Private engineering school — CasablancaCPL −50% and 140 applications/month for an engineering school in Casablanca.
An admission season plays out over just a few months. Webotic orchestrated the entrance-exam and pre-registration campaign of a private engineering school in Casablanca, from first click to submitted application. (Indicative figures, to be confirmed.)
Client anonymized at their request — the figures are real, verifiable on request.
- Google Ads
- Meta Ads
- GA4
- Meta Pixel
- Looker Studio
- Google Tag Manager
The challenge · capturing applicants in a short window
A private engineering school recruits most of its cohort within a few-month window, around entrance exams and the admission period. In Casablanca, competition is fierce on 'engineering school' and 'engineering entrance exam' queries, and the cost per application climbs fast the moment targeting loosens. The school needed to fill its intake without spending blindly on clicks that never turn into a submitted application. The goal was twofold: concentrate budget on the right intent, at the right point in the calendar, and turn interest into a real dossier rather than a mere site visit. It also had to support a long decision cycle, because choosing a school mobilizes the high-schooler and their parents alike, and families compare several institutions before committing. Finally, the seasonality demanded nimble steering: spend too early and budget scatters across still-undecided candidates; too late and the seats are already taken elsewhere. Every week of the campaign mattered, and a reliable measure of the application actually submitted was essential to make the right trade-offs.
- Short admission window (Feb-Sept) to saturate.
- Fierce competition on 'engineering school' keywords.
- High cost per application without tight targeting.
- Long family decision, several schools compared.
The approach · intent-led Search + exam-timed Meta
Webotic built a two-tier setup aligned with the exam calendar. On Google Search, campaigns focused on high intent ('engineering entrance exam Casablanca', 'engineering school admission') capture applicants already searching, with tight negative-keyword management to filter out off-target queries and keep the cost per application in check. On Meta, awareness and consideration campaigns address high-schoolers and parents ahead of the exam, relying on audiences segmented by age and interests. The campus virtual tours are then pushed via retargeting to unconverted visitors, showing the real environment and removing the last barriers before a dossier is submitted. A streamlined pre-registration form cuts abandonment, and GA4 tracking distinguishes a mere click from a genuinely submitted application. Budget is never fixed: it is reallocated weekly toward the channels, audiences and messages that produce applications, not just traffic, in step with upcoming admission deadlines.
- Google Search on exam/admission intent.
- Meta awareness + consideration, students and parents.
- Virtual tours pushed via retargeting.
- Optimized pre-registration form, GA4 tracking.
The results · a controlled application funnel
By concentrating budget on intent and reactivating visitors through retargeting, the cost per application was halved versus the previous season. At campaign peak, the school received up to 140 applications a month, with a pre-registration funnel tracked end to end, from first click to validated dossier. Above all, quality kept pace with volume: about one application in three turned into a confirmed admission, a sign that targeting attracted genuine profiles rather than merely curious traffic. That application-to-admission rate is a key indicator, because it shows the effort produced dossiers that actually succeed rather than hollow volume. Continuous steering across the entire exam window (Feb-Sept) allowed budgets, audiences and messages to be adjusted to the rhythm of admission deadlines, scaling up on key periods and preserving budget away from needless peaks. The school now has a setup it can reproduce from one season to the next. (Figures to replace with final values.)
- Cost per application halved.
- Up to 140 applications/month at peak.
- 1 in 3 applications turned into admission.
- Continuous steering across the full exam window.
Webotic understood that our year plays out over a few months. The setup brought us a steady flow of applications and, above all, profiles who see the admission process through.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- Why separate Google Search and Meta for a school?
- Because they capture two different moments. Google Search reaches the applicant already searching 'engineering entrance exam' and in high intent. Meta reaches high-schoolers and parents upstream, builds awareness and feeds retargeting. Combined, they cover the whole decision journey, from discovery to submitted application.
- What are virtual tours in retargeting for?
- Choosing a school is a long commitment where the family compares several institutions. Pushing the campus virtual tour to unconverted visitors reassures them, shows the real environment and removes the last barriers before a dossier is submitted. It's a conversion lever, not just image.
- How do you ensure quality and not just volume?
- By tracking the funnel all the way to admission, not just to the click. Targeting is aligned with real intent and budget reallocated toward the sources that produce applications that succeed. Here, about one application in three turned into a confirmed admission.
- Does the setup work outside exam season?
- The logic stays the same but intensity adapts to the calendar. The budget peak concentrates on the Feb-Sept window, while the rest of the year mainly maintains awareness and feeds audiences for the next campaign.