If you’re responsible for growing enrollments at your institution, you’ve likely heard that link building is crucial for SEO success. Maybe you’re wondering if it’s worth investing time and resources into it, or perhaps you’re trying to figure out where to start. You’re right to be thinking about this – link building is one of the most powerful ways to improve your institution’s search rankings and drive qualified prospective students to your programs.

Why Link Building Matters

Think of links as votes of confidence on the internet. When a reputable website links to your institution’s page, they’re essentially telling search engines, “This content is valuable and trustworthy.” The more high-quality websites that link to your pages, the more authority your site gains in the eyes of search engines.

For example, if your nursing program page gets linked from respected healthcare organizations, medical journals, and educational resources, search engines interpret this as a signal that your program is noteworthy and deserves to rank well for relevant searches.

The .edu Advantage

Higher education institutions have a built-in advantage when it comes to SEO: the .edu domain. These domains are highly trusted by search engines, almost on par with government (.gov) websites. This trust stems from the strict requirements for obtaining a .edu domain and the general assumption that educational institutions provide reliable information.

However, this doesn’t mean link building isn’t necessary. Here’s why:

• If you’re optimizing a subdomain (like nursing.university.edu), you’ll need to build authority specific to that subdomain. While the main domain carries significant weight, subdomains often need their own link building efforts to compete effectively.
• Program-specific pages (like university.edu/programs/masters-in-data-science) typically have fewer natural backlinks and can greatly benefit from targeted link building to improve their visibility for relevant searches.

Effective Link Building Strategies for Higher Education

Digital PR

Digital PR combines traditional public relations with SEO benefits. By developing newsworthy campaigns around your institution’s achievements, research, or unique programs, you can earn valuable media coverage and backlinks from authoritative news sites.

Let’s look at a real example: For the University of the Potomac, we created a digital PR campaign titled “What the World Wants to Study“. By analyzing Google search data to reveal global education trends, we created a story that resonated with media outlets worldwide.

The campaign secured over 80 placements in prestigious publications, including Times Higher Education, CTV News (Canada), and Courrier International (France). This not only generated high-authority backlinks but also positioned the university as a thought leader in global education trends.

This strategy becomes increasingly important as AI search platforms like ChatGPT Search and Perplexity rely heavily on trusted news sources and widely-cited content to generate their responses. When your institution is frequently mentioned and linked to in reputable press coverage, you’re not just building SEO authority – you’re securing your visibility in the evolving search landscape.

Creating Link-Worthy Resources

Educational institutions are uniquely positioned to create valuable, data-driven content that naturally attracts backlinks. For instance, if you offer nursing programs, creating a comprehensive “Nursing Statistics” page that compiles and analyzes industry trends, employment data, and program outcomes can become a go-to resource that other websites naturally reference and link to.

These content assets work because they:

• Provide valuable information that others want to cite
• Demonstrate your institution’s expertise
• Stay relevant over time (with regular updates)
• Attract organic backlinks without constant outreach

Niche Edits

Our approach to niche edits focuses on building genuine relationships with relevant websites. We identify sites discussing topics related to your programs and reach out with valuable contributions that enhance their existing content. This might include offering:

• Updated statistics or research findings
• Expert insights from your faculty
• Additional context or examples that improve their content

In exchange for these valuable additions, we secure relevant backlinks to your program pages. This approach ensures the links are contextual and beneficial for both parties.

The Skyscraper Technique

The skyscraper technique is particularly effective for educational institutions. Here’s how it works:

1. Find content in your field that has attracted many backlinks
2. Create significantly better content, leveraging your institution’s expertise and resources
3. Reach out to sites linking to the original content, highlighting your improved version

As an educational institution, your .edu domain gives you a natural advantage – websites are often eager to link to academic sources over commercial ones.

Do You Need to Invest in Link Building?

The decision to invest in link building should be based on your specific goals and current SEO performance. Consider link building if:

• Your target pages aren’t ranking in the top 5 positions for important keywords
• You’ve optimized on-page elements (content, keyword targeting, internal linking)
• Technical SEO issues aren’t holding your site back
• You’re competing in areas where other institutions have strong backlink profiles

Key Terms Explained

Backlink: A link from another website to your institution’s website. Think of it as a citation or reference to your content.

Dofollow Link: The standard type of link that passes authority from one site to another. These are the links that contribute to your SEO efforts.

Nofollow Link: A link that includes special code telling search engines not to count it as a vote of confidence. While less valuable for SEO, these links can still drive traffic.

Anchor Text: The clickable text in a link. For example, in “explore our nursing program,” the phrase “nursing program” is the anchor text. Search engines use this text to understand what the linked page is about.

Closing Thoughts

It’s fitting that link building is crucial for educational institutions, as Google’s PageRank algorithm – which revolutionized search by using links to determine page authority – was inspired by academic citations. Just as papers with more citations are considered more authoritative in academia, websites with more quality backlinks are considered more authoritative in search.

If you’re serious about improving your institution’s organic search visibility, link building should be a key component of your SEO strategy. It’s not just about building links; it’s about building relationships, authority, and trust that benefit your institution both in search results and beyond.

Ready to explore if link building could help your institution reach its enrollment goals? Fill out our form to schedule a free consultation with our SEO specialists. We’ll analyze your current link profile and identify opportunities to improve your search visibility through strategic link building.