In the Genuinely Helpful – Field Notes, I share one practical idea you can try on your site or in your campaigns. Every two weeks.
As a welcome present, I’ll also send you the PDFs of my two books.
Previous Field Notes
Field Note 20: I made an AI visibility report for schoolsAugust 3, 2026Would AI recommend your school? See how a practical AI visibility report turns real prompts, cited sources and website checks into focused next steps.Read more →Field Note 19: How can you capitalise on opportunities?July 13, 2026A practical note on preparing for crises with data, delegation, and trust so opportunities do not pass while competitors hesitate.Read more →Field Note 18: What AI learns from your student reviewsJune 29, 2026Student reviews now shape what ChatGPT and Google say about your school. Four practical ways to collect reviews that help the right students choose you.Read more →Field Note 17: How to get AI to recommend your school for the right reasonsJune 6, 2026AI recommendations depend on whether clear, credible proof about your school exists online. Here is what education teams can learn from KdG.Read more →Field Note 16: “Guus, what exactly do you do?”May 21, 2026Discover how higher education marketing consultant Guus Goorts is adapting student recruitment strategies for the future, balancing Google Ads and traditional SEO with AI visibility and GEO.Read more →Field Note 15: Why (some) conflict about your website may be a good thingApril 29, 2026Disjointed school websites confuse prospective students. Learn how education teams can resolve internal conflicts and build a genuinely helpful website.Read more →Field Note 14: New data on AI search behaviorApril 15, 2026More prospective students now use AI tools to explore university options. See the implications for higher education marketing, website content, and student recruitment.Read more →Field Note 13: Why good marketing work gets stuckApril 1, 2026Why education marketing can feel lonely and what to do when organisational barriers, weak infrastructure, and compliance concerns block better results.Read more →Field Note 12: A small GEO result, a week after publishingMarch 19, 2026Discover how a user-focused, authoritative article created with a custom GPT influenced Google’s AI Overview for English Express.Read more →Field Note 11: What I’ve learned about cadence in digital marketingMarch 2, 2026Checking marketing data too rarely can waste budget. Checking too often creates noise. Learn the best weekly, monthly, and quarterly review rhythm.Read more →Field Note 10: How to get more consistent marketing outcomes?February 18, 2026Marketing budgets are hard to defend without data. Learn how education marketers can track KPIs like visibility, traffic, conversions, applications, and enrolments to prove ROI.Read more →Field Note 9: AI Search – Questions, not just keywordsFebruary 4, 2026AI tools now answer student questions using web sources. Learn what this shift means for SEO, content, and visibility-and how to adapt.Read more →Field Note 8: I bet against Google … and lostJanuary 22, 2026What if your biggest marketing channel went to zero? Learn how to diversify student recruitment, experiment safely, and build a resilient email list.Read more →Field Note 7: Productivity = doing lessJanuary 8, 2026Doing more with less in 2026? Raise productivity by removing low-impact work first. A practical approach for education marketers.Read more →Field Note 6: Making sure your teamwork adds upDecember 18, 2025Doing more with less starts with focus. Define ideal students, competitors and 3 USPs, then set goals, budget and KPIs to avoid wasted effort in 2026, always!Read more →Field Note 5: Making limited marketing resources countDecember 3, 2025More ad budget isn’t always the answer. Learn how a systems approach to student recruitment uncovers real bottlenecks and drives better outcomes.Read more →Field Note 4: How to get the most out of adviceNovember 19, 2025Learn how to get real value from expert advice—when to seek it, how to ask better questions, and how to avoid costly mistakes.Read more →Field Note 3: How to get mentioned in AI Tools?November 5, 2025AI search isn’t killing SEO—but it is changing visibility. Practical steps to get mentioned in AI tools students already use.Read more →Field Note 2: Visibility as a team sport (recording inside)October 23, 2025Not everything is in marketing’s control. Learn how to align teams to improve website quality, SEO, and AI discoverability.Read more →Field Note 1: Audience first, channels secondOctober 1, 2025A practical Field Note on why audience clarity matters more than channels—and what to stop and improve next.Read more →Learnings from ICEF Global Monitor Global SummitSeptember 17, 2025Learnings from ICEF Global Monitor: how a multipolar world and AI are reshaping student choice, admissions, and higher education strategy.Read more →Where to find me this autumn: London, Cologne, onlineSeptember 3, 2025Autumn events and appearances: ICEF London, Study.eu Cologne, ContentEd Live, and new insights from Malaysian universities.Read more →When in-house works – and when to call an expertAugust 20, 2025Doing everything in-house saves money—until it doesn’t. Learn when to call in experts for high-stakes marketing decisions.Read more →How to deal with the drop in search traffic after AI overviews?July 2, 2025Search isn’t disappearing, but it is changing. Practical guidance on handling traffic drops caused by AI Overviews.Read more →Testing beats experience: a quick storyJune 18, 2025Testing beats experience. A practical reflection on experiments, learning from data, and creating safe space to improve.Read more →Does your message resonate with the right students?May 28, 2025Is your message resonating with the students you want? A practical take on positioning, proof, and consistency in education marketing.Read more →Stop wasting Google Ads budget on unqualified clicksMay 14, 2025Stop wasting Google Ads budget on unqualified clicks. Learn how to use search terms, negative keywords, and ChatGPT o3 to cut wasted spend fast.Read more →Hiring in education marketing: are we getting it right?May 7, 2025Why do education marketing teams stay busy but struggle to move forward? A look at hiring practices and the missing role of strategy.Read more →How Alex and Candy beat the copycats – with photosApril 16, 2025Why copycats can’t copy trust: how real photos helped a Singapore language school stand out and convert better.Read more →How to bring clarity to your recruitment processApril 2, 2025A practical way to structure student recruitment: define your conversion path, measure what matters, and plan with confidence.Read more →I’m an SEO expert – and I’ve stopped using GoogleMarch 19, 2025AI search is growing, but Google isn’t disappearing. What education marketers should know—and how to prepare.Read more →Why outsourcing your marketing could be a mistakeMarch 5, 2025Should you outsource your marketing or keep it in-house? A practical look at risks, trade-offs, and better middle ground.Read more →Do you know your bottleneck?February 19, 2025Do you know what’s holding your recruitment back? A practical example of how removing bottlenecks drives real growth.Read more →Reduce confusion to speed up decisionsFebruary 6, 2025Confusion kills conversions. A real example of how simplifying price, process, and checkout speeds up decisions.Read more →AI Search: Will it change SEO?January 8, 2025Will AI search replace Google? A practical look at how ChatGPT search affects SEO, ads, and education marketing visibility.Read more →