If you’re trying to catch a big fish, you cast a wide net, something that reaches far and deep.
But if you’re trying to catch a lot of smaller, specific fish? That same big net might not do the trick. It’s not built for precision, and the ones you actually want can slip right through.
In this metaphor, the fish are prospective students, and our content, our SEO strategy, is the net.
In higher ed SEO, we see this same pattern. General content, like homepages or broad program overviews, casts a wide net. It might bring in a lot of traffic. It might even land you a few big wins, like a top-ranking keyword or a high-trafficked page.
But general, broad content can also bring the wrong kind of traffic: Visitors who aren’t interested, aren’t ready, or don’t fit what you offer. If your institution isn’t set up to support every kind of visitor, it can quickly get overwhelming and ineffective.
That’s where targeted content comes in. Pages built around specific programs. Content written to answer real student questions, and created for how students search, not how institutions talk.
Creating a Targeted Content Net
This kind of content is like a custom-built net. It may catch fewer fish, but they’re the right ones. Higher intent. More engaged. They are more likely to apply and enroll.
“The wide net fills the boat faster, but the custom net fills it smarter,” and it’s important to stay focused on the right fish, not just the biggest one.
In Moby-Dick, Captain Ahab becomes obsessed with chasing the whale. He pours all his energy, his crew, and his ship into catching it. In our world, the whale represents the “dream student”, that ideal prospect who’s highly qualified, deeply engaged, and seemingly perfect.
But here’s the catch: Chasing only that whale, without a strategy, without making sure your institution is the right fit, can sink the ship. You burn through your time, your energy, and your resources, and miss the steady, sustainable catch that’s right there in front of you.
Because the real goal in SEO isn’t to catch just anything. It’s to reach the students your institution is actually built to serve. The ones you can enroll, support, and help thrive.
The novel opens with: “Call me Ishmael.” It’s bold. Immediate. Commanding. And honestly? That’s the same approach we see in higher ed marketing: bold, declarative, and focused on identity.
- “We are prestigious”
- “We are innovative”
- “We are ranked…”
We declare who we are before we listen.
Which brings us to Ishmael.
He wasn’t the whale. He wasn’t the captain… He was the one left to tell the story — because he listened. And maybe that’s the real lesson for us, too.
Because the real power in SEO — and in enrollment — doesn’t come from declaring. It comes from listening. From understanding what students are really asking, and building content that meets them where they are.
Because at the end of the day, it’s not about catching the most traffic. It’s about catching the right students.
