Performance-Based Marketing
A commercial model in which a client pays for an agreed measurable result, such as a qualified student inquiry or validated click, rather than purchasing Banner Edge software or paying separate setup and management fees.
Banner Edge field guide
Understand the language.Understand the model.
Plain-language definitions for the performance models, traffic signals, measurements, and technology behind higher education student acquisition.
Explore the glossary ↓20 essential terms
BEM / SIGNAL LANGUAGEREFERENCE
BEMPERFORMANCE LANGUAGE
✱ Inquiry— Click• Impression↻ Outcome
MODELSTRAFFICMEASUREMENTTECHNOLOGY
01 PERFORMANCE MODELS
What the client
actually buys.
Banner Edge technology supports the work behind the scenes. Clients choose and pay for an agreed performance model.
Qualified Student Inquiry
A prospective student who has demonstrated education intent, requested information from a specific institution, and provided valid contact information and the required consent. Inquiries that do not meet the agreed qualification criteria are not billable.
CPL
Cost Per LeadUnder BEM’s CPL model, the client pays for each qualified student inquiry rather than the clicks used to generate it.
Explore CPL ↗CPC
Cost Per ClickUnder BEM’s CPC model, the client pays for each validated visitor delivered from a BEM owned-and-operated education property to the client’s destination URL.
Explore CPC ↗02 TRAFFIC + DELIVERY
How attention
becomes activity.
These terms describe the movement of prospective students into and through Banner Edge-owned education experiences.
Hosted
BEM lead generation using a client-approved form hosted by BEM on behalf of a school partner. The form collects prospect information and custom client-approved TCPA consent. Prospects who confirm they want to hear from the school are delivered to the client’s CRM in the required format. BEM builds these forms at no charge, and our team can update them as needed.
Linkout
BEM lead generation in which BEM gathers prospective-student criteria on an owned-and-operated property, filters traffic against the client’s requirements, and redirects eligible visitors to a client-hosted form or website. The client has full control of data capture and reports valid inquiries to BEM.
Impression
A view of an advertisement or institution listing. An impression may become a click when the user selects it and reaches the destination behind the ad unit.
Click
A visit generated when a user selects an advertisement or institution listing and lands on the destination behind it.
Publisher
A traffic partner that sends prospective-student visitors into a Banner Edge owned-and-operated experience under approved campaign and compliance requirements.
Explore quality + compliance ↗O&O
Owned and OperatedA website that is both owned and operated by Banner Edge Media. BEM controls its O&O properties without third-party access, control, or interference.
Explore O&O ↗03 MEASUREMENT
Define the outcome.
Measure the result.
A performance number is only useful when the population, outcome, and maturity window behind it are understood.
Downstream Performance
The conversion actions prospective students take as they progress from lead to contact, transfer, application, enrollment, and student start. Each milestone moves the prospect further along the journey from initial inquiry to becoming a student.
Conversion
A defined action completed after an impression, click, or inquiry. Depending on the campaign, a conversion may be a qualified inquiry or a client-reported downstream outcome.
Conversion Rate
The percentage of a defined group that completes a specific conversion. The population and outcome must be identified for the rate to be meaningful.
Attribution
The process of connecting a measurable result to the inquiry, campaign, or traffic activity that produced it.
Cohort
A defined group of qualified student inquiries isolated and analyzed together for performance, typically based on a shared date range or campaign.
CPA
Cost Per ApplicationOn this site, CPA means the total cost of qualified student inquiries divided by the number of prospects who complete an application to a college or university.
CPS
Cost Per StartOn this site, CPS means the total cost of qualified student inquiries divided by the number of students who begin taking classes.
Student Start
A client-reported downstream milestone indicating that a prospective student has progressed through the admissions process and begun taking classes.
04 TECHNOLOGY + REPORTING
Systems communicate.
Outcomes return.
These are the connections and information that help Banner Edge understand performance after initial delivery.
API
Application Programming InterfaceAn API allows separate software systems to communicate and exchange information automatically. BEM commonly uses APIs to receive client-reported conversion data, check campaign availability, and exchange campaign instructions and updates.
Performance Data
Measurable information used to understand how delivered traffic or qualified student inquiries perform, including approved client-reported outcomes when available.
Client-Reported Outcome
A performance milestone reported to Banner Edge Media by a client, such as a contact, transfer, application, enrollment, or student start.
Know the language. Focus on the outcome.
Tell us the outcome you need.
We’ll build the campaign around it.
No software to purchase. No platform to replace. Just a performance model built around what matters to your institution.
Start a conversation ↗