Unlocking Consumer Insights in the $144 Billion Online Education Space

$144 Billion

The online education market in the U.S. is projected to reach $144 billion by 2029 with an annual growth rate of 10.5%.

The space was initially dominated by online colleges serving the needs of non-traditional students who value remote learning. But given the significant growth opportunity in this space, traditional schools like Arizona State University (ASU) are rapidly entering the market.

The explosive competitive growth is making it harder than ever for marketers to break through the noise, authentically connect with prospective students, and drive enrollments.

In this three-part edition of The Brand Breakdown, we’ll analyze consumer data to reveal key insights — which programs and disciplines learners care about, who is meeting their needs, and where the biggest opportunities exist.

Mining search data for consumer insights

Google search data is one of the most powerful consumer behavior insight engines you can use.

It reveals what consumers want, why they want it, and often, when they need it. Brands can aggregate, segment, and cross reference various types of data to understand and predict key behavioral drivers of target customers.

For example, look at this unmistakable correlation between the federal unemployment rate and the search popularity of “online college” below:

The data suggests that people who use the specific phrase “online college” when searching for higher education may be recently unemployed. Digging deeper, this non-traditional student demographic is older and may not value the traditional, on-campus college experience.

This hidden insight unlocks key information that online ed brands can use to deeply connect with one of their most qualified consumer segments. Furthermore, you might be able to predict increased interest in online colleges by monitoring the unemployment rate to get ahead of the trend.

Going even deeper, if we map the search popularity of a similar phrase, “online degree,” against the unemployment rate, there’s a much weaker correlation. In fact, consumer interest in “online degrees” was increasing while the unemployment rate was declining from 2015 to 2020.

It appears that learners researching “online degrees” have a different goal. Perhaps they are gainfully employed but need a specific degree to advance their careers.

Consumer data analysis provides online schools with granular, specific, and actionable insights that can infuse campaigns, messaging, surveys, and related efforts. That’s one powerful way to build better connections throughout the customer journey.

Consumer search data reveals brand strength

Search data can also highlight whether your brand is top of mind for in-market consumers as they progress along the customer journey. Among the online education searches we analyzed, 68.4 million (about one-third) mentioned a brand. The rest did not.

NOTE: To be considered for our branded search analysis below, at least 75% of a university’s students must be enrolled in online learning programs. We excluded schools like Arizona State University (ASU) because only 43% of its students are enrolled in online programs.

The top four online colleges are evenly matched in terms of brand awareness, with Grand Canyon University (GCU) holding the top position at about 17 million total branded searches in the last 12 months. Based on its strong awareness, you might expect GCU to also have the most enrolled students.

However, Western Governors University (WGU), despite placing third, actually has significantly more online students than its competitors.

How does WGU drive more enrollments with less brand awareness? By understanding, engaging, and connecting with potential students early in the customer journey.

The WGU website engages prospective students by creating content that meets their specific needs as they search for information like, “rn to bsn degree programs.”

WGU does this more often and more effectively, earning a bigger share of non-branded organic search than its competitors. This engagement gives the brand millions of invaluable touchpoints to guide enrollment decisions.

In our next newsletter, we’ll break down the topics behind the market share to see what potential students care most about, how big the opportunity is to connect, and which brands are winning for each segment.