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Ferris Website Earns Best Higher Ed Websites of 2022 Distinction with User Experience Improvements Praised

Modern Campus rates websites

(From left) Dale Hobart, Cassidy Cobb, Eric Hazen and Paul Hobart comprise Ferris State University’s Digital Marketing team, whose work on the university’s website was celebrated by digital consultant Modern Campus as a “Best Higher Education Website of 2022.”

Modern Campus ranked Ferris State University’s website among its eight best in higher education in 2022.

A digital consultant for web content management related to higher education and other providers, Modern Campus described Ferris’ portal as “an intelligent website” for promoting academic programs, identifying campus amenities and offering helpful information for prospective students and other users.

Director of Digital Marketing Eric Hazen said Ferris’ website had a 2,800-percent increase in click-through rates from prospective students. He added that this occurred by creating a highly personalized experience on the website.

“First, we built powerful, personalized content that kept prospects engaged and urged them to take action on the website,” Hazen said. “Then we focused on SEO (search engine optimization) to increase the visibility of Ferris and bring more prospects to the site. For example, a very collaborative effort with our College of Business showed the success of aligning brand messaging and engaging content with technical SEO changes on the back end.”

Traffic to ferris.edu has grown nearly 20 percent during the last year, and the bounce rate, a key engagement metric, has improved by 58 percent. Hazen said the Digital Marketing team members deserve credit for their skill in bringing forward those resources that produce requests for information, encourage applications and bring on sign-ups for orientation activities.

“It is my job to create the user-friendly, attractive aspects of our information, the ‘gadgets’ and ‘Ask buttons,’ that induce a desired action from website visitors,” web developer Paul Hobart said.

Hazen praised those efforts, “Paul makes all the cool things we want to do in our content work.”

Hazen further noted that communication specialist Cassidy Cobb’s contribution was essential to revising Ferris’ web pages to inform prospective students about academic programs and campus amenities.

“We fashion our content to engage and attract these students, hoping to make the story of Ferris come forward,” Cobb said.

Dale Hobart is a digital marketing support professional. Dale’s involvement began with the creation of the ferris.edu website in the 1990s. He continues to serve as a liaison with academic departments and university offices, helping to develop engaging content for students who come online to determine their higher education destination.

“This partnership demonstrated the result of our efforts in terms of increased enrollment applications and other activity,” Hobart said. “I am pleased with the amazing marketing tool the Ferris website has become.”

Hazen is likewise pleased.

“We are proud of the work done over the last 18 months to develop a unique digital experience and help more students become Ferris State Bulldogs,” he said.