Inbound Marketing to improve interest in public ...Inbound Marketing to improve interest in public postgraduate courses 535 1. Introduction Digital marketing is constantly evolving

AbstractThis research seeks to explore the potential of applying Inbound Marketing techniques with the aim of increasing the demand for postgraduate educational programmes. This communication technique, widely used in the business world to attract customers in virtual environments, has scarcely been applied at all in the public education sector. Therefore, this work aims to provide scientific evidence to fill this gap, with a twofold objective: (1) to verify the benefits of applying this marketing technique to a different business environment and (2) to analyze whether after designing a specific route for the visitor, a conversion is achieved. Two marketing strategies are proposed: (1) improving the positioning of search engines using SEO techniques and (2) creating attractive content on sites with a sufficient volume of qualified users. Both strategies should lead to an improvement in the conversion rate in public master’s degrees and postgraduate programmes. The methodology proposed to achieve these objectives is action research, its scope of action being the official Master’s Degree in Business Management at the Pablo de Olavide University. We highlight how, after implanting the Inbound Marketing technique, more than 1000 visits were achieved, as well as a conversion rate of 2.12%. This study ends with the presentation of the con-clusions and the academic and practical implications of these results.

Keywords: Inbound Marketing; web conversion; SEO; postgraduate; web analytics.

JEL codes: M31, M39, M19.

Esic Market Economics and Business JournalVol. 49, Issue 3, September-December 2018, 533-550

* Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

ISSN 0212-1867 / e-ISSN 1989-3558© ESIC Editorial, ESIC Business & Marketing SchoolDOI: 10.7200/esicm.161.0493.3ihttp://www.esic.edu/esicmarket

Inbound Marketing to improve interest in public postgraduate courses

Salvador Bueno*

Juan Sebastián Caro Rodríguez

M. Dolores Gallego

Universidad Pablo de Olavide

文章摘要

本研究目的为探索使用集客营销技巧来提高报读研究课程需求的潜力。此通讯技巧在商业界应用广泛，用于从虚拟环境中引来客户。可是，其在公立教育界的应用甚少。因此，本研究尝试举出不同的科学研究结果证明这方面的缺欠，研究目的主要有两个：（一）验证在商业界以外的范畴中利用集客营销技巧所带来的利益；（二）分析给到访者设计参观路线后会否达到广告转化。我们提出两种营销策略：（一）使用搜寻引擎最佳化（SEO）技术来改良搜寻引擎的定位及（二）在多个地方创建能吸引人的内容，并且包括大量合资格的用户。两个策略应该都能有助提高公立硕士及研究课程的广告转化率。为了达到研究目的，我们以西班牙巴勃罗·德·奥拉维德大学（Universidad Pablo de Ola-vide）的工商管理硕士课程为研究案例，主要探讨利用集客营销后能招来1000次以上的到访以及达到2.12%的广告转化率的原因。研究专题陈述所有研究结论，以及其结果在学术和实用层面上的含义。

关键词: 集客营销、广告转化网站、搜寻引擎最佳化、研究学位、网站分析。

JEL 分类号: M31、M39、M19。

利用集客营销提高公众对公立研究课程之兴趣

Salvador Bueno*

Juan Sebastián Caro Rodríguez

M. Dolores Gallego

Universidad Pablo de Olavide

Esic Market Economics and Business JournalVol. 49, Issue 3, September-December 2018, 533-550

* Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

ISSN 0212-1867 / e-ISSN 1989-3558© ESIC Editorial, ESIC Business & Marketing SchoolDOI: 10.7200/esicm.161.0493.3ihttp://www.esic.edu/esicmarket

Inbound Marketing to improve interest in public postgraduate courses 535

1. Introduction

Digital marketing is constantly evolving (Kannan and Li, 2017, Tiago and Verís-simo, 2014), as a consequence of the continuous development of Information and Communication Technologies (hereafter ICTs). In this way, digital marketing is being fed by ICTs with the aim of creating new procedures that make it possible to attract digital customers. In fact, Inbound Marketing came into being with that specific pur-pose. This type of marketing is directed at creating imaginative content that attracts the attention of potential customers, mainly through the communication channels offered by digital media (Bleoju, Capatina, Rancati and Lesca, 2016).

Specifically, Inbound Marketing refers to a set of techniques, most of them related to the Internet, hence its maximum applicability on virtual and e-commerce platforms. We must understand that all these platforms have a twofold need: (1) to increase the number of hits or visits and (2) to achieve new customers. In fact, the adoption of Inbound Marketing techniques, with respect to traditional methods of marketing, provides enormous advantages (Rudman and Bruwer, 2016, Opreana and Vinerean, 2015), such as the increase in credibility for, and knowledge of, the brand, and cost reduction or higher quality of potential customers. These benefits could be obtained in the short term, although sometimes the required time horizon is broader (Franklin and Jenkins, 2014).

On the other hand, it should be noted that marketing, and consequently Inbound Marketing, is considered one of the critical processes in any organization (Gonchar-uk and Getman, 2014). In this sense, we see key aspects in the successful implemen-tation of Inbound Marketing. According to Miller (2015), there are two factors of vital importance in its implementation. On the one hand, its philosophy, or way of working, which must be adopted and accepted by the entire organization and, on the other hand, the presence of a common and consensus based message about what is intended to be transmitted through the different digital media. In any case, Inbound Marketing is able to combine the digital elements that can attract customers in an efficient way to the activities developed by marketing specialists of any organization-al or institutional environment (Wieczak, 2015).

Thus, Inbound Marketing, as a strategic approach to marketing, is beginning to be considered one of the key procedures in educational marketing (Hall and Witek, 2016). On this point, it is worth noting that in previous decades it was usual to carry out persuasion campaigns in traditional media, based mainly on advertising and propaganda (Vera-Vila, 1998). At present, marketing practices are widespread in countries such as the US and UK, at all educational levels (Guilbault, 2018), espe-cially in secondary and university education. In addition, Hayes (2007) highlights the importance of combining strategic planning with marketing in educational organi-zations, after observing that online advertising has become a completely emotional process where the objective is to get the user to choose to stay on one same website (Romero and Fanjul, 2009). However, there are few studies that analyze these aspects in the Inbound Marketing environment, and sometimes with widely varying results.

536 Salvador Bueno et al.

In this direction, Royo-Vela and Hünermund (2016) showed that interactive mar-keting communication tools, including Inbound Marketing, have a strong impact on the decision-making process among postgraduate students, especially in their perception of the institution. At the same time they affirm that Inbound Marketing enables the small scale universities to increase their brand image among current and potential students with little investment or effort. Similarly, Palmer (2012) developed a study on a small postgraduate academic programme where marketing in social networks (Facebook) was used to attract potential students. However, this online promotion had little impact on the conversion rate and did not produce any new student applications.

These studies highlight the need to run research that produces new evidence of the use of Inbound Marketing in the educational field, especially in universities. Therefore, as a general objective, we set out to analyze the new digital marketing channels in educational environments which make it possible to attract new cus-tomers. In concrete terms, we propose a twofold objective: (1) to verify the benefits of applying Inbound Marketing to an educational environment that differs from the strictly business one and (2) to analyze whether, after designing a route for the visitor, a conversion is actually achieved, understood as a purchase, a subscription, or some other way of interpreting that interest has been captured (Royle and Laing, 2014).

To achieve the objectives described, we have applied action research methodology, as proposed by Lewin (1946, 1948) and later used in research into the educational field (Pacheco, Lips and Yoong, 2018, Gayá and Brydon-Miller, 2017, Gleeson, Sug-rue and O’Flaherty, 2017). This method has the following objectives: (1) the use of action as a mechanism to transform the processes of an institution, and (2) to design a research project that makes it possible to develop new knowledge (Lewin, 1946).

This research into action has been applied on the Official Master’s in Business Management at the Pablo de Olavide University in Seville (Spain). For the correct application of this methodology it was necessary to identify three information groups: (1) virtual communities potentially interested in the master’s degree, (2) keywords to focus on the actions proposed and (3) trends to guide the behaviour of these communities. These three sources must be conveniently structured so that they can be combined in a website created, ad hoc, to follow through on the actions of Inbound Marketing, with the purpose of retaining visitors and harvesting metrics and statistics.

To achieve this it is essential to understand the behaviour of potential customers (Hall, 2016). This behaviour could be explained using the AIDA model, proposed by the American publicist, E. St. Elmo Lewis in 1898. This model emerged at the end of the 19th century and has undergone a number of transformations throughout its history, albeit maintaining the basic principles of his proposal. This model is very useful when trying to evaluate the impact of advertising after controlling the psycho-logical development of a potential consumer over the course of a purchasing process (Hassana, Nadzim and Shiratuddin, 2015).


Adapting the AIDA model to the digital plane (Jobber, David, Ellis-Chadwick and Fiona, 2013), the set of stages through which a visitor passes, from reaching a website until a purchase or subscription is concluded, is called funnel conversion (Cooper and Vlaskovits, 2013).

These stages begin with the visit of the potential user, and from there the phases are followed, following the acronym AIDA: (1) Attention, (2) Interest, (3) Desire and (4) Action. Attention refers to the first contact that the potential customer makes with the website. In this stage, the design and a clear and intuitive layout for the content are key factors (Jobber, et al., 2013), taking into account that the potential customer is limited to doing a general overview of the site. Later, once the visitor’s attention is attracted, they will then begin to analyze the contents, with the intention of locating the strong points and eliminating the possible objections (Demangeot and Broderick, 2016). Once the desire has been initiated, the potential customer looks for the arguments they need to justify the activation of the phase called Action, which finalizes the purchase process.

At each of these stages it is possible to apply certain actions aimed at optimizing the results (Miller, 2015). For example, when a potential customer is at the end of the funnel, the activation of two strategies that have a direct impact on the psy-chological component of the individual is recommended (Heath and Heath, 2013; Walker, 2014): (1) Confirmation bias, with the intention that the information pro-vided confirms the potential customer’s own beliefs (Darley and Gross, 1983) and (2) Aversion to loss, which refers to the strong tendency to prefer not to lose before winning (Tversky and Kahneman, 1984).

In support of these strategies, we find management tools aimed, in the first place, at the positioning of websites, such as SEO (acronym of the English term, Search Engine Optimization), and, secondly, to create attractive content on sites with a sufficient volume of qualified users. In this second group of tools would come CTA maps (Call to Action) and the cycle of evangelization.

The goal of SEO tools is to get a website, before an organic search, to appear in the highest positions of the results, making optimization necessary (Arlitsch and O’Brien, 2013): (1) the structure of the website and its content (known as On-page SEO optimization) and (2) the notoriety through natural links (reference traffic) and social media (known as Off-page SEO optimization). In addition, it is necessary to apply linkbuilding techniques (links addressed from quality sites), linkbaiting (titles and visually striking links to be opened as a wake-up call) or viral content management.

In the Spanish case, organic positioning is generally done on Google, because more than 90% of the total volume of searches are run on it (Statista, 2018). Anoth-er alternative positioning can be done using SEM (Search Engine Marketing), which requires paying services like Google Adwords.

For its part, the CTA map aims to define the different routes and strategies to achieve user conversion based on different profiles (Miller, 2015). This type of maps allows us to define how a conversion should be carried out by debugging a series


of chain processes that the visitor should follow with the intention of strengthening brand confidence and reducing possible resistance. For a CTA map to be effective, we recommend (Bleoju et al., 2016, Miller, 2015): (1) reducing website frictions by designing a clear and intuitive environment, (2) encouraging self-selection and self-segmentation of the visitor himself (for example, through the comments shown on the website), which makes it possible to adapt relevant and critical content according to the profile and (3) to make horizontal or vertical changes easy for users so that they find the path of minimum resistance to purchase.

In parallel, the cycle of evangelization is built upon the framework of the conver-sion funnel and the route of a potential or former customer. The cycle of evangeliza-tion provides an additional and complementary dimension, enabling us to automate, forecast and classify new acquisitions (Miller, 2015). This approach strives to find users who are delighted with the product or service acquired (also known as life-stylers) and who feel strongly identified with the brand (Thibeault and Wadsworth, 2014). This model assumes multidimensionality in the product-person relationship, materializing in the sum of social networks, corporate blogs and other elements not entirely virtual, such as, for example, speed and quality of the answers, and problem solving, among others.

In short, the purpose of these strategies, broadly linked to Inbound Marketing, is to consolidate free-flowing, friendly and useful interactions throughout the route from the discovery of the website to the purchase, in order to produce a continuous link over time (Megargel, Shankararaman and Reddy, 2018).

2. Method

The methodology used to achieve the proposed objectives is action research. This methodology, initially proposed by Lewin (1946, 1948), is closely linked to stud-ies that propose structures for organizational changes under four basic principles (Wooltorton, Wilkinson, Horwitz, Bahn, Redmond and Dooley, 2015): (1) visualiz-ing the desired future, (2) critical thinking and reflection, (3) participating in decision making and (4) alliances and systemic thinking.

The particular area of action is circumscribed in the field of organizational changes, since it is intended to provide evidence of the transformation of marketing in universities in terms of the promotion of postgraduate courses. In addition, it is important to emphasize that with research in action, researchers do not limit them-selves merely to observing (Adelman, 1993), but also to actively working to achieve the objectives of the organization (Lim, Kim, Kim, Kim and Maglio, 2018), contrib-uting, from this point of view, a combination of theory and practice to the problem identified. Finally, it should be noted that this methodology has been widely applied to educational environments. Some examples are found in the works carried out by Pacheco, Lips and Yoong (2018), Gayá and Brydon-Miller (2017) and Gleeson, Sugrue and O’Flaherty (2017).


2.1. Implementing the method

A landing page was designed and implemented following Inbound Marketing standards, with its own domain and an appropriate timeframe - understood as a landing page - to that web site designed ad hoc to convert visitors into potential cus-tomers (Koch and Benlian, 2015). The domain set up was mbapablodeolavide.com. It should be noted that this domain incorporates the two key words of the master’s course: (1) MBA (Master’s in Business Administration), as well as the Master’s in Business Management in the international field, and (2) the name of the university where the Master’s degree course is taught. It should be noted that the term MBA was included in the domain name after checking with Google Trends that this is the most widely used in organic searches in this matter, as opposed to other terms or derivatives of these. Next, the collaboration of the master’s management and its teaching staff was requested, while their presence on the website was required in the area of professional information and image.

The website maintained the one page structure and was headed by the Pablo de Olavide University logo and the name of the master’s degree. Below is a section to answer the question “Why do an MBA?” Subsequently, a brief description of the subjects and the teaching staff is given. The website continues with the presentation of the main motivations for taking the MBA course, offered along with the experi-ences of students who have completed the master’s degree. The page ends with the inclusion of an email notification tool about news on the Master’s course. Figure 1 shows some of these sections in the version for mobile phones.

The total time frame for action ran between April and October 2016, although for preparation of the subsequent results, data obtained from July onwards was tak-en whenever a website with a high level of updating was available. Each section was designed to minimize the possible resistance of the visitor, following the instructions in the theoretical framework (heading 1). Likewise, in the final stages of the design, a web analytics application was integrated into the website to be able to measure the behaviour and interactions of visitors with an orientation towards content market-ing and SEO. Action in SEM was ruled out because these services are paid for and therefore must be included in the budgets.

Specifically, following the recommendations of the CTA maps, a website layout was designed that reduced friction for visitors through a clear and intuitive envi-ronment with a simple structure (one single page). The web points defined covered the different user profiles or archetypes, in order to activate the self-selection and self-segmentation of the visitors themselves, in such a way that they steered the visit to follow their own specific interests or affinities (confirmation bias). Additionally, with the inclusion of comments and testimonies, the transmission of positive expe-riences of people with similar profiles to the visitor was sought. In this case, it was decided to include some testimonies of students who had graduated from the mas-ter’s degree.


Figure 1. Snippets from the landing page (mobile version)

Likewise, the design was influenced by the search for better positioning for the website through SEO. On the one hand, following the best practice recommended by Google, the structure of the website and its content (On-page optimization) were optimized in such a way that this enhanced the user’s smoothly running experiences. In addition, public knowledge of the website was taken advantage of, using natural links and social media (Off-page optimization). In addition, continuing the indica-tions of the theoretical framework, linkbuilding techniques were applied (such as a set of studies whose purpose is to increase the existence of links to the web) and link-baiting (titles and striking links which, when opened, would serve as a wake-up call).

To measure the impact of SEO actions, a certain implementation time is required, although this would depend on the scope of action or dimension of the project. In general, in the professional field, this time is estimated to be between 8 and 12 months (Gandour and Regolini, 2011). In this study, the process was limited to enrolment and matriculation (6 months).


2.2. Description of the process

2.2.1. SEO action and content marketing

The main SEO on-page action was to develop a web design adaptable to any device, especially mobile phones (Figure 1). In this regard, recent studies show that Internet users, who are almost the entire Spanish population, mostly prefer mobile devices for Internet access (Telefónica, 2017).

Regarding off-page action, in the first place, linkbuilding techniques were imple-mented, using Google PageRank, which classifies the authority of the websites on a scale of 0 to 10, based on the application of internal algorithms. These algorithms are fed by parameters related to quantity and, to a greater extent, to the quality of the links it contains (Luh, Yang and Huang, 2016).

To get this action up and running, high PageRank links (PageRank> 6) were combined with links produced within the content marketing strategy, with a mod-erate PageRank but with a high influx of highly qualified visitors. In addition, in the identification of these links, priority was given to pages with best practice and which were ethically responsible (White Hat techniques) to comply with the indica-tions defined by the search engines when positioning a website. In this way, possible penalties for SEO actions are avoided.

As a result of going ahead with these actions, we can point to the fact of hav-ing managed to include a valid link in Wikipedia (one of the few portals that have achieved a PageRank10). It is important to note that Wikipedia requires that updates be made by users who are verified by their own system, together with subsequent approval by one or several of its members. If the new insert was considered useful, it was kept and, in any case, authors were given the opportunity to work on their own editing.

At the same time, audiovisual content was developed on YouTube so that master’s students could present their experiences in this postgraduate programme. On the one hand, this type of content contributed credibility to the site, and on the other hand it also contributed to the visitor moving forward through the conversion funnel. Likewise, certain reference pages were identified that had information and opinions on topics related to the field of study (CIAO, among others), where content was also inserted which was aimed at creating opinion forums that help other visitors to take the decision to acquire the product or service. It should be noted that post comments published in this type of portals are public access but are only evaluated by registered users to determine their relative usefulness from among all available opinions and to objectively measure the reliability of these opinions.

This type of insertion, in the form of comments, is very useful when you want to recover discontented customers or visitors who have a prior sensitivity to a specific issue. The Google Alerts service was used to identify these sites. Through these it is possible to locate the publication of new pages, as well as comments in news, blogs, forums or social groups, which include certain key words. In this case, all possible


combinations of the search term “Public MBA” were defined as alerts. In addition, comments were inserted at a horizontal level (peer to peer), away from an institu-tional language, to offer not only the possibility of influencing a particular user, but also to capture the attention of other passive users with similar concerns. In this regard, the entries that were inserted provided interesting data about the master.

2.2.2. Conversion

To verify the conversion process pursued and its correct management, the service of MailChimp (provider of E-Mail Marketing solutions) was used, through which the form was uploaded to the Master’s website with its infrastructures of communi-cations and databases.

It is understood that when a user is really interested in the master’s, they will use this form to request a greater degree of detail. The information sent through the form is received by the administrators of the master’s by email, thus meeting these information requirements by joint or individual answers.

3. Analysis and results

The results were produced with the support of the Google Analytics tool. This tool provides information on the volume of visits to websites grouped by multiple factors, such as behaviour or conversions. From July, there were 1083 visits to the master’s website. Demographically (Table 1), the visits were almost equally balanced equally by gender, and were mostly by visitors between the ages of 18 and 34 (61%).

Table 1. Demographic profile of visitors

Variable Group Values (%)

Sex

Male 54.15

Female 45.85

Total 100.00

Age

18-24 27.50

25-34 33.50

35-44 15.50

45-54 12.50

55-64 5.50

>64 5.50

Total 100.00


On the other hand, the visits had constant and relatively stable traffic as of July. Figure 2 corresponds to a temporary section of visits recorded between 22 July and 21 August. These graphs identify the effects of the SEO action and content market-ing, as observed in the rise in July, as a result of an action taking place in a forum, which was cited and attended by several users.

The rebound rate (percentage of visitors leaving the website in a few seconds) stood at 90.27%, either because of their low level of interest or because they did not find what they were looking for. In addition, it was observed that 59.90% of visitors visited the site on several occasions. This last indicator is considered positive, since it denotes continued interest over time, and deliberation when making decisions that are prone to sale.

Figure 2. Visit time frame

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An interesting interpretation of the results was obtained after combining the data relative to the average duration of the session (Table 2), which stood at 36 seconds, and the rebound rate. From this analysis, it can be deduced that the majority of visitors conclude the visit quickly, but those interested remain for prolonged periods of time.

Table 2. Number of sessions by duration

No. of Seconds No. of visits %

0-10 922 85.13%

11-30 16 1.48%

31-60 22 2.03%

61-180 27 2.49%

181-600 44 4.06%

601-1800 52 4.80%

Total 1083 100.00%


Equally worthy of note is the analysis of the geographical provenance of the visits: the fact that the visits to the master’s site were from geographical areas far from the location of the university where the master was to be studied - in this case, Seville (Table 3).

Table 3. Key visits by province of provenance

City Visits New visits (%) New users Rebound rate

Madrid 127 30.71 39 85.83

Barcelona 65 32.31 21 87.69

Valencia 44 25.00 11 95.45

Alicante 33 15.15 5 100

Albacete 28 17.86 5 92.86

Valladolid 25 8.00 2 80

Granada 22 36.36 8 95.45

Murcia 22 72.73 16 100

Zaragoza 20 35.00 7 75

The two provinces with the largest number of visits were Madrid and Barcelona, followed by provinces in the region of Valencia. From this, it is deduced that Inbound Marketing action is able to reach a greater number of interested parties, regardless of their location, if they are compared with traditional marketing resources, such as newspapers or specialized journals. Figure 3 helps us to understand the dimension of the impact of Inbound Marketing action on the field of study.

Figure 3. Map of the distribution of visits by provenance of visitor


3.1. Total conversions

After the study period, 23 emails were received from people who expressed their firm interest in taking the master’s degree. To calculate visitor conversion, the calcu-lation of the conversion rate was required. For this we used the following equation:

Therefore, the conversion rate is understood as the proportion of visitors to a website who manifest their desire to take action. This could be completing a form or, in this case, reserving a place on the master’s degree course (Hall and Witek, 2016). Specifically, the conversion rate obtained was 2.1237%. This conversion rate could be seen as high, taking into account the considerations pointed out by specialized reports on the subject of study. On this point, according to WordStream (2018), the rate of conversion into action taken through Inbound Marketing in the education sector stood at 0.5%, with the global average for all sectors standing at 2.70%.

4. Discussion and conclusion

This research work started out with a twofold objective: (1) to verify the ben-efits of applying Inbound Marketing techniques to the educational environment, and (2) to analyze whether after designing an itinerary for the visitor, the expected conversions had been reached. Methodologically, it should be noted that the choice of the action research method made it possible to achieve these objectives, after con-firming that the Inbound Marketing action taken achieved conversion levels higher than those recorded in studies or similar reports. In this direction, the AIDA model has enabled us to successfully define a route for the digital visitor, if we look at the results achieved.

This itinerary, based on a level of horizontal communication, has highlighted the possible relationship between digital marketing actions focussed on the promotion of postgraduate courses at public universities and the increase in conversions, whether this be in the form of purchase, or in this case registration; a subscription or some other form which demonstrates that interest has been captured. In addition, it has been found that this type of action requires, among other procedures, implementing an itinerary, or roadmap, for the visitor, based on communication mechanisms at the same level as the potential customer (equal treatment) or the presentation of experiences and real testimonies from people who have been in the same situation as the visitor.

It is standard practice for most master’s degrees offered in public institutions to adopt a rather cold, reserved style of communication with potential students, in addition to using websites that are not adapted to mobile devices or with little impact on virtual communities. Consequently, the results achieved in the study urge

No. of real interested visitors

Total No. of visitsConversion rate (%) = × 100


the development of promotions adapted to the new ICTs, given that the Inbound Marketing strategy we have defined has had a major impact on the conversion rate.

Specifically, the implications are presented in two groups: (1) academic and (2) practical work. From an academic point of view, this contributes to increasing the literature on the application of Inbound Marketing in environments far divorced from strictly business. In addition, the ability of Inbound Marketing to create last-ing relationships in an educational environment has been highlighted, specifically with potential students, while providing confidence and certainty in the product promoted.

On the other hand, adopting a practical perspective, this study provides evidence on the possibility of applying digital marketing techniques for the promotion of edu-cational products in higher-level public institutions. It follows that Spanish universi-ties could adapt their marketing strategies to more effective and direct environments, such as Inbound Marketing, through which to increase demand in postgraduate studies provided. Based on these implications, universities should transfer this aspect of marketing over to their strategic plans, aimed at: (1) improving search engine positioning using SEO techniques and (2) creating attractive content on sites with a sufficient volume of qualified users.

This study is not without its limitations. Specifically, three are identified. First, possibly the exclusion of SEM strategies has reduced the effectiveness of Inbound Marketing actions, which could have had an impact on the increase in the conver-sion rate. Secondly, the study has not been completed with continued application of these actions in the medium or long term to achieve more robust results. Finally, the use of the Google Analytics tool has made it difficult to obtain a deeper knowledge of the profile of the potential student. These three circumstances encourage us to continue working on this topic, defining new research that would reduce the limita-tions described.

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Notes on Contributors

Name: Salvador BuenoPosition: Associate ProfessorSchool / Faculty: Business FacultyUniversity: Universidad Pablo de OlavideAddress: Ctra. Utrera, km.1, 41.013-Seville (Spain)Telephone: +34 954 349 174Email: [email protected]

Name: Juan Sebastián Caro RodríguezPosition: PhD StudentSchool / Faculty: Business FacultyUniversity: Universidad Pablo de OlavideAddress: Ctra. Utrera, km.1, 41.013-Seville (Spain)Telephone: +34 954 349 174Email: [email protected]

Name: M. Dolores GallegoPosition: Associate ProfessorSchool / Faculty: Business FacultyUniversity: Universidad Pablo de OlavideAddress: Ctra. Utrera, km.1, 41.013-Seville (Spain)Telephone: +34 954 978 163Email: [email protected]

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