How data helps to understand the needs of the audience, measure the effectiveness of actions, and make informed decisions in educational marketing.
Educational institutions — from training companies to universities offering online courses — are increasingly investing in digital marketing. However, many of them do not fully utilize the potential offered by data analysis. The problem is not the data itself, but the lack of a strategy for collecting, interpreting, and using it in the decision-making process.
Start with goals, not tools.
Before you start collecting data, you must clearly know why you want to do it.
Example strategic goals in educational marketing:
Increase sign-ups for a specific online course
Reduce the cost per lead (CPL)
Increase participant retention (e.g., returning students)
Improve the effectiveness of campaigns on Google/Facebook Ads
Optimize the sign-up page (landing page)
Each goal requires a different set of data. Collecting “everything” leads to chaos — not knowledge.
What data to collect in educational marketing?
In educational marketing (especially in the context of digital marketing), data is not just numbers — it’s the way we understand the behaviors, needs, and decisions of potential “customers” (learners, students). For marketing efforts to have real effects, it’s crucial to deliberately plan what data to collect at every stage of a user’s interaction with the educational brand — from the first click on an ad to enrollment and participation in courses.
Data should be collected in three main areas:
Traffic and entry sources data — shows how a user found your site and how they navigate through it.
Behavioral data on the site — helps understand which content and formats are engaging and which need improvement.
Conversion and engagement data — indicates what works and what doesn’t in the recruitment, registration, or follow-up process.
With this structure, you can view marketing communication as a system in which every stage leaves a trace — and each trace can be a source of knowledge needed for optimization.
Below is a summary of the most important categories of data to monitor in educational marketing:
| Level | Data Type | Examples | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| General | Traffic, sessions, sources | number of visits, acquisition channels | evaluation of channel effectiveness |
| Behavior | User paths, clicks, scrolling | form abandonment, FAQ clicks | UX optimization |
| Conversion | Forms, leads, sign-ups, abandoned carts | who and when signed up, where they came from | evaluation of marketing actions |
What tools to use?
Depending on which stage of the user’s interaction with the educational offering we are in, we will need different tools. Some will be used to track traffic and user behavior on the site, others to evaluate the effectiveness of promotional campaigns, and others to understand what happens within the educational platform.
Here’s a set of tools that, when used wisely, can help build a data-driven marketing strategy in online education:
Google Analytics 4 – analysis of traffic, entry sources, and user behavior on the landing page.
Hotjar / Microsoft Clarity – observe how users navigate the site: what stops them and what discourages them.
Google Tag Manager – flexible data collection (e.g., clicks on the “Sign Up” button or watching a video).
Meta Ads / Google Ads / LinkedIn Ads – track the effectiveness of paid campaigns: not just clicks but real conversions (e.g., sign-ups).
CRM (e.g., HubSpot, Zoho) – integrate marketing efforts with the recruitment process, measure decision-making cycle length, segment audiences.
MailerLite / GetResponse / Brevo – assess the effectiveness of email communication: which content engages recipients and when it’s best to send it.
LMS (e.g., Moodle, LearnWorlds, Thinkific) – data on actual engagement after signing up for the course: progress, activity, time spent on materials.
These tools don’t function in isolation. The best results come from integrating them, where data from different sources creates a comprehensive picture of the user journey — from the first contact with the offer to course participation.
KPI as the key to evaluating the effectiveness of actions.
After collecting the relevant data and implementing the necessary tools to monitor the effectiveness of actions, it’s time to draw conclusions. A key element of this process is the use of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These are the foundation for evaluating the success of your efforts, helping identify strengths, but also highlighting areas that need improvement.
| KPI | What does it measure? | Why is it important in education? / Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per Lead (CPL) | The average cost of acquiring one sign-up (e.g., form submission, registration) | Helps assess the effectiveness of spending, especially for institutions with limited budgets (e.g., public institutions). |
| Conversion Rate | The percentage of people who completed the desired action (e.g., signed up) | Monitor where and why users convert — a low conversion rate often indicates issues with UX or messaging. |
| Engagement Rate / Bounce Rate | User engagement or bounce rate on the page | Indicates traffic quality — if visitors quickly leave the page, your content might not be aligned with their expectations. |
| Funnel Drop-off | The stages where users abandon the process (e.g., not completing a form) | Analyzing the funnel helps optimize key sign-up points — both technical and communicative. |
| Lifetime Value (LTV) | The potential value of a participant over time (e.g., signing up for additional courses) | Useful in paid offerings and multi-step programs — helps assess how much to invest in acquisition. |
| Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) | Return on investment in advertising campaigns | Essential for evaluating the profitability of your paid advertising efforts (e.g., Meta, Google). |
| Open Rate / Click Rate (for emails) | Effectiveness of email communication | Shows whether your educational content is engaging and well-matched to the recipients’ expectations. |
In educational marketing, data is not an “add-on,” but a condition for success. Without clearly defined goals, thoughtful metrics, and integrated data sources, no team will be able to make rational decisions.
In the next part of this series, I will discuss in detail how to segment data and users to better tailor content, channels, and offers in educational campaigns.