SearchStax Site Search solution gives marketers the agility they need to optimize website outcomes.
Product Overview
SearchStax Managed Search offloads Solr management, giving IT teams enhanced operational agility.
Product Overview
May 12, 2025
Allison Miriani
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Higher ed institutions are working hard to keep their websites current.
Whether it’s updating admissions details, adjusting course listings or adding new events, there’s a steady rhythm to content changes — and according to our research with The Chronicle of Higher Education, that effort is widespread.
74% of respondents said content on their institution’s website is updated weekly or on an ad hoc basis. That’s great news — it shows colleges and universities are investing in keeping their digital experiences fresh and relevant.
But there’s a problem.
43% of those same respondents said it takes a week or longer to make that updated content findable via onsite search.
That disconnect is costing students time and costing institutions opportunities.
When a prospective student searches for scholarships, or a parent looks up housing deadlines, the information they need may already be on the site — but if the search experience hasn’t caught up, it might as well not exist.
There’s a huge gap between publishing content and making sure it can be found — and that’s an issue.
Today’s students expect websites to work like their favorite apps: fast, intuitive and personalized. They don’t dig through nav menus or scroll endlessly to find what they need. They search.
But if your onsite search is a week (or more) behind your content updates, students are hitting dead ends, getting outdated results or missing the information entirely.
And when that happens, they don’t just bounce — they lose trust.
Here’s the kicker: institutions are investing heavily in creating content, whether they realize it or not. Our survey revealed that 64% of respondents were either unsure or said their institution doesn’t track how much of the marketing budget goes to content creation.
But at the same time, teams are publishing dozens of new pages monthly, often across multiple departments — from marketing and admissions to academic affairs and student services.
That’s real time, energy and budget going into content that often isn’t easy to find once it’s live.
When content lives in silos and isn’t integrated with search, you’re not just wasting resources — you’re missing a chance to engage your most important audiences.
Making search a part of your content workflow — not an afterthought — is how you close the loop. When your onsite search experience is regularly tuned and aligned with what’s being published, students find what they’re looking for faster. And your team gets better visibility into what’s working and what’s missing.
Here’s what that can look like:
If you’re in the 74% who say they’re churning out content like a well-oiled machine, but also in the nearly half who said it takes a week or more to make search adjustments because of lengthy IT requests, then it’s time to think about the processes and tools you have in place to empower your team.
This is just one of many gaps we uncovered in our report:
Untapped Insights: The State of Site Search in Higher Education
We partnered with The Chronicle of Higher Education to survey 225+ higher ed professionals on:
See what your peers are saying, how your institution compares and how to close the gaps.
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