University website in top 10 for digital acumen

Kent’s website has been placed in the top ten of all British university websites, ranked by digital acumen for the first time.

The research, by digital marketing specialist Bray Leino Yucca, used five sets of criteria to score UK universities, using their knowledge of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). 18-year-old students were also asked to score every website based upon their ‘first impression’ of the visual design of the home page.

Topping the resulting table were Oxford and Cambridge, with Kent placed eighth above Edinburgh and Sheffield.

Alan Thorpe, Bray Leino Yucca’s digital and data director, said: ‘In an age where online brand is everything, the internet generation want to be proud of their choices, and feel it reflects their own personalities. If a university’s website doesn’t fit an aspiring student’s sense of identity, it is unlikely to be the first choice on their UCAS form. Key to meeting these aspirations is good quality content.’

Find out more on the Education Technology website.