How to Optimize Your Summer School Promotion on INOMICS

With the festive period over, now is the season to find Summer Schools on INOMICS. Each year we see a marked increase between January and May in the number of visitors navigating on the INOMICS site to the "Summer Schools" sub-category.

The increase in interest is clearly seen around the internet. Google searches for the phrase "Summer School" follow a similar trend to that on INOMICS, with the number of searches in April-June around three times higher than the monthly average in the winter months. The growth trend is almost identical for the search phrase

"Economics Summer School". Interestingly, according to Google the countries in which this latter search term is most entered are Italy, India, the UK, the USA and Germany. The visitor stats on the INOMICS website are similar, although Turkey, Belgium, France, Russia, China and the Netherlands also represent important traffic sources for Summer School seekers.

In order to reach the maximum possible candidates for your Summer School, we recommend the following top tips when uploading your course to INOMICS:

1. Use a Concise Title – Use "Summer School" plus the main focus of your program for the title. If possible a key subject area can help attract interest, for example "Summer School on Health Economics".
2. Add a logo – This highlights the announcement on INOMICS, and increases the likelihood of prominence on Google results. It also helps to hold the attention of page visitors.
3. Get the timing right – As described above, March, April and May are the most popular times to look and apply for Summer Schools on INOMICS. Announcements should go online from late February, and ideally be placed six to eight weeks before the deadline (the maximum allowed on INOMICS is twelve). If your Announcement is online for two months or more, you may also consider booking a repost shortly before the deadline.
4. Include application details – Add clear instructions how applicants can apply, as well as a concise program description. Presenting your program and the application process as well organized and straightforward can give your Summer School the edge over others.
5. Include keywords – Using relevant popular search terms in the main body of your INOMICS announcement has a doubly positive effect. First, it increases the chance of an INOMICS user finding your Summer School using the website search. Second, it increases the chance that it will show up also in Google results. INOMICS is indexed daily by Google, and Announcements with a good range of keywords often appear very prominently.