How to Start a Business Covering the Online Degree Online Business Niche
With college tuition rising year after year, more students are seeking more affordable options for higher education. This has led to massive growth in online degrees over the past decade. Over 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in 2016, up from just 1.6 million students in 2002.
This boom in online education presents a significant opportunity for entrepreneurs looking to start an online business. By creating content around online degrees, you can help connect prospective students with the programs and resources they need while monetizing your site. This comprehensive guide will explore the ins and outs of starting an online degree blog or website.
Understanding the Online Degree Online Business Landscape
To create a successful business, you must first understand the market landscape and your target demographics. Here’s a quick overview of key facts and figures on online degrees:
– Over 30% of all college students now take at least one course online. At private non-profit colleges, over 65% of students are enrolled in online classes.
– Roughly 2.6 million students pursue entirely online bachelor’s degrees, and about 715,000 students pursue fully online master’s degrees.
– The most popular online bachelor’s degree majors include business, criminal justice, nursing, and psychology. Leading online master’s degrees are in business, education, and healthcare.
– Working adults comprise over 80% of online students, and about 60% are female. The average age is 35 years old.
– Over 70% of academic leaders rate the learning outcomes in online programs as equal to or better than face-to-face programs.
– Employers accept online degrees at similar rates as traditional degrees. Hiring managers primarily focus on skills, experience, and credentials rather than whether a degree was earned online or on-campus.
This data highlights a massive target demographic of working professionals seeking to advance their careers through further education. By providing helpful content around online degrees, you can position yourself as an authority in this space and earn the trust of potential students.
Choosing Content Ideas in the Online Degree Online Business Niche
Starting a website in the online degree space is an opportunity to help students at all stages of their educational journey. Here are some valuable types of content you can create:
**Researching Programs**
– Rankings of the best online degrees or online degree providers
– Profiles on specific online degree programs
– Interviews with directors of online programs
– Articles comparing online vs. campus programs in different fields
– Guides on what you can do with various online degrees
**Admissions and Transfers**
– Tutorials on the online application process
– Tips for writing effective admissions essays
– Transferring credits guidance
– Scholarship opportunities for online learners
**Costs and Funding**
– Breakdowns of tuition rates at different universities
– Financial aid options for online students
– Military and employer education benefits
– Best student loan refinancing companies
– Creative ways to pay for college
**Student Life**
– Online learning styles and study methods
– Building relationships remotely as an online student
– Top online student clubs and organizations
– Professional networking advice
– Online student safety and privacy tips
**Succeeding Academically**
– How to get good grades in online classes
– Time management for online learners
– Working full-time while earning an online degree
– Tools and apps for online learners
– Motivation and discipline strategies
**Job Searching**
– How to list an online degree on a resume
– Marketing yourself with an online degree
– Remote work opportunities
– Companies that hire online grads
– Salaries and ROI for online degrees
Producing a regular stream of articles about these useful topics provides immense value to your audience while demonstrating your expertise in online education.
Best Practices for Monetizing an Online Degree Online Business Website
Besides helping prospective students, a primary goal of an online degree website is generating revenue from your content and traffic. Here are some of the top options for monetizing a site in this niche:
**Affiliate Marketing**
You can partner with online schools and education companies to earn commissions promoting their programs. For example, OnlineDegree.com and OnlineColleges.net use affiliate links to recommend online degrees. The site owners receive referral payments when visitors click these tracked links and sign up for programs.
**Advertising**
Sell ad space to relevant sponsors in your niche, like universities, distance learning platforms, education technology companies, and remote career sites. Display ads, sponsored posts, and newsletter sponsorships are all options. You can work directly with brands or use an ad network like Google AdSense.
**Premium Content**
Offer exclusive, premium content to site members who pay a monthly or yearly subscription fee. For instance, provide expanded rankings, detailed degree reviews, or personalized degree/career guides for subscribers. You can also sell online courses, ebooks, or webinars.
**Consulting Services**
Help match prospective students one-on-one with online degrees and assist with essays, transfers, scholarships, and career planning for a consulting fee. You can start with individual services and expand into customized packages.
**Career and Education Products**
Review and recommend helpful software, apps, books, and tools for online learners through affiliate links. You can also create your informational products to sell.
**Email Newsletter**
Send regular updates and tips to subscribers and offer sponsored placements to schools or education brands. For example, you may highlight a specific weekly program and include an affiliate link.
Focus on providing beneficial content, and the monetization opportunities will grow over time. Having diverse income streams also protects you if any single stream underperforms.
Optimizing for SEO in the Online Degree Online Business Niche
Gaining visibility and authority in search engines like Google is crucial for driving traffic to your online degree site long-term. Here are key SEO strategies to focus on:
– Research keyword demand using Google’s Keyword Planner and create content around high-value terms like “online bachelor’s degrees,” “cheap accredited online degrees,” “best online master’s programs,” etc.
– Include your target keywords naturally in titles, URLs, meta descriptions, content, tags, alt text, and elsewhere. Don’t over-optimize.
– Create informational, comprehensive content organized in a logical structure. Include keywords throughout headings, subheadings, etc.
– Get links from relevant education sites and build social media followings to improve domain authority and ranking signals.
– Use descriptive image names and file titles that include target keywords.
– Optimize page speed and technical SEO factors like site architecture and XML site maps.
– Monitor your search traffic and rankings regularly in Google Analytics and Search Console. Refine content and keywords based on top performers.
As you gain more search visibility and site visitors over time, focus on quality content, user experience, and building email lists to retain and convert visitors into leads. SEO and content should support each other.
When the school bell rings on the Online Degree Online Business, check out some of our other research guides:
Wrapping Up this section of the Online Degree online business space
Launching an online business around online college degrees offers the significant potential to tap into surging demand while creating value for students. You can establish yourself as a trusted authority site by thoroughly researching the niche, identifying student pain points, producing targeted content, optimizing for SEO, and leveraging various monetization models. While an online degree site requires significant work upfront, the opportunity to build a sustainable business and meaningful brand makes the effort worthwhile.
Digging Into Sub-Niches Within the Online Degree Online Business Space
While the overarching online degree niche is quite broad, there are many specific sub-niches you can focus on more deeply. Here are some of the most promising sub-niches to consider when starting an online degree site or business:
Healthcare Degrees
Healthcare is a massive niche with an incredible demand for online education options. You could create sites targeting programs in:
– Nursing: Educate potential nurses on online RN, LPN/LVN, and BSN programs. Review quality, costs, admissions, etc.
– Public Health: Highlight online MPH degrees and global health and policy programs.
– Medical Billing/Coding: Cover medical billing and coding online certifications from schools like UCLA and Duke.
– Pharmacy Tech: Discuss accredited online pharmacy technician certificates and how to start this career.
– EMT/Paramedic: Compare online emergency medical technician and paramedic courses and license requirements.
– Physical Therapy: Explore online Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs and PT assistant certificates.
– Healthcare Administration: Guide learners to online masters in healthcare administration, MBA, and management.
Business and Technology Degrees
Two more massively in-demand fields for online degrees. Sub-niches could include:
– MBA Programs: Research top online MBA, EMBA, and executive MBA programs across price ranges.
– Accounting Degrees: Compare online accounting bachelor’s, master’s, and CPA prep options.
– HR Management: Share how to earn a Master of Human Resources Management online.
– Cybersecurity Degrees: Highlight online cybersecurity and IT bachelor’s and master’s programs.
– Data Analytics Degrees: Discuss online data science, data analytics, and business intelligence programs.
– Computer Science: Explore accredited online computer science bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
– Software Engineering Degrees: Compare top schools’ online software engineering and coding programs.
Psychology and Social Work Degrees
Counseling careers are ideal for online degrees. Specific sub-niches include:
– Online Psychology Degrees: Research online psychology bachelors, masters, and PhDs from accredited universities.
– Mental Health Counseling: Compare CACREP-accredited online clinical and mental health counseling master’s programs.
– Marriage and Family Therapy: Explore online masters in marriage and family therapy at schools like Loma Linda University.
– School Counseling: Share how to earn a fully online master’s in school counseling.
– Social Work: Discuss online BSW and MSW social work programs that meet state license requirements.
Criminal Justice and Legal Degrees
The justice system offers important online degree options like:
– Online Criminal Justice Degrees: Cover associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and certificate programs in criminal justice.
– Paralegal Certificates: Compare online ABA-approved paralegal certificate programs to become a paralegal.
– Online Law Degrees: Research accredited Juris Doctor, LL.M., and other law degrees with flexible online options.
– Forensic Psychology: Highlight online forensic psych bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
– Homeland Security Degrees: Discuss online homeland security emergency management degrees.
Education and Teaching Degrees
Help aspiring teachers with programs like:
– Online Bachelor’s in Education: Research regionally accredited online bachelor’s in education programs.
– Master’s in Education: Highlight online masters of education (MEd) and MAT degrees for teachers.
– Online Teaching Certificates: Compare affordable online teaching certification programs across states.
– Special Education Degrees: Share online special ed bachelor’s, masters, and certification options.
– Online EdTech Degrees: Discuss educational technology and e-learning graduate degree programs.
The sub-niche possibilities are nearly endless. Focus on a discipline you’re passionate about within the broader online degree space. Produce deep, focused content that helps learners in that field.
Here is some additional market research on the online degree online business niche:
– The global e-learning market is projected to grow over 15% annually, reaching $374 billion by 2026, according to ResearchAndMarkets.com. This massive growth demonstrates the demand for online education.
According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, the Completion rates for online bachelor’s degrees have risen to 56%, equal to national completion rates for on-campus programs. This dispels concerns about online program quality.
– 90% of academic leaders at public universities assert that online learning is critical to their institution’s long-term strategy per Inside Higher Ed. Online degrees are becoming core to universities.
– According to Bay View Analytics, online degree programs’ most popular technology tools are lecture capture tools, secure exam browsers, plagiarism detection, and remote proctoring software. These tools improve remote learning.
– For-profit institutions like the University of Phoenix and SNHU award over 60% of all online bachelor’s degrees in the U.S. However, nonprofit colleges are rapidly expanding their offerings.
– Over 80% of graduate students say flexibility is why they chose an online program, according to GetEducated’s Online College Students Report. Convenience and scheduling are huge motivators.
– The states with the most online learners are California, Texas, New York, and Florida. However, rural states like South Dakota, Montana, and Alaska have the highest percentage of online students relative to their population.
– HR professionals expect over 70% of organizations to use online degrees in hiring by 2025, according to a Wiley Education Services survey. Acceptance keeps growing.
Carefully analyzing the latest online degree statistics and trends ensures your content provides maximum value to readers while capturing the size and direction of the market.
Some keywords that help define the Online Degree Online Business Niche:
Broad Keywords:
– online degrees – 301,000 searches
– online college – 246,000 searches
– online education – 201,000 searches
– distance learning – 165,500 searches
– elearning – 147,000 searches
– online classes – 121,000 searches
– online courses – 110,000 searches
– online programs – 73,500 searches
– online school – 66,600 searches
– online university – 50,500 searches
– remote learning – 49,500 searches
– virtual learning – 36,100 searches
Long-Tail Keywords:
– accelerated online degrees – 4,400 searches
– accredited online degrees – 3,600 searches
– best online degrees – 2,900 searches
– best online schools for business degrees – 1,900 searches
– cheapest online degrees – 1,600 searches
– fastest online degrees – 1,500 searches
– fully online degrees – 1,300 searches
– get a degree online – 1,100 searches
– get college degree online – 1,000 searches
– legitimate online degrees – 880 searches
– list of online degrees – 720 searches
– most affordable online degrees – 590 searches
– non profit online degrees – 500 searches
– nursing degrees online – 4,400 searches
– online aa degrees – 2,900 searches
– online accounting degrees – 2,400 searches
– online art degrees – 1,900 searches
– online associates degrees – 1,700 searches
– online bachelor’s degrees – 2,400 searches
– online business degrees – 2,900 searches
– online chemistry degrees – 630 searches
– online college accredited – 1,300 searches
– online college courses – 1,600 searches
– online college credit – 880 searches
– online college degree programs – 1,600 searches
– online colleges for business degrees – 1,300 searches
– online computer science degrees – 1,300 searches
– online cooking degrees – 590 searches
– online criminal justice degrees – 2,900 searches
– online culinary degrees – 880 searches
– online degree programs – 2,400 searches
– online degrees california – 1,600 searches
– online design degrees – 740 searches
– online doctrine degrees – 290 searches
– online engineering degrees – 1,600 searches
– online english degrees – 590 searches
– online graduate degree programs – 2,400 searches
– online history degrees – 490 searches
– online human resources degree – 880 searches
– online journalism degree – 740 searches
– online law degrees – 1,600 searches
– online liberal arts degrees – 590 searches
– online marketing degrees – 1,900 searches
– online mba no gmat – 1,300 searches
– online mechanic degrees – 320 searches
– online medical billing and coding degrees – 2,400 searches
– online nutrition degrees – 1,300 searches
– online pharmacy degrees – 1,700 searches
– online photography degrees – 880 searches
– online physician assistant degrees – 490 searches
– online science degrees – 920 searches
– online sociology degrees – 320 searches
– online special education degrees – 880 searches
– online teaching degrees – 1,600 searches
Final grade on the Online Degree Online Business niche:
Launching an online degree website offers immense potential if executed thoughtfully. You can establish a lucrative and meaningful business by clearly defining your target audience, providing helpful degree and career guidance, optimizing content for SEO, and leveraging various monetization models.
To recap, some of the keys to success in this niche include:
– Researching the online degree landscape and trends so you deeply understand the market and student needs.
– Producing comprehensive content around finding, comparing, applying to, and succeeding in online programs. Go beyond surface-level topics to provide true value.
– Building organic search visibility by optimizing pages and posts for relevant long-tail degree keywords in your city, state or nationally.
– Developing diverse income streams through affiliate marketing, advertising, premium content subscriptions, and consulting services. Don’t rely on only one monetization method.
– Staying on top of new developments in online education technology, emerging degree programs, changing legalities, and more to provide cutting-edge guidance.
While an online degree site takes dedication and effort to launch, the ability to help thousands find flexible, affordable college options makes the work incredibly rewarding. If online education is a topic you’re passionate about, rest assured there is room for many thriving sites and experts in this growing space.
By diligently providing degree seekers with the guidance they seek – while practicing ethical business principles – you can become a go-to resource for online students nationwide. We wish you the best of luck if you choose to pursue this niche!
FAQs About Starting an Online Degree Online Business Website
– What is the most profitable way to monetize an online degree site?
The most profitable monetization strategy is generally affiliate marketing, as it can offer commissions upwards of $2,000 per student for some online program referrals. However, a diversified income stream is ideal.
– How much does it cost to start an online degree website?
You can start an online degree site for less than $100 for a basic shared hosting plan and domain name. Focus your limited budget on high-value content creation rather than expensive website designs.
– What type of content performs best for SEO?
In-depth, expertly-researched articles and guides focused on high-volume keywords perform best in long-term search engine optimization. Avoid thin, low-quality content.
– How long does it take to start earning money from an online degree site?
Earning income from an online degree site typically takes 6-12 months if you consistently publish high-quality content and focus on organic growth. Have realistic expectations.
– What degree level (associate, bachelor’s, masters, etc.) is best to focus on?
It’s wise to cover all major degree levels in your content. However, bachelor’s and master’s degree options tend to offer the most lucrative affiliate marketing opportunities.