Ep. 99 - Brian Hartnack: Higher Ed Just Lost 25% of Its Search Traffic — The Signal

What happens when an enrollment marketing agency that's been at it for 20 years looks back and realizes their biggest lesson wasn't about campaigns—it was about finding the right partners?

In this episode, host Jeff Dillon sits down with Brian Hartnack, CEO of Archer Education, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary and was named Enrollment Management Solutions Provider of the Year. Brian shares the two founding principles that have guided Archer from day one: treat prospective students like the savvy consumers they are, and treat institutions as true partners focused on shared ROI.

Brian offers am illustration in the difference between traditional 18-year-old recruitment and adult learner enrollment—a distinction most agencies still get wrong. He explains why the brand that works for high school seniors doesn't carry the same weight with working adults, and why enrollment advising is a "litmus test" that tells students everything they need to know about what it will be like to be your student.

He also tackles the AI shift head-on, revealing that institutions have already lost at least 25% of organic referral traffic over the last two years. The game has moved beyond your domain—it's now about your entire web presence, including Reddit, TikTok, and earned media. And he offers a direct challenge to presidents and provosts: fund the data foundation, elevate your faculty, and create a shared vision that every corner of the organization actually wants to win.

Key Takeaways

Treat Students Like Savvy Consumers: You can't trick a prospective student into making one of the biggest decisions of their life. They want real answers to difficult questions. Meet them where they are.
Adult Learners Are Not High School Seniors: Traditional 18-year-old recruitment is about identity and belonging. Adult enrollment is an ROI purchase—career-driven, lonely, and beset by competing priorities. The same playbook doesn't work.
Brand Matters—But It Can't Overcome Everything: For adult learners, brand sits alongside tuition, flexibility, convenience, and responsiveness. A great name won't fix high prices, limited starts, or slow enrollment advising.
AI Has Already Reshaped the Funnel: Organic referral traffic is down at least 25% over the last two years. The student journey now happens in AI answers and chat before they ever reach your site. The game has moved beyond your domain.
Stop Treating SEO as Something That Lives Only on Your Domain: AI citations are assembled from your website, earned media, Reddit, reviews, YouTube, and social. Your goal is a robust, credible web presence across every node of the knowledge graph.
Data Interoperability Is the Foundation for AI: Everyone is shopping for AI solutions, but very few are laying the data foundation that makes AI useful. You need master data management—stitching your CRM, SIS, and LMS into one golden record. This is ongoing human work, not a one-time purchase.

The Signal Newsletter:
https://edtechconnect.com/newsletter

Find Brian Hartnack:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianhartnack/

Archer Education

https://www.archeredu.com/

And find EdTech Connect here:

Web: https://edtechconnect.com/

Chapters

(00:00:00) - How to Gain an AI Cease
(00:00:34) - The Signal
(00:01:47) - Archer College Enrollment Management Solutions Provider
(00:04:21) - What Colleges Need to Know For Adult Enrollment
(00:08:22) - Top Higher Ed Executives: Brand Matters
(00:15:16) - Archer Innovation: Helping Colleges Build Internal Capacity
(00:18:29) - Building Internal Capacity for AI Search
(00:21:38) - Archer Education Partnerships: Red Flags
(00:26:29) - The Future of Enrollment: What Leaders Need to Know
(00:28:55) - Brian Archer on College Professions and the Future of Learning
(00:30:58) - The Signal: Higher Ed Tech Insights