Click costs are rising quickly, and colleges and universities are feeling the pressure. Leads that once came at a controllable cost now require significantly higher investment, stretching already tight budgets. From MBAs to healthcare programs, nearly every college and university is experiencing the strain as competition intensifies. The question for enrollment marketers is simple: how do you sustain lead volume and efficiency when every click costs more?
The Data on Rising Costs
Over the past several years, cost-per-click (CPC) in higher education has risen sharply. According to WordStream LocaliQ, the Education & Instruction category saw a 41.9% year-over-year increase, the largest of any sector, while the overall average across all industries rose 12.9%. Competition is up across nearly every program category, from MBAs to nursing to counseling. The result is clear, higher CPCs drive up cost-per-inquiry (CPI) and cost-per-start (CPS). If budgets remain flat, schools generate fewer leads. If volume goals stay the same, they must spend more to reach them. Since conversion rates are relatively steady, higher CPCs almost always push CPS higher, stretching already tight budgets.
Why Click Costs Are Rising
Competition is the main catalyst to the changing search landscape. Google’s auction weighs both bids and Quality Score. If competitors improve their ads with better personalization, landing pages, or targeting, your CPC rises in response. In short, when others improve their ad quality, it costs you more to stay visible.
Shifts in Google’s auction dynamics also play a role. The system increasingly prioritizes relevance and user experience, making older tactics less effective. Seasonality has become sharper too, with enrollment deadlines creating intense cost spikes.
Another challenge is the lack of transparency in how platforms adjust their auctions. Even small changes in how bids are weighed can increase costs for advertisers, and often those shifts are not fully explained. For enrollment marketers, this makes it even harder to predict budgets and performance with confidence.
Strategies to Offset Higher CPCs
Minimize wasted spend. Focus budgets on keywords that are directly relevant to the degree program you are promoting. Regularly review search term reports to identify and remove irrelevant or high-cost terms, and consider opting out of Search Partners to avoid non-Google placements that often deliver lower quality traffic.
Expand into other platforms. Lean into platforms that support paid search efforts. Meta, Youtube, LinkedIn, and TikTok can help reduce reliance on Google, improve efficiency, and reach new audiences with fresh formats like video and storytelling.
Get more precise. Long-tail keywords and regional targeting often yield more qualified leads. Tailoring messaging to students at different stages of their journey lowers competition and increases conversion rates.
Strengthen organic. SEO drives sustainable traffic and improves Quality Scores, which reduces CPCs. Optimized landing pages and content strategy support both organic visibility and paid efficiency.
What This Means for Universities
Schools that try to absorb higher costs without adjusting their approach will quickly feel the impact of less traffic, fewer leads, strained budgets, and a gradual loss of market share.
The smarter path is to plan and act. Universities must use data to guide budgets, reach students earlier in their search journey, and focus on raising Quality Scores to stay competitive. Improving Quality Score by aligning ad copy with landing pages, refining keywords, and keeping page load times fast is one immediate step every school can take.
The current search landscape has many challenges, but they are not impossible to overcome. With the right mix of strategy, creativity, and precision, schools can compete effectively even as CPCs rise.
At Brado, we understand the pressures university marketers face. Our team helps schools reduce CPC pressure with cross-channel strategies, improve Quality Scores through creative and SEO, and build the right mix of tactics to drive inquiries and starts while navigating automation, privacy changes, and AI-driven search. Rising CPCs don’t have to derail your enrollment goals, contact us today to talk about how we can help you stay competitive.