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Education PPC

Google Ads for Australian Universities & RTOs

Enrolled students, not prospectus downloads that never convert.

We run Google Ads for Australian universities, TAFE institutes, private RTOs, English language colleges, and online learning providers. Our focus is on qualified applications that become enrolled students — domestic and international — not brochure-request volume.

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10+ yrs
Inside Google before this
500+
Brands we've worked with
Vertical
Education-specific playbooks
What breaks

Why Education Google Ads fail.

01

TEQSA and ASQA compliance restrict ad copy

TEQSA regulates higher education; ASQA regulates VET. Both require accurate representation of courses, qualifications, and outcomes. Misleading ads about course accreditation, employability, or outcomes trigger regulatory action. Most PPC agencies produce copy that would not survive either regulator's scrutiny.

02

Domestic vs international student intent requires different campaigns

Domestic students optimise toward ATAR fit, fees, and location. International students optimise toward visa route, CRICOS registration, post-study work rights, and English language entry. Same campaign for both wastes budget in both directions — and misses ESOS Act compliance for international marketing.

03

Long enrolment cycles break attribution

Australian enrolment cycles run 3-12 months from first search to commenced study. Standard Google Ads 30-day attribution windows miss actual enrolments entirely. Most providers cannot tell which campaigns produced commenced students — just which produced enquiries that went dark.

What works

Education PPC tactics that actually produce revenue.

Tactic 01

Course-specific campaigns per program

Build separate campaigns per course or qualification — not institution-wide umbrella campaigns. Nursing, data analytics, and trades qualifications have entirely different candidate pools. Tailored landing pages and ad copy per course lift application rates 2-3x.

Tactic 02

Domestic and international campaign separation

Domestic student campaigns target by state, ATAR range, and funding status. International student campaigns target by origin country (India, China, Vietnam, Nepal — each with distinct visa dynamics), CRICOS course codes, and post-study work eligibility. Different landing pages, different bid strategies, different compliance requirements.

Tactic 03

Student Management System offline conversion imports

Import enrolment data from your SMS (TechnologyOne, Ellucian, Callista) or CRM (Agent CRM for international) into Google Ads as offline conversions. Smart Bidding then optimises toward actual enrolments, not enquiry form fills.

Tactic 04

Competitor comparison conquest

Prospects searching '[Competitor University] vs' or 'alternative to [Competitor TAFE]' are high-intent comparison shoppers. Run competitor-conquest campaigns with honest comparison landing pages. Conversion rates run 3-5x higher than non-branded course queries.

Tactic 05

TEQSA/ASQA-compliant copy review

Every ad and landing page reviewed against TEQSA or ASQA rules before launch. Claims about graduate outcomes, employment rates, and course quality must be substantiated. Misleading course representation is what triggers regulatory complaints — most of which come from how the course was advertised, not how it was delivered.

Our playbook

How we run Education campaigns.

01

Week 1: Compliance audit + course-level mapping

Map enrolments by course, identify priority courses for dedicated campaigns. Audit existing copy against TEQSA/ASQA rules. Plan domestic and international campaign architecture separately.

02

Week 2: Course-specific campaign build

Separate campaigns per course with dedicated landing pages. Domestic and international campaigns split with appropriate compliance checks. Competitor-conquest campaigns launched.

03

Week 3: Launch + SMS/CRM integration

Campaigns live. Student management system connected for offline conversion import — commenced enrolment, not enquiry, becomes the Smart Bidding target. First optimisation cycle on day 7.

04

Month 2+: Scale on enrolled-student tuition value

Once enrolments flow back with fee data, shift Smart Bidding to target ROAS. Australian domestic fees, international fees (typically A$30,000-A$50,000/year), and VET fees all need distinct conversion values for Smart Bidding to scale profitably.

Frequently asked

Questions about Education Google Ads.

What is a realistic cost per enrolled student for Australian providers?

Domestic undergraduate: A$500-A$2,200 per commenced enrolment. Domestic postgraduate: A$800-A$4,000. International students: A$1,500-A$8,000+ (reflecting typical A$30,000-A$50,000 annual fees). VET and RTO courses: A$200-A$1,200 per commenced enrolment. ELICOS: A$300-A$1,500. The variance reflects tuition revenue — international fees justify much higher acquisition cost than domestic.

How do TEQSA and ASQA rules affect education ads?

TEQSA (Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency) enforces higher education provider obligations including accurate course representation. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) does the same for VET. Both can take enforcement action for misleading advertising — substantiation for outcome claims is required, and course accreditation must be accurately represented. Ad copy needs review by someone familiar with these rules.

What's different about marketing to international students?

International student marketing is regulated by the ESOS Act (Education Services for Overseas Students). CRICOS registration must be displayed. Agents must be listed and managed. Visa pathways, English language entry, and post-study work rights must be accurately represented. Campaigns need geographic segmentation by origin country — Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Nepalese students have different search behaviour and concerns.

Should Australian education providers use Performance Max?

Cautiously. PMax works for high-volume short-course and online providers with fast enrolment cycles. For traditional degree programs with 6-12 month cycles, Search outperforms PMax because Smart Bidding cannot learn fast enough from sparse enrolment data. International student campaigns particularly benefit from manual Search control over PMax automation.

What's the minimum ad spend for Australian education Google Ads?

A$3,500-A$5,000/month per course for meaningful testing. Multi-program universities commonly run A$25,000-A$120,000/month across campaigns. International student campaigns alone can consume A$30,000-A$150,000/month for institutions with heavy international enrolment. Below A$3,500/month per course, enrolment data accumulates too slowly for effective optimisation.

How does the Australian academic calendar affect campaign pacing?

Semester 1 starts February-March; Semester 2 starts July-August. Intake pushes are typically 4-6 months before start. VET and RTO rolling intakes have shorter cycles. International student pipelines often run 12-18 months from first search to enrolled (visa processing, English testing, pre-arrival). Campaign pacing needs to reflect this — steady-state year-round bidding misses the natural demand waves.
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