same goal: generating more qualified inquiries and creating a stronger path from initial interest to application.
The approach
How the strategy took shape
01
Step 1
Define the KPI: Total inquiries set as the primary enrollment KPI for the 2024/2025 cycle.
02
Step 2
Refine Targeting: Prioritized U.S.-based prospective students, significantly reducing low-relevance international traffic.
03
Step 3
Layer Campaigns: Awareness, retargeting, and intent-based campaigns supported students throughout the decision journey.
04
Step 4
Optimize Seasonally: Keyword match types and bids adjusted to align with peak enrollment windows.
Results
Strong, measurable results
15%
More Inquiries
21%
Conversion Rate
72%
U.S. Sessions Increase
A more focused paid media strategy drove 15% more undergraduate inquiries, surpassed the enrollment goal at 103%, and delivered a 21% conversion rate. U.S. sessions also increased 72%, growing from 76% to 97% of all paid traffic and bringing a more relevant audience to the site.
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The story
Efficiency Gains Enabling Intentional Expansion
As we tightened campaign controls towards better, more relevant targeting, we also build a framework for audience expansion. MMA had never been positioned as a great option for aspiring engineers outside ocean-going industries, so we started there. Slowly, we folded in targeting for students interested in hands-on careers who might not know that an engineering degree is a fast-path towards a rewarding, high-paying career.
The next opportunity
With strong inquiry performance validated at the top of the funnel, the next opportunity lies in improving the transition from inquiry to application — reducing friction and converting high-quality leads into enrolled students.
Key takeaway
Narrowing focus, not expanding it, led to stronger performance and cleaner enrollment data.
Maine Maritime Academy is positioned to build on this momentum with conversion-focused improvements in the next enrollment cycle. Ready to apply this approach to your institution? See how we support marketing teams with the strategy and expertise to drive stronger results.
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And get on your way to better results and a clear way forward.
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