International digital experience
Transforming Deakin University’s international student digital experience to improve recruitment outcomes
How do you improve the digital experience across more than 100 webpages? By stepping back and rethinking the entire journey.
During my secondment as Digital Marketing Coordinator within Deakin’s International Marketing team, I led a strategic audit of the University’s international website to identify opportunities to improve the digital experience for prospective international students. Rather than focusing on individual pages, I assessed the entire digital ecosystem through the lens of recruitment, analysing user journeys, search intent and content performance to uncover opportunities for improvement.
Using audience insights, SEO research, Adobe Analytics and stakeholder consultation, I developed a long-term roadmap to simplify information architecture, strengthen discoverability and create a more connected, user-centred experience. The outcome was a strategic blueprint that continues to guide the evolution of Deakin’s international digital presence.
The challenge
Deakin’s website had grown organically, resulting in a fragmented digital experience for prospective international students.
Content was duplicated across multiple pages, user journeys were inconsistent, information architecture had become complex, and pages were competing for the same search intent. This not only made the website harder to navigate for prospective international students but also increased the ongoing maintenance and weakened conversion pathways.
The challenge wasn’t simply to improve individual pages – it was to rethink how the website supported international student recruitment from initial discovery through to application.
Taking a user-first approach, I combined audience insights, analytics, SEO research and stakeholder consultation to evaluate Deakin’s international website through the lens of the prospective international student journey. The outcome was a prioritised roadmap of strategic recommendations designed to create a simpler, more connected and scalable digital experience.
Key deliverables included:
New information architecture
Developed a future-state information architecture that simplified navigation, reduced duplication and created clearer pathways for prospective international students.
Consolidated conversion journeys
Redesigned the international application journey, repositioned the international students homepage as the primary destination for consideration, and improved progression from course exploration through to application.
Strategic recommendations
Content strategy
Consolidated fragmented content into authoritative pillar pages, including Why study in Australia and Pathways to Deakin, strengthening search intent and reducing content duplication.
Governance and scalability
Developed recommendations to improve internal linking, archive redundant content and establish a more sustainable content ecosystem.
Together, these recommendations formed a strategic roadmap to improve discoverability, simplify the international student journey and create a more scalable digital experience aligned with Deakin’s long-term recruitment objectives.
“Erin has brought a level of energy and engagement to make a significant impact on key projects and deliver on milestones that ladder up to our marketing plan and Deakin's commercial goals”
— Digital Marketing Manager, International Marketing at Deakin UniversityProject outcomes
Audited 100+ webpages across Deakin’s international website
Aligned strategic recommendations across five cross-functional stakeholder groups
Reviewed multiple prospective student journeys to identify opportunities for improvement
Produced a phased implementation roadmap to guide future delivery
Prioritised recommendations across key strategic workstreams to support long-term digital transformation.
This project challenged me to step back from individual content updates and think more strategically about how prospective students discover, navigate and engage with Deakin online. By combining audience insight, analytics and stakeholder collaboration, I developed a roadmap that balanced immediate improvements with a long-term vision for a simpler, more connected digital experience.
While the project focused on the website, the recommendations were developed to support broader international recruitment campaigns, ensuring the digital experience aligned with campaign messaging and prospective student decision-making.
