Talking Tactics

Ep. 47: Attracting Grad Students Using Career Blogs

Episode Summary

Graduate programs often focus on outbound marketing, but what about capturing students who are deciding whether to go back to school in the first place? Purdue Business found a solution that works—blogging. Shannon Hess, Director of Content and Communications at the Mitch Daniels School of Business, shares how launching a prospective graduate student blog led to a 425-keyword increase in non-branded organic search rankings, 680 additional website sessions per month, and 400+ new website visitors each month. In this episode, Shannon walks us through the exact steps Purdue Business took to create a blog that drives real results, from SEO strategy and topic clustering to content creation workflows, and how AI can help. If you're looking to attract highly motivated prospective grad students, this episode is for you.

Episode Notes

Graduate programs often focus on outbound marketing, but what about capturing students who are deciding whether to go back to school in the first place? Purdue Business found a solution that works—blogging. 

Shannon Hess, Director of Content and Communications at the Mitch Daniels School of Business, shares how launching a prospective graduate student blog led to a 425-keyword increase in non-branded organic search rankings, 680 additional website sessions per month, and 400+ new website visitors each month.

In this episode, Shannon walks us through the exact steps Purdue Business took to create a blog that drives real results, from SEO strategy and topic clustering to content creation workflows, and how AI can help. If you're looking to attract highly motivated prospective grad students, this episode is for you. 

Guest Name: Shannon Hess, Director of Content and Communications, Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue University

Guest Social: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spnicholson/

Guest Bio: Shannon is a seasoned marketing leader overseeing brand, content, and creative strategies for the Mitch Daniels School of Business at Purdue University. Her proficiency in leveraging data to inform decisions and her drive to continually improve, break silos, and test hypotheses has led to an estimated $7M+ in revenue growth. She is committed to combining creative thinking with emerging technologies and fostering a culture of curiosity, transparency, and quality to solve complex problems and deliver imaginative solutions.