--- title: "Arden University Case Study: 127% YoY increase in PPC enrolments | Clean Digital" description: "How Clean Digital delivered 127% YoY increase in PPC enrolments for Arden University. The paid media strategy, account work and results across paid search, Google Ads and paid social." canonical: "https://cleandigital.co.uk/case-studies/arden-university" image: "https://cleandigital.co.uk/images/case-studies/arden-university/preview-arden-university-clean-digital.webp" content_signal: "ai-train=no, search=yes, ai-input=yes" --- # Arden University 127% YoY increase in PPC enrolments [Get results like these](https://cleandigital.co.uk/contact) [All case studies](https://cleandigital.co.uk/case-studies) Channels [Paid Search](https://cleandigital.co.uk/paid-search) · [Paid Social](https://cleandigital.co.uk/paid-social) · [Data & Analytics](https://cleandigital.co.uk/data-and-analytics) · [Programmatic](https://cleandigital.co.uk/programmatic) [![Rory Young, Chief Executive Officer](https://cleandigital.co.uk/images/team/headshots/rory-young.png)![Aitor Larrañaga, Head of Data & Analytics](https://cleandigital.co.uk/images/team/headshots/aitor-larranaga.png)![Kirsten Douglas, PPC Specialist](https://cleandigital.co.uk/images/team/headshots/kirsten-douglas.png) Meet the team](https://cleandigital.co.uk/about) ![Arden University paid media campaign](https://cleandigital.co.uk/images/case-studies/arden-university/hero-arden-university-clean-digital.png) ## Our impact 127% YoY increase in PPC enrolments 28% YoY increase in lead quality 5.2x Return On Ad Spend (ROAS) ## The client Arden University is the fastest growing online university in the UK, specialising in flexible, accessible, and career-focused online and blended learning programmes. Arden offers courses in a wide range of subject areas including degrees in Business, Computing, Healthcare, Psychology and Law at under- & postgraduate level. These courses can be taken full-time or part-time, either completely online or via blended learning at one of its study centres in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, or Berlin. Sector Higher Education What we managed [Paid Search](https://cleandigital.co.uk/paid-search) · [Paid Social](https://cleandigital.co.uk/paid-social) · [Data & Analytics](https://cleandigital.co.uk/data-and-analytics) · [Programmatic](https://cleandigital.co.uk/programmatic) ## The work ## The challenge - Increase direct enrolments for Arden using [PPC](https://cleandigital.co.uk/paid-search) as a core acquisition channel - Improve lead quality, thereby increasing the lead-to-application-to-enrolment conversion rate - Integrate course enrolments with [PPC](https://cleandigital.co.uk/paid-search) channels to enable optimisation at all levels of the funnel - Deep-dive into user intent at each stage of the funnel to fully understand the target audience and at which stage users are fully converting ## Our approach - Narrowed down user personas - Utilised [paid search & display](https://cleandigital.co.uk/paid-search) to support key stages - Determined bidding strategy - Implemented [conversion value bidding](https://cleandigital.co.uk/data-and-analytics) - Assessed user likelihood to convert to enrolment - Continual analysis of complex queries to adapt strategy ## What we delivered Indexed performance prior year = 100 Prior year With Clean Digital Each metric is indexed to the prior year (100), so a bar at 227 is a 127% year-on-year increase. Figures are tracked through conversion tracking and GA4. - The [PPC](https://cleandigital.co.uk/paid-search) application target was exceeded by **25%** in FY22. - Contributed towards all channels hitting application targets. - Our [value-based bidding](https://cleandigital.co.uk/data-and-analytics) has shown a **127%** increase in [Google Ads](https://cleandigital.co.uk/google-ads-agency) query-tracked enrolments. - Arden is now the fastest growing university in the UK, helped by a comprehensive and data-led advertising presence across [PPC](https://cleandigital.co.uk/paid-search) platforms. ## The creative ## What we ran 0 1 Demand capture ### Paid search & PPC Catch high-intent demand profitably [Paid search management](https://cleandigital.co.uk/paid-search) [Google Ads management](https://cleandigital.co.uk/google-ads-agency) Google Ads and Microsoft Ads, run so the budget follows the searches that produce revenue. Depending on the account, that can mean tightening search-term control, separating brand from non-brand, fixing conversion tracking, or governing Shopping and Performance Max, the account work that often decides whether paid search pays back. Platforms & scope Shopping · Performance Max · Conversion tracking 0 2 Demand creation ### Paid social Creative that keeps producing demand [Paid social management](https://cleandigital.co.uk/paid-social) Meta, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn, often run on a standing creative testing system. Where it helps, we feed lead quality and revenue back into the platforms, so budget can move to the audiences and ads that bring in customers and the reporting holds up with your sales team. Platforms & scope Creative testing 0 3 Reach & retargeting ### Programmatic advertising Reach tied to measurable demand [Programmatic advertising](https://cleandigital.co.uk/programmatic) Display, native, video, audio, CTV and DOOH bought through StackAdapt, with the audience quality, inventory control and frequency caps that aim to keep budget out of junk placements and connect reach to assisted demand, retargeting and downstream behaviour. Platforms & scope Display · Native · Video · CTV · DOOH · Retargeting 0 4 Measurement ### Data & analytics Numbers your bidding and reporting can trust [Conversion tracking & analytics](https://cleandigital.co.uk/data-and-analytics) GA4, Google Tag Manager and offline conversion imports, built to make the numbers your bidding and reporting rely on accurate. Often value-based bidding, attribution and dashboards scoped to the decisions you make each month. Platforms & scope Conversion values · Attribution · Dashboards ## More results [![Dobbies Garden Centres case study](https://cleandigital.co.uk/images/case-studies/dobbies/preview-dobbies-garden-centres-clean-digital.webp) Retail & Garden 14:1 Delivered a 14:1 ROAS for the "Spring It On" campaign Dobbies Garden Centres Read the case study](https://cleandigital.co.uk/case-studies/dobbies-garden-centres) [![Rabbies case study](https://cleandigital.co.uk/images/case-studies/rabbies/preview-rabbies-clean-digital.webp) Travel & Tourism 236% 236% increase in booking revenue Rabbies Read the case study](https://cleandigital.co.uk/case-studies/rabbies) ## Common questions What did Clean Digital do for Arden University? We managed [Paid Search](https://cleandigital.co.uk/paid-search), [Paid Social](https://cleandigital.co.uk/paid-social), [Data & Analytics](https://cleandigital.co.uk/data-and-analytics), [Programmatic](https://cleandigital.co.uk/programmatic) as one paid media account for Arden University, focused on the work that drives revenue rather than vanity metrics. The headline outcome was **127%** YoY increase in [PPC](https://cleandigital.co.uk/paid-search) enrolments. How are the results measured? Performance is indexed against the prior year (prior year = 100) and tracked through [conversion tracking](https://cleandigital.co.uk/data-and-analytics) and [GA4](https://cleandigital.co.uk/data-and-analytics), so the figures reflect outcomes the bidding and your reporting can rely on. What is value-based bidding? [Value-based bidding](https://cleandigital.co.uk/data-and-analytics) feeds the real value of each conversion back into the platforms, so budget moves toward the conversions worth the most rather than simply the cheapest. It is core to how we scaled this account. How long does paid media take to show results? Quick wins from cutting wasted spend and fixing [conversion tracking](https://cleandigital.co.uk/data-and-analytics) often show within weeks, while compounding gains from [value-based bidding](https://cleandigital.co.uk/data-and-analytics) and creative testing build over the following months. Can you get results like Arden University's for our account? Most likely, if your paid media spend is material. A senior specialist will review your [Google Ads](https://cleandigital.co.uk/google-ads-agency) and [paid social](https://cleandigital.co.uk/paid-social) accounts and show you where the same gains are hiding, with a free, no-obligation account review. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://cleandigital.co.uk"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Case studies","item":"https://cleandigital.co.uk/case-studies"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Arden University","item":"https://cleandigital.co.uk/case-studies/arden-university"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"Arden University: 127% Growth in PPC Enrolments and 28% Higher Lead Quality","description":"How Clean Digital delivered 127% YoY increase in PPC enrolments for Arden University. 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