To advertise a school, run Google search ads for families comparing options today and Facebook and Instagram ads for families nearby who haven't started looking. Keep every ad to one grade or program, send the click to a matching page with tour booking, and limit your reach to your drive-time area. Judge each channel by tours and enrollments.
Key takeaways
- Choose channels by how close the family is to a decision.
- Build each ad around one grade or program, and one reason to visit.
- Limit ads to the area your families can reach.
- Start with a small test, then set your budget from cost per enrollment.
- Fix your reply speed first, so you aren't paying for inquiries that wait a day.
Which channel does what
| Channel | Who it reaches | Works best for | What to judge it on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google search | Families comparing schools now | Tours and applications | Cost per tour |
| Facebook and Instagram | Families nearby, before they search | Open houses and awareness | Cost per RSVP or tour |
| YouTube and local video | Families in your area | Telling your story at low cost per view | Tours from viewers, when you can track them |
| Direct mail | Specific neighborhoods | Open house dates, and families rarely reached online | Unique link or QR code responses |
| Directories | Parents browsing options | Childcare and preschool especially | Inquiries and tours per listing |
| Local print, outdoor and radio | Broad local awareness | Well-funded schools in small markets | Hard to track, so use a unique URL |
If your budget only covers one, start with Google search, then add Meta. The Google Ads for schools guide walks through setup, and it covers why most schools aren't eligible for Ad Grants.
Build ads around one grade and one reason
Parents respond to specifics. "Grades K-8" says little, while "Kindergarten with 14 students per class, tours this Saturday" gives them a reason and a next step.
Answer three questions in every ad: who is this for, why choose you, and what happens next. Use what your own parents say. Ask a few recent families why they chose you and what almost stopped them, then put their words in your ads.
Match the page to the ad. A click on a kindergarten ad goes to the kindergarten page, with the same headline and tour booking in view.
Five sample ads
Replace the details with your own, and only claim what your records back up.
| Where | The ad |
|---|---|
| Google search, private school | Headlines: "K-8 Private School in [City]," "Average Class Size of 14," "Book a Tour This Week." Description: "See a classroom in session and meet the teachers. Tours run Tuesday and Thursday mornings." |
| Facebook, open house | "Meet the teachers at [School]'s open house on January 18. See the classrooms, ask about tuition and stay for coffee. RSVP in one minute." |
| Instagram, preschool | "Your 3-year-old's first classroom, five minutes from [neighborhood]. Book a tour and meet Ms. Ana." |
| Google search, career school | Headlines: "Medical Assistant Program," "Next Class Starts March 3," "Ask About Payment Plans." Description: "See how long the program takes and what it costs. Talk to admissions today." |
| Retargeting | "Still deciding on a school for fall? Tours for [School] are open this week. Pick a time in 30 seconds." |
Reach the right families
Set every campaign to your real drive-time area, and exclude places your families won't travel from. Advertise by grade or program based on where you have seats. Pause ads for anything full, and put your budget on grades with openings.
For photos and video, use your own school with written permission that covers advertising. Your own classrooms and teachers match what families will see on a tour. The social media guide covers photo permissions for schools.
Set a starter budget
You can test before you commit. These figures are invented to show the math.
- Pick one grade or program with seats open.
- Set a test budget, such as $1,500 a month for two months.
- Measure cost per tour. At $3,000 and 20 tours, that is $150 a tour.
- Apply your tour-to-enrollment rate. At 40%, those 20 tours produce 8 enrollments, or $375 each.
- Compare it with what you can pay. If an enrollment is worth well above that, add budget in steps.
The cost per enrollment guide shows how to include fees and creative, and the school marketing plan sets your seat goal.
Your first 30 days
| Week | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fix reply speed and put tour booking on the page. Add source tags to every link |
| 2 | Launch Google search for one grade or program |
| 3 | Add one Meta campaign for an open house or tours |
| 4 | Cut weak ads, read search terms and count tours |
Related guides: Google Ads for schools, school lead generation and what a school marketing agency costs.
How we fix this for schools
Every engagement starts with a map of each step from your first ad to the enrolled family, with a dollar value on each leak. Your campaigns then run per program and location, each with a matching page, and weak ads get cut every week.
KLA Schools, a national preschool network, restructured its Google and Meta campaigns with Bloom Enrollment and built messaging around what parents care about. It scaled ad spend to $20k+ a month while cutting cost per lead 20%, and lead flow rose 38% year over year. The KLA Schools case study has the steps.
If you'd like help setting up your first campaign, request a 30-minute enrollment review.
